Fort Drum and other military installations are being looked at as part of a federal investigation to determine if medically unfit soldiers have been deployed into combat situations.

The Government Accountability Office has been researching the claims for several months, according to Rep. John M. McHugh, R-Pierrepont Manor.

"It's not unheard of that soldiers that are less than combat ready are in fact deployed," he said. However, he pointed out that those soldiers typically avoid combat situations and are given lighter duties.

Mr. McHugh, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said it would become a problem if unfit soldiers were knowingly being deployed to combat zones in order to meet troop requirements. According to Mr. McHugh, that would violate military policy and oversight rules.

"There's nothing at this time to suggest this," he said.

He said the 10th Mountain Division was one of those chosen to be reported on because it has been deployed so frequently during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The GAO disseminated a preliminary report on its findings Dec. 19, which Mr. McHugh said listed investigations into more than 270 case files at Fort Drum. He said in those files there was only one instance of a medically unfit soldier being deployed.

According to Mr. McHugh, the deployment was listed as a "human error," which he said could have been the fault of an Army official or someone outside the Army, such as a doctor, who did not understand Army guidelines.

However, he said he would wait until the final report is released April 8 to make any judgments on the situation.

"It would be inappropriate to draw any conclusions, positive or negative, from that," Mr. McHugh said.