The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden will travel to Fort Drum, New York, to welcome home the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, from Iraq. One of the most deployed brigades in the U.S. Army, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team has participated in three deployments to Afghanistan and four deployments to Iraq. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division is redeploying from eastern Baghdad, Iraq, after deploying in October 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During this deployment, the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team successfully completed their mission and contributed to the overall success of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The homecoming at Fort Drum is one of many this summer, as the United States ends its combat mission in Iraq on August 31st and draws down to 50,000 troops from approximately 145,000 troops when the Obama-Biden administration took office. The remaining troops will advise and assist Iraq’s security forces. In accordance with an agreement between the U.S. and Iraqi governments, all U.S. forces will leave Iraq by December 31, 2011.

As part of Recovery Summer, Vice President Biden will visit Yellowstone and Grand Canyon National Parks, where $25 million in Recovery Act funding is creating jobs and jump-starting previously-deferred construction and maintenance projects. More than 1,000 workers have already been part of the seventeen Recovery Act projects at Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. Overall, there are 800 Recovery Act projects underway at National Parks across the country this summer – eight times as many as there were last summer.