Courtesy Photo | Service members at Fort McCoy, Wis., for training complete winter training at a range...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from February 2019 and back.
75 years ago — Feb. 26, 1944
Paul P. Young, associate engineer and superintendent of construction, 1610 Service Unit, Camp McCoy, became the first civilian War Deparment employee in the 6th Service Command to receive a commendation for meritorious civilian service.
The commendation, signed by Lt. Gen. Brehon Somervell, chief of Army Service Forces, was presented to Young by Col. George M. MacMullin, post commander, in a ceremony before high officers and civilian .employees. Young was from Cable, Wis. He served at Camp McCoy starting May 26, 1942. Before that, he worked on construction jobs for the War Department on Civilian Conservation Corps camps for seven years. From 1928 to 1935, he did engineering surveying with the Department of Interior throughout the eastern United States.
33 Years Ago — Feb. 8, 1986
Fort McCoy played host to 105 Marine Corps Delayed-Entry Program (DEP) members on Feb. 8, 1986.
Arriving by chartered buses and government automobiles, the high school seniors were greeted by Col. H.W. Baker, chief of staff, 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade. The poolees were issued cold-weather parkas, mittens, and an MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) to protect them from the Wisconsin wind and cold.
The DEP members experienced riding in an amphibious-assault vehicles (AAV) and taken to the II Marine Amphibious Force’s Arctic Survival training site. Upon arrival at the site, they were briefed on how to build an igloo, when was the best time to use the igloo, how many people could sleep in it, and how to utilize it if ever stranded in cold weather without means of rescue; primitive methods of snaring or capturing game; different methods of starting fires; and how to melt snow in various vessels for drinking.
Next they reboarded the AAVs and moved to the next site on their schedule, which was heavy artillery. There they were briefed by Lt. Col. W.W. Broadway. “When you hear someone yell, ‘standby,’” the lieutenant colonel said, “cover your ears.” There was a noticeable, unified flinch as the 155mm M-198 howitzers belched their first round down range. “Standby” rang out once more, but this time mittened hands covered ears and all eyes strained to watch the shots leave the area. Following a 15-round barrage, the DEP members were given the run of the range. The muzzles of the M-198 and 8-inch howitzer moved up and down, left and right at the hands of 105 young men who might have thought the greatest thing in the world was artillery.
The DEP members then mounted up once more for the final stop of the day’s tour — aviation and the CH-53E helicopter. At McCoy Airfield, the DEP members saw the CH-53E. They were briefed by the crew and then allowed to board the aircraft. After their introduction to Marine aviation, they returned to their buses to avoid the frigid rush of air as the hulking helicopter lifted off.
30 Years Ago — Feb 24, 1989
For the 173 citizen-soldiers of the Army Reserve’s 601st Military Police Battalion, Fort Wayne, Ind., it was their first annual training in a cold-weather environment.
“We’ve never trained in a cold weather environment,” said Maj. William Ashley, battalion commander. “Our capstone mission will place us in this type of environment, and winter training here is part of a three-year training cycle.”
The first part was summer annual training at McCoy. The second part was the winter-operations training. The final phase will be a Military Operations in Urban Terrain exercise.
The battalion’s two weeks of training concentrated on learning how to survive in a cold weather environment. Soldiers also spent time practicing tasks critical to their wartime mission as a combat support unit.
“We had several goals,” Ashley said. “The first was to survive in a cold-weather environment for five days and four nights with a minimum number of casualties, injuries or sicknesses. We wanted to eliminate frostbite, hypothermia, and other cold-weather injuries that was one way of evaluating the effectiveness our training.”
Ashley said the confidence Soldiers from the battalion gained in their equipment and themselves also helped to measure the effectiveness of the training.
20 Years Ago — Feb 26, 1999
Training agreements with Monroe and Jackson counties and the state of Wisconsin in the early 1990s enhanced and expanded training opportunities at Fort McCoy.
Lt. Col. Warren Dupuis, the director of Training and Mobilization, said the three land areas collectively total a little more than 60,000 acres and are approximately equal in size to the 60,000 acres at Fort McCoy.
The majority of the acreage is located in the Black River State Forest in Jackson County. Another 1,000-acre parcel is located in Jackson County, and a 1,440-acre parcel is located in Monroe County. Each parcel of land has potential for unique training scenarios, Dupuis said.
“Both the Jackson County and Black River State Forest lands offer real-time/distance opportunities for combat-service support units,” Dupuis said. “The units can set up their operations at Fort McCoy and use the extensive road networks to conduct their missions.”
The training agreement areas also afford units excellent opportunities to practice land navigation and troop movements. Dupuis said the Monroe County land abuts the western boundary of Fort McCoy. It creates a horseshoe-shaped mountain ridge with the Fort McCoy land. It’s an excellent area for troops that are performing patrol and infantry missions.
Safeguards are in place to protect the environment and members of the public who use the lands. The agreements require Fort McCoy to publicly announce a unit’s intent to use the lands. Training use of these lands also is restricted to avoid times of heavy tourism or hunting.
All three agreements require units to remove their garbage, and prohibit the cutting of trees or digging of any holes at any site. The agreements also allow units to do projects in the training agreement areas that meet mission goals and improve the public enjoyment of the lands.
10 Years Ago —Feb. 13, 2009
Karen K. Page, a program analyst for the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, captured third place in the 2008 Army’s Worldwide Arts and Crafts Contest glass novice category for her Tiffany stained glass technique-copper foil construction “Mermaid at Play.”
The glass construction, which is about 4 feet high by 3 feet wide, began as a project when her spouse went hunting, Page said. It took about 5 1/2 months to make — from a sketch to sizing it to making pattern pieces and cutting the glass to fit. All told, it took more than 260 pieces of glass to finish the masterpiece.
For winning the contest, Page received a Certificate of Excellence from Maj. Gen. John A. Macdonald, U. S. Army Commanding, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command, and a monetary award.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 02.05.2019 16:33 |
| Story ID: | 309613 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 150 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, This month in Fort McCoy History: February 2019, by Theresa R Fitzgerald, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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