  This first part of Special Session 5 explored the current status of
infrared-based observations of obscured and distant stellar clusters in the
Milky Way galaxy. Recent infrared surveys, either serendipitously or using
targeted searches, have uncovered a rich population of young and massive
clusters. However, cluster characterization is more challenging as it must be
obtained often entirely in the infrared due to high line-of-sight extinction.
Despite this, much is to be gained through the identification and careful
analysis of these clusters, as they allow for the early evolution of massive
stars to be better constrained. Further, they act as beacons delineating the
Milky Way's structure and as nearby, resolved analogues to the distant
unresolved massive clusters studied in distant galaxies.

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;Astrophysics of Galaxies