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The second half of 2023 at Fort McCoy — July to December — was a busy time at the installation with big exercises taking place, construction of a third new barracks beginning, and so much more.
And again, as the second half of the year went on, the Fort McCoy team and workforce stepped up to get many, many things accomplished successfully. No matter what challenge arose, through every month, the installation team stood strong to get the mission done.
JULY
— Fort McCoy held its 2023 Lil Firecracker Fest on July 8, 2023, at Whitetail Ridge Ski Area in the Pine View Recreation Area and more than 500 people attended during its four hours of operations. The fest opened at 10 a.m., and right away there were nearly 50 people there ready to have fun, officials with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR) said.
And as the event went on, more and more people arrived and departed as they partook in the many different things to do at the event. The event included food, games, bounce houses, a large water slide on the ski hill, a climbing wall, a visit by Brutus the MiniPig, a display with wild turtles with Endangered Species Biologist Jessup Weichelt, paintball target practice, a miniature horse, and more.
DFMWR Business and Recreation Division Chief Karla M. Rynes said the event was very successful.
“The Outdoor Recreation team did a magnificent job putting the event together and executing the event,” Rynes said. “All of the guests who I spoke with said they were having a great time and that they loved that we put on this type of an event for the families.”
— The stage was set at dawn July 17, 2023, at Warrens Drop Zone on Fort McCoy’s North Post. The 153rd Engineer Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Heath Abraham, even said, “it looks like a good morning for a war.”
That morning, Soldiers with the 153rd and units supporting the 153rd were about to hold a breach-of-a-complex-obstacle training event. The event took several days to prepare and plan and was the culminating training event for the battalion from the South Dakota Army National Guard that traveled all the way to Fort McCoy to hold their 2023 annual training.
In this training event were M113 Armored Personnel Carriers (APC), M60 Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge vehicles, M88 Recovery Vehicles, Mine Clearing Line Charge , Humvees, and more.
On one side of the drop zone, select unit Soldiers served as opposing forces. On the other side, the rest of the unit’s forces used their training and expertise to navigate the drop zone’s terrain, the obstacles, the smoke and haziness of the morning, and they had to fight through to meet training objectives in this large battalion-wide training event.
“The operation we had here this morning was a maneuver augmentation company, specifically the 211th Engineer Company, conducting a combined obstacle breach,” Abraham said. “We had one platoon place in a complex obstacle consisting of a triple strand, a mine field, and a 12-row, anti-tank barrier.
“Our breach team then came in with AVLBs and 113s and their breach teams of combat engineers,” Abraham said. “They breached the 12-row, breached the triple-strand, and then breached a natural obstacle. … Once the breaches were complete, the combat engineers were able to mark lanes to safely.”
The training event was held just as the sun was rising, which added to the training effect and put direct sunlight right into the eyes of the combat engineers as they approached the breach points.
— Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco became the new garrison command sergeant major for U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy on July 13, 2023, during a change-of responsibility ceremony in building 905 at Fort McCoy.
Calarco takes over for Command Sgt. Maj. Raquel DiDomenico who is retiring from the Army, and who has served as the Fort McCoy Garrison command sergeant major since July 2021.
Prior to coming to Fort McCoy, Calarco served as the U.S. Army Reserve Command Surgeon Directorate Sergeant Major at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), N.C. In his first message as the garrison command sergeant major, Calarco discussed how thankful he was to be at McCoy, and more.
“I want to start by thanking CSM DiDomenico for your warm and helpful transition,” Calarco said. “You don’t always get that in every assignment. … Thank you, Col. (Stephen) Messenger for your guidance and your confidence.
“I’ve recognized that this installation is full of pride, craftsmanship and dedication,” Calarco also said. “I get the distinct privilege to pass through the gates each and every morning. How fortunate am I? That does gives me a smile every single morning knowing that I'm now a proud member of this outstanding installation.”
— Stepping outside of her regular role as an office manager at U.S. Army Europe in Brussels, Belgium, Stephanie Condon took a chance to take on a special career-broadening developmental assignment as a recruiter at Fort McCoy. She was recognized for that effort in July 2023.
The assignment was for four months — March-June 2023 — where Condon would be doing something not only new for her but likely a new approach for Fort McCoy as well.
“Stephanie was on the front lines of Fort McCoy’s most challenging problem — leading, developing, and implementing a civilian recruitment strategy to fill 56 positions,” said Fort McCoy Resource Management Officer Bonnie Hilt. “She developed multiple means to rapidly leverage recruitment talent to eliminate vacancies. She networked with local community leaders, universities, students, educators, and other prospective job candidate pools to establish opportunities to recruit and fill positions with the most qualified candidates.”
Condon said when she arrived at Fort McCoy, she admittedly didn’t take on the recruiter role with a much experience but was eager to get to work.
“When this came up, I was like this is a great opportunity to come and learn a little bit about human resources, personnel, and recruiting so that I could possibly incorporate that back into my own job as well as hopefully and provide a little bit of help here, too,” Condon said. “Learning about civilian personnel, recruiting, and human resources — which I knew nothing about before I arrived — was a great opportunity to learn something about an area of my career field that I've never done.”
— Fort McCoy recently received a new commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy during a change-of-command ceremony July 12, 2023, in building 905 at the installation.
During the ceremony, Maj. Randy Downs Jr. took command of the company from Lt. Col. James Lavelle. Lavelle had been the company commander since July 2021. Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger served as the presiding officer.
In his first remarks as the new company commander, Downs said thanked the garrison command team for their welcome, and he said he looks forward to working with the Fort McCoy team.
“I'm looking forward to working with you and learning from your experiences,” he said.
In welcoming Downs, Messenger said he looks forward to having him as the new company commander.
“I have the utmost trust in you to get great things done while you're here,” Messenger said. “There’s no doubt you’re going to make a difference, so congrats on this important assignment.”
— The summer season saw the $11.96 million transient training brigade headquarters project at Fort McCoy make significant strides in completion.
In early June 2023, the project was at approximately 40 percent complete. Then on June 18 it was 55 percent complete. And a month later, during a July 21, 2023, update, the project jumped well past 65 percent to 67 percent complete, according to Ken Green with the Army Corps of Engineers Program Office at Fort McCoy.
Green reported in his July 21 update that the project was continuing at a quick pace. Green stated in his update that current work included interior framing, interior sheet rock and finishing, window installation, exterior concrete placements were continuing, roofing trim out was continuing, and gutter placement continued.
— Workers with R.J. Jurowski Construction Inc. of Whitehall, Wis., continued to make steady progress on the renovation construction project of the Rumpel Fitness Center in early at Fort McCoy, post officials said. The project began Nov. 1, 2022.
The project includes the exterior receiving new siding, roofing, and sidewalks as well as a storage addition. The interior is receiving a full layout redesign that includes locker rooms, cardio/stretching/equipment areas, and offices.
There will also be fresh paint throughout, a new entryway and vestibule, and a new redesigned pool, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works officials said. As of the beginning of July 2023, the project was at approximately 65 percent complete, said General Engineer Gareth Ferguson with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works.
“Current work includes interior framing; drywalling; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and electrical installation; pool deck concrete work; exterior roofing; excavating and pouring additional foundation for exterior brick siding; new entranceway construction; and excavation for new domestic and fire suppression water services.”
Overall, it’s a multi-million-dollar renovation for the fitness center that’s never been done before.
— Fort McCoy Army Community Service Director Sylvia Lopez and Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger provided remarks for the installation observance of the Army Community Service’s 58th birthday July 25, 2023, at McCoy's Community Center at Fort McCoy, Wis.
Also, during the celebration, a cake-cutting was held, and the Fort McCoy Army Community Service Office had a full setup of items for community members to see about what their organization offers, and more.
— Illinois Army National Guard Soldiers with Charlie Troop, 106th Cavalry conducted helo casting from a 106th Aviation Chinook helicopter on July 17, 2023, into Big Sandy Lake on South Post at Fort McCoy. Water insertion is one method the 106th Cavalry troops trains on to drop Soldiers into enemy territory to conduct recon missions.
The 106th was at Fort McCoy in July conducting annual training. According to its definition, helocasting is an airborne technique used by small unit, special operations forces, and also practiced extensively by the U.S. Army’s light infantry units to insert into a military area of operations.
The small unit is flown, by helicopter to a maritime insertion point, such as Big Sandy Lake. Once there, the aircraft assumes an altitude just above the water’s surface and an airspeed of 10 knots or less. Team members then exit the aircraft and enter the water.
— Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major, were with Mark Siple of the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation on July 24, 2023, at McCoy’s Community Center during Siple’s retirement from civil service after 36 years.
Siple was honored by many in the Fort McCoy community for his more than three decades of service to the Army and the Fort McCoy community.
— The 153rd Engineer Battalion with the South Dakota Army National Guard and its corresponding units convoyed with 90 vehicles and equipment in early July to Fort McCoy to hold their annual training.
The unit held their training July 8-19, 2023, said 153rd Commander, Lt. Col. Heath Abraham. Throughout their time, the unit stayed busy completing unit tasks, training, and more.
“So, I brought units from Huron and Madison, S.D. — three different companies — here to Fort McCoy this summer to train for annual training,” Abraham said. “Our battalion headquarters was conducting TOC (tactical operations center) operations. Our HHC (headquarters and headquarters company was supporting our exercise. Our forward support company was supporting two other (engineer) companies and the ongoing LOGPAC (logistical packages) operations.”
— Students in the Fort McCoy Regional Training Site (RTS)-Maintenance Wheeled Vehicle Recovery Operations Course were at the North Post Vehicle Recovery Site on July 24 and 25, 2023, practicing their skills recovering military vehicles with military wrecker vehicles — and it wasn’t easy, students said.
That field training was a big part of the course, instructors say, because it gets them the experience, they need to do the same kind of work at their own units and home stations. And, according to senior instructor Staff Sgt. Alicia Curtis, helps them earn an additional skill identifier.
The RTS-Maintenance course trains Soldiers with 91-series military occupational specialties in the Army’s H8 additional MOS skill identifier, according to the course description.
— Fort McCoy Garrison staff and Soldiers with the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade (MFTB) combined to support the mobilization training of Soldiers with the 323rd Chemical Company during July and early August.
The 323rd, an Army Reserve unit based in Sioux Falls, S.D., are completing their mobilization at Fort McCoy through Pershing Strike 23 and its associated Mobilization Exercise Level II. Pershing Strike 23 was led by First Army Headquarters at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., and included participation from both active- and reserve-component forces at multiple installations.
Fort McCoy was just one of several posts supporting this effort as part of its Mobilization Force Generation Installation capability, said Kurt Bruggemeyer, Mobilizations Branch chief for Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
“For this training, Fort McCoy providing its normal life support and base operational support for the mobilizing unit,” Bruggemeyer said. “The 323rd Chemical Company is the mobilizing unit, and in supporting a mobilizing unit such as this the garrison executes its normal mission providing facilities, such as billets, arms rooms, classrooms, ranges, all classes of supply, and more. For the mobilization, we are in a supporting role to First Army and the 181st as they oversee the post-mobilization training and validation of this unit.”
— Multiple units with Wisconsin’s Army National Guard and Air National Guard combined July 27, 2023, to hold a practice session of their airshow event at the Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport at Fort McCoy. The event, which was a practice for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture airshow in Oshkosh, Wis., included Soldiers and Airmen and included field artillery, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, an F-35A Lightning II, and a KC-135R Stratotanker.
The artillery belonged to the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 120th Field Artillery. The Black Hawks belonged to the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment of Madison and West Bend. The F-35 belonged to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing, also in Madison. And the KC-135R belonged to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.
Lt. Col. Dan Allen, commander of the 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, said the “dress rehearsal” at the Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport was a complex and coordinated event.
“It began with the F-35 … coming across the airfield conducting what we call suppression of enemy air defenses,” Allen said. “That was followed by insertion, or air assault, of two Black Hawks from the 147th with 120th Field Artillery to fire off their 105 Howitzers followed by four aircraft (with Soldiers) who conducted actions on an objective.
“After that, the 147th had two medevac assets come in, and (they) conducted a live hoist simulating an injured casualty. After that, there was an air refueling pass with the … KC-135 and the F-35.”
— Fort McCoy supported a session of the 17th annual Wisconsin Government Opportunities Business Conference on July 28, 2023, in building 905 at the installation.
Tamaya Jo Loewe, executive director of the Juneau County Economic Development Corporation served as the master of ceremonies for the session of the conference. The conference, which was organized in part by the Wisconsin Procurement Institute, focused on helping small business owners and representatives learn more about working with the federal government facilities at Fort McCoy.
In the description for the conference description for the session, the institute stated, “These sessions will give small and diverse businesses the opportunity to learn more about Wisconsin’s federal government facilities, meet with leadership, learn more about the installations’ operations, and about regional procurement opportunities for your business.”
Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major, both spoke at the beginning of the conference.
— At the end of July 2023, Randy Eddy finished his career as the installation safety manager at Fort McCoy. Eddy has held that position since 2005.
From 2004-2005 he was mobilized at Fort McCoy supporting the mobilization mission from the Army Reserve. In May 2005, when his mobilization support time was finishing, he said he was asked by the Fort McCoy Garrison commander at the time to come fill in as the installation safety manager for a bit.
“He came and asked me to … help him out by coming over here to the Safety Office because his safety manager had just quit and walked off the job,” Eddy said. “He needed somebody in the office to kind of keep things going for a little while.
“So that’s what he asked me to do. And as it was, he said I’d be here about 30 days,” Eddy said with a slight laugh. “That 30 days turned into a career.”
Eddy’s not only retiring as a government civilian employee. He’s also been retired several years now as an Army lieutenant colonel — since August 2008. One of the facts about him is he’s always lived in the local area near Fort McCoy.
— Contractors were continuously moving dirt in July and August 2023 from a borrow pit next to the cantonment area fence at Fort McCoy through the summer of 2023 as part of an ongoing development of a site.
The location has also been a spot for an ongoing troop project on post for the past two years.
The dirt movement has been to an ongoing construction project on the installation.
This area was once a fully wooded area. The project work is in an area of land near the old Gate 20 and Logistical Support Area Liberty and the cantonment area fence, said Larry Morrow, troop projects coordinator with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works.
“The site plan is to make it into a base operations support site for installation service contractors, such as facility maintenance, roads and grounds, solid waste, custodial, pest management, and more,” Morrow said in a past newspaper article at Fort McCoy.
— On July 17, 2023, paralegals (27D) from the U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard participated in a two-week Paralegal Warrior Training Course at McCoy to refresh their skillsets with a focus on regulations and policies centered on Reserve and Guard servicemembers, concluding with a field training exercise on July 27.
AUGUST
— At the beginning of August 2023, the Army was starting its first new privatized housing project in 13 years. The project includes privatizing Fort McCoy’s housing.
The new project, Cadence Communities LLC, will provide much-needed housing to service members who live in the high-cost, congested areas in the vicinity of U.S. Southern Command, which is headquartered in Doral, Fla., near Miami.
Cadence Communities also now develops, operates, and maintains existing military family housing at four other installations — Fort McCoy, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.; the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.; and Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. Overall, 371 family housing units that are currently government-owned were privatized.
— Col. Charles Wells assumed command of the 181st Multifunctional Training Brigade on Aug. 1, 2023, at Fort McCoy.
Wells is a former Eagle Brigade Soldier, having served previously as the commander of the 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 340th Infantry Regiment — a sub-unit of the 181st.
“If you can’t tell, my family and I are greatly honored and appreciative to be rejoining the Eagle Brigade,” Wells said. “When given the chance to return to Wisconsin, Monroe County, and the Fort McCoy community, we jumped at the opportunity.”
For Maj. Gen. Joseph Edwards, the commander of First Army Division West, the idea of family was something he too wanted to acknowledge by highlighting the familial bond between First Army and the Wells family.
“To those that don’t know, Charles is acting as a bookend for the Wells family,” he said. “His father, an infantry officer and retired colonel in the U.S. Army, also commanded a brigade inside First Army.”
— Fire and police personnel with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) took numerous vehicles and equipment to support the 20th annual Monroe County National Night Out event Aug. 1, 2023, in Tomah, Wis., and the second National Night Out event in Sparta, Wis.
Hundreds of people attended each event. The Monroe County National Night Out was held for four hours at Tomah’s Recreation Park. It was the second time at that park. Sparta’s National Night Out event was held at the city’s Memorial Park.
Introduced in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch, National Night Out is a nonprofit crime-prevention organization that works in cooperation with thousands of crime-watch groups and law-enforcement agencies throughout the country. Representatives of the Tomah Police Department said local officials know it helps build relationships that help create safe communities.
Fort McCoy DES had numerous pieces of equipment and vehicles as well as more than a dozen people from both the police and fire departments at both events. Fort McCoy police personnel also educated people about Operation Family Safe at the Monroe County National Night Out, which included EZ child-identification (ID) stations that provided ID materials for dozens of children.
New Fort McCoy Director of Emergency Services Micah Komp described the Fort McCoy support for National Night Out events.
“Fort McCoy has continuously supported these events,” Komp said while attending the Monroe County event in Tomah. “Every year we are invited, and we are happy to support both the Tomah and the Sparta events. We’ve got police and fire and emergency services personnel supporting in both communities. We are absolutely thrilled to be here and happy to support.”
— The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd “Red Arrow” Infantry Brigade Combat Team completed their 2023 eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) training exercise in July and August 2023 at Fort McCoy in preparation for taking on the more challenging four-week exercise in 2024 at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Johnson, La.
XCTC is the U.S. Army National Guard’s program of record that enables brigade combat teams to achieve the trained platoon readiness necessary to deploy, fight, and win battles throughout the world. The three weeks provided Red Arrow Soldiers with exercises that tested their skills and grew their knowledge base as the brigade prepares for JRTC next year.
Col. Jeffrey Alston, who was the Red Arrow’s outgoing commander, spent the past three years preparing the brigade for these large training exercises.
“This all started three years ago with a focus on individual and crew level training and has progressed from squad-level last year,” explained Alston. “XCTC is the stepping stone to and represents a progression in our training road to war for JRTC. At XCTC, we focused predominantly on the platoon level in offense, defense, and live fire, giving our teams time to perfect skills for the large-scale combat operations mission the 32nd will undergo at JRTC in 2024.”
— U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin made a brief visit Aug. 10, 2023, to view ongoing construction projects and observe some of the training at the installation.
Baldwin visited one of the completed transient training four-story barracks in the 1600 block of the installation. Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Director Liane Haun described to Baldwin about the ongoing work in the 1600 block and the transformation that has been taking place there.
The new barracks, of which two are completed for the 1600 block and two more are planned, are four stories tall and can house 400 people in approximately 60,000 square feet, according to building specifications from Fort McCoy DPW. The barracks buildings also are built with the latest in construction materials and includes state-of-the-art physical security and energy-saving measures.
Baldwin also visited simulations training in the 200 block at Fort McCoy, specifically the Engagement Skills Trainer. There she saw Army Reserve Soldiers from a Wisconsin-based unit completing weapons qualifications at the trainer.
— On a rainy Monday morning, 57 U.S. Army Soldiers started a weeklong journey in pursuit of a special honor.
For only the second time, the Army Reserve hosted an event for candidates of the Expert Soldier Badge, held Aug. 14-18, 2023, at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. Members of all three Army components (active duty, Army Reserve and National Guard) were invited to participate.
Earning this badge is no small feat. Soldiers must complete a variety of mental and physical challenges, and any slip up could mean going home.
Of the 57 candidates this year, only 16 remained at the end, standing tall as their shiny new badges were pinned to their uniform.
— Fort McCoy held its first privatized housing town hall event Aug. 9, 2023, at the installation in building 50 with several dozen affected housing residents in attendance.
At meeting were members of the housing partner agency Cadence Communities LLC as well as Fort McCoy Garrison command team and other related garrison agencies that support housing residents, such as the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works, Fort McCoy Installation Legal Office, and more.
— Though it’s officially observed Aug. 26, Fort McCoy held its observance of Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 15, 2023, with a special event featuring guest speaker Command Sgt. Maj. Deanna Czarnecki, commandant of the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy, at McCoy’s Community Center.
The event, organized by Equal Opportunity Advisor Master Sgt. Ana Guzman with the Fort McCoy Garrison Equal Opportunity Office, recognizes the day the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was passed on Aug. 26, 1920, giving women the right to vote.
At the United States Census Bureau website, www.census.gov, a snippet of the original Congressional Resolution for Women’s Equality Day from Aug. 26, 1973, was shared to provide a better idea about the day.
“Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26, 1973, is designated as ‘Women's Equality Day,’ and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation in commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women of America were first guaranteed the right to vote. Approved August 16, 1973.”
Czarnecki talked about the history of the day and why it’s significant and the importance of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“Nearly a century of protest by some very brave women, with the support of some men, ended women’s suffrage and led to the certification of the 19th amendment on Aug. 26, 1920,” Czarnecki said. “It would take us all day to recognize the entirety of the wonderful people who had a part in the passing of the 19th amendment. But I picked two women who I found to be interesting, determined, and very brave. … It wasn’t until 1851 when Elizabeth Katie Stanton and Susan B. Anthony actually met. While the two are vastly different, their social agendas were the same.”
— Soldiers with the 996th Engineer Company who traveled to Fort McCoy to train in the 86th Training Division’s Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) 86-23-02 in August 2023 also took time to complete work on a troop project to replace a length of sidewalk on the cantonment area at Fort McCoy.
The 996th Engineer Company, an Army Reserve company based in Milwaukee, has completed work at Fort McCoy in past years, said Fort McCoy Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works.
“For this project, they’re replacing 140 feet of sidewalk,” Morrow said. “They came in and went to work right away. We appreciate all the work they’re doing for us in improving Fort McCoy.”
The engineer company received the project on Aug. 14 and went to work right away. Project completion was planned for Aug. 21.
Soldiers removed the old sidewalk, which was several tons of old concrete that had been in place for decades. They also created a base and forms to pour new concrete for the new sidewalk.
“One of the Soldiers leading the project regularly works with concrete, so we’re getting excellent work done with this group,” Morrow said.
— An ongoing troop project that began in 2022 to create new office buildings for training at Fort McCoy’s Logistical Support Area Liberty on North Post increased to four buildings, and work on those buildings had continued with engineer units on post for the 86th Training Division’s Combat Support Training Exercise 86-23-02.
“We intend to build a total of six buildings,” said Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works. “Each one of these office buildings will be divided into two 24-foot by 30-foot spaces and have a 9-foot by 10-foot office.”
The first two buildings that were built have already completed, and they’ve been in use for training. Most recently, the first two buildings were used during the Wisconsin National Guard’s 2023 eXportable Combat Training Capability exercise from late July to early August.
“That was great to see, and I’m glad we have work continuing on this project,” Morrow said.
— In just under a month, the construction progress on the $11.96 million transient training brigade headquarters project at Fort McCoy has gone from 67 to 75 percent complete, according to an update from Ken Green with the Army Corps of Engineers Program Office at Fort McCoy.
As recent as early June, the project was at 40 percent complete, and at mid-August 2023 it was 75 percent done, meaning significant progress continues, Green said.
Green reported in his Aug. 18 update that the project was continuing at a quick pace. Green stated in his update that current work included interior framing, interior sheet rock and finishing, window installation, roofing trim out was continuing, interior painting started, tile work started, and ceiling grid installation started.
— Hundreds of installation community members stopped and participated in the 2023 Fort McCoy Wellness Fair on Aug. 9, 2023, at building 905 on post.
Participants either participated in a 5k run/2-mile walk or visited dozens of information displays in the business area showcase featuring products and services from local businesses and post agencies.
The Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (DFMWR) organized the event.
Agencies, vendors, and sponsors promoted spiritual fitness, healthy-diet options, dental health, skin care, heart health, massage therapy, personal safety, drug-and-alcohol-abuse prevention, recreation opportunities, health-insurance options, financial readiness, and more.
Dozens of DFMWR personnel worked behind the scenes to help make the event a success. Planning starts well in advance, said DFMWR Marketing Director Liz Faber.
— More than 7,000 troops made up the environment that was the 86th Training Division’s Combat Support Training Exercise 86-23-02 at Fort McCoy from Aug. 12-26, 2023.
That group of troops included Army Reserve Soldiers with rotational training units as well as training partners from combined and joint forces from the Navy, Marines, and Air Force and international service members from Great Britain, Canada, and Estonia, 86th Training Division organizers said.
“There were approximately 46 rotational training units involved and 16 training partners in this exercise,” said Maj. Jon Dahl, public affairs officer with the 86th.
All the rotational training units conducted simulated combat operations in “a dynamic and complex environment in support of live, constructive, and virtual maneuver forces with joint and coalition partners,” Dahl said.
The Chief of the Army Reserve and Commanding General of Army Reserve Command, Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, visited the training in mid-August. She stated on a Facebook post that visiting with hundreds of troops and seeing the training first-hand went well.
“Great to see our Soldiers flexing their skills and equipment,” Daniels stated on the post.
The CSTX training environment falls in line with the 84th Training Command’s training apparatus.
— Fort McCoy Food Program Manager Andy Pisney has often said that “food service is a training enabler.” During July and August 2023 at Fort McCoy, it surely enabled thousands of troops as Pisney and his team provided tens of thousands of meals for troops training at the installation.
Though July was very busy, August was likely the busiest training month Fort McCoy has seen in some time with thousands of troops training at the installation for the Wisconsin National Guard’s 2023 eXportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) exercise as well as the 86th Training Division’s Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) 86-23-02.
“For XCTC we supported their Class I requirements only,” Pisney said. “We didn’t feed them in the dining facility.”
Pisney said the XCTC exercise received support from the Logistics Readiness Center (LRC) Food Program Management Office and LRC Supply Subsistence Management Office that included 5,757 cases of Meals, Ready-to-Eat (69,084 meals); 96 cases of Halal Meals, Ready-to-Eat (1,152 meals); 1,391 Unitized Group Rations (69,550 meals); 975 cases of milk (26,325 individual milk containers); $15,000-plus of food enhancements (cereal, fruit, salad mixes, and dressings); and 6,374 20-pound bags of ice.
The support for CSTX was even greater, Pisney said.
“For CSTX, we supported them in Dining Facility 1672 which fed 31,102 meals for those participants on the cantonment area,” Pisney said.
Pisney said the CSTX received support from the LRC Food Program Management Office and LRC Supply Subsistence Management Office that included 8,892 cases of Meals, Ready-to-Eat (106,704 meals); 33 cases of Kosher Meals, Ready-to-Eat (396 meals); 154 cases of Halal Meals, Ready-to-Eat (1,848 meals); 2,250 cases of Sun Meadow Meals (40,500 meals); 2,366 Unitized Group Rations (118,300 meals); 4,380 cases of milk (118,260 individual milk containers); $71,000-plus of food enhancements (cereal, fruit, salad mixes, and dressings); and 8,022 20-pound bags of ice.
“Meal kits are just a complete meal that requires no food-service preparation,” Pisney said. “The Unitized Group Rations require food-service capability — a food-service specialist — to prepare. These rations are configured in 50-person modules and contain meat, starch, vegetables, condiments, and beverages.”
— Dozens of Army Reserve Soldiers lined up Aug. 10, 2023, to complete a part of their M4 qualification training at the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) II simulator at Fort McCoy.
“Soldiers are required to complete training on the Engagement Skills Trainer before actually going out to the range to complete their qualifications there, so this training facility is one of our busiest,” said Fort McCoy Training Support Officer Rob Weisbrod with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
“The system is realistic, and it allows Soldiers that opportunity to hone their marksmanship skills,” he said.
The training facility has two sides where Soldiers can complete their training. The trainer itself is unique, too, Weisbrod said.
— By mid-August, workers with R.J. Jurowski Construction Inc. of Whitehall, Wis., continued to make steady progress on the renovation project of the Rumpel Fitness Center at Fort McCoy, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works officials said.
The project began Nov. 1, 2022, and was originally expected to be complete in fall 2023 but could go longer, officials said.
The project includes the exterior receiving new siding, roofing, and sidewalks as well as a storage addition.
The interior is receiving a full layout redesign that includes locker rooms, cardio/stretching/equipment areas, and offices, said General Engineer Gareth Ferguson with the Fort McCoy DPW. There will also be fresh paint throughout, a new entryway and vestibule, and a new redesigned pool, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works officials said.
As of August 2023, the project was at 70 percent complete, Ferguson said.
— Earlier in 2023, history was made at Fort McCoy when four World War II-era barracks were moved from the 1600-block to other areas of the cantonment area in an effort to save the buildings for reuse in spaces in other blocks.
Contractor JMJ Construction of New Lisbon, Wis., and Heritage Movers of Blue River, Wis., successfully moved the first two of the four barracks on Feb. 24 and March 2. Then they moved the last two buildings from the 1600 block to the 1800 block and 2800 block on April 4 and April 6, respectively.
Once the buildings were moved, they were set on blocks and fenced off until further work could be completed in their new areas. Well, that work recently began this summer in early August with the building of the new foundations for the buildings, said Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW) General Engineer Gareth Ferguson.
On Aug. 17, 2023, Ferguson said foundation footings were being poured for the first barracks foundation and the work would simultaneously continue for all the other building foundations.
“These will all go essentially along the same process — excavate, form and pour foundation footings, backfill/stub in utilities, foundation pour, and finally shift building onto the new foundation,” Ferguson said.
— Hundreds of U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from across the country and their Canadian armed forces counterparts conducted a simulated medical evacuation training event at Fort McCoy on Aug. 18, 2023, as part of Exercise Global Medic 2023.
Global Medic is an annual multicomponent, multinational collective training exercise where forces from all components along with joint and international partners perform a collective medical training event to test their medical equipment and systems as well as treatment techniques and procedures to help increase medical readiness for future conflicts.
“Medical preparedness is one of the most essential things the military can have, especially with joint force training,” said Spc. Selena Sanchez, an operating room specialist with the 7455th Medical Operations Readiness Unit. “It lets us know what we need to do when that time comes.”
— More than a dozen students in the Unit Movement Officer Deployment Planning Course learned about all aspects of transporting military equipment, vehicles, goods, and more in August during 10 days of training.
The course, taught by the 426th Regional Training Institute/Wisconsin Military Academy of the Wisconsin National Guard, a Fort McCoy tenant organization, provides 80 hours overall of training.
“Our overall mission is that we train selected noncommissioned officers, officers, and warrant officers,” said course instructor Staff Sgt. Alexander Kilbane with the 426th. “It doesn’t matter if they are active duty, National Guard, or Reserve. We teach them how to move or transport any of their unit’s organic equipment, whether that’s by boat, by plane, by train, or by trucks to anywhere in the world.
“And once they are done with our class, then they are certified to conduct training or movement related operations,” Kilbane said.
The teaching of the course also goes regularly with any time a unit has a part in a rail movement at Fort McCoy, which in recent years there has been many. Kilbane’s team has supported teaching Army transportation companies, engineer companies, and more. And that has included troops from not just the Wisconsin National Guard but from other states as well.
— More than 150 Sailors who were supporting the 2023 Global Exercise at Fort McCoy made a special afternoon visit Aug. 24, 2023, to the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area.
Despite outside temperatures hovering about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, more than 150 Sailors visited the Commemorative Area for some post-exercise recreation fun.
The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts that make up the Commemorative Area.
The area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy’s unique story, said Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Tonya Townsell, who hosted the visit for the Sailors. These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942.
— At the end of June 2023, after more than three decades, Fort McCoy’s lead Fisheries Biologist John Noble retired. Just weeks later, Fisheries Biologist Steve Rood began working in the same role and program as Noble, but it’s a program Rood knows well because he’s supported it since 2005.
Rood, who now works with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch, said he began working at Fort McCoy in 2005 as a seasonal employee for the Fort McCoy fisheries program with Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.
“I am very excited at the opportunity to be a part of the Fort McCoy Natural Resource Branch, and to be able to build upon the ideas and management objectives that I have been a part of over the last 15-plus years,” Rood said. “I have spent a lot of time working on and developing an understanding of the different watersheds and landscapes on Fort McCoy, and I am eager to put that knowledge to use in order to maintain a high-quality fishery and military training.”
— Eight U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with the Army Reserve Medical Command (AR-MEDCOM) hierarchy took part in Operation Enabling Readiness (OER) at Fort McCoy from Aug. 16-25, 2023.
Hosted by the 88th Readiness Division as a pilot program, OER is a unity of effort between AR-MEDCOM, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital and Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security - Mobilization Branch.
The main purpose of OER was to enhance medical readiness in conjunction with large-scale training exercises such as a Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX), as well as react and safeguard against injuries and illness that Soldiers may incur during CSTX.
— A project to complete roofing work that is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is was ongoing in August 2023 for a hangar at Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport on South Post and for building 2187 on the cantonment area at Fort McCoy.
Jacque McNamee, project engineer for the Louisville District office of the Army Corps of Engineers at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said a contract is in place that covers “the reroofing work for building (hangar) 6058 and building 2187.”
The contractor on this project is AR6/CRAM Roofing Joint Venture. McNamee said the scope of work for the hangar covers a complete replacement of the existing flat-roof systems with a new two-ply modified bitumen roof system.
But overall, a lot of work is getting completed to both buildings.
“Miscellaneous repairs are being formed on the metal roof sections, including resealing open head lap joints, valley joints, and ridge cap joints,” McNamee said. “Gutter and downspout joints are also being resealed for proper function.”
The buildings were also getting a new lightning protection system replacement and new fixed ladders between roof sections.
— Fort McCoy’s new Installation Safety Manager Edson De Leon began his duties in July 2023 and hasn’t looked back, states an August 2023 article.
De Leon arrived at Fort McCoy from Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg), N.C., where he had served in several safety-related positions. They included with the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (XVIII [18th] Airborne Corps) from April 2009 to March 2014; 20th Engineer Brigade Safety (XVIII Airborne Corps) from April 2014 to October 2015; and 406th Army Field Support Brigade safety manager from November 2015 to June 2023.
De Leon is also a retired Army infantry sergeant major, serving from 1989 to 2009. He said he has served in airborne infantry, the Jungle Operations Training Center at Fort Sherman in Panama, with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea; and he’s a graduate of Class 57 of the Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Like his predecessor, De Leon said his military experience does contribute to his philosophy about safety.
“The military has inherent risks in their operations,” De Leon said. “At home station, paratroopers will conduct night airborne operations in combat equipment where brigade-size elements will parachute into unfamiliar drop zones spotted with heavy drop equipment, such as Humvees, M109 Howitzers, fuel blivits, equipment bundles, and more. The M109 Howitzers will de-rigger and fire live rounds right from the drop zone.”
— World War II, U.S. Army, and Fort McCoy veteran Lt. Col. (Ret.) Harry Baker received some very special visitors on August 8, 2023, at his home in Pewaukee, Wis.
Baker and his son, Scott welcomed Maj. Gen. Matthew Baker (no relation), commander of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 88th Readiness Division, Maj. Gen. Ernest Litynski, commander of the 76th Operational Response Command, 88th RD Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Betty, and Sgt. Maj. Diana Anzaldua from the 76th ORC. The senior leaders were visiting on behalf of the United States Army Reserve to wish Baker an early happy 103rd birthday, which will be on Oct. 9.
However, the visitors would be quick to note that Harry Baker was the main attraction and the special guest they traveled to meet.
SEPTEMBER
— Five Soldiers from across the United States competed at Fort McCoy in the inaugural First Army Observer Coach/Trainer (OC/T) competition IN September 2023 at Fort McCoy.
“I’m very proud of our Soldiers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Prosser, senior enlisted Soldier, First Army. “They came out here and they’ve been giving it their all.”
After five days of physical and mental challenges, Capt. Zachary Holder, 177th Infantry Brigade, was named the top OC/T in First Army.
“This is one of the best and biggest achievements in my life,” said Holder. He went on to say he will use this win to advocate for his Soldiers and other leaders to participate in the next competition and train them to follow in his footsteps.
First Army’s OC/Ts are Soldiers who partner with National Guard and Reserve units during various training events, assisting in training them in their deployment tasks. To this end, their duties include conducting practical exercises, after action reviews, and gathering lessons learned during training.
This competition tested each Soldier in a variety of tasks including land navigation, Army Combat Fitness Test, weapons qualification, confidence course, hand grenade qualification, and a 12-mile march.
— More than 100 members of the Fort McCoy military community made their way to the South Post Community Center in the South Post Housing Area to enjoy Military Appreciation Night on Sept. 15 at Fort McCoy.
The event was hosted by the Sparta Chamber of Commerce, Tomah Chamber of Commerce, and businesses for military troops whose duty station is Fort McCoy and is held the third Thursday of September.
Troops and their family members were served a meal of barbecue and chicken salad sandwiches, beverages, chips, cookies, and related sides. Door prizes also were handed out to several participants.
The event also saw community members spending time enjoying games and camaraderie. At one point, Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger was engaged in a tough game of Jenga, and other games were also in play.
Messenger thanked the Sparta and Tomah chambers of commerce and others for holding the event.
“I met a lot of people here a year ago, and it’s where I found a lot of great relationships when I was new,” Messenger said. “So, if you’re new, make sure you’re meeting new people and saying hi. But moreover, this is the event where I found out how great a community, we live in.
“Between the businesses and corporations that come together and the chambers of commerce in Sparta and Tomah and the military families and community here (at McCoy), this has been (my) best place to live of our 15 locations in 23 years,” Messenger said. “It’s because of the people.”
— More than 300 military retirees and family members visited Fort McCoy on Sept. 8, 2023, for the 2023 Retiree Appreciation Day (RAD) at the installation.
The event was centered around building 2472 for a second straight year and was held from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Fort McCoy Retirement Services Officer Brent Johnson with the Directorate of Human Resources called the event a success even though the attendance was slightly lower than 2022.
“I received really good feedback from some of the people who attended again after last year,” Johnson said. “They said it was a little more jam-packed with some of the information they were hoping to get.”
Some of that information was updated information about TriCare healthcare and Social Security, Johnson said.
A new feature to this year’s event was starting the off everything with a prayer breakfast, which was organized by Fort McCoy Garrison Chaplain (Lt. Col). Amy Noble and the Fort McCoy Religious Support Office and others.
“That was a welcomed by many of the attendees,” Johnson said. “There’s a good chance we will do that again.”
— he Fort McCoy Commissary a “Hometown Heroes” sidewalk sale Sept. 8, 2023, while the installation was holding the 2023 Fort McCoy Retiree Appreciation Day (RAD) for hundreds of military retirees.
The sale included deals on snacks, beverages, baking goods, paper products, canned goods, cleaning products, and more, according to a sign for the sale at the store. The sale was a typical effort taken by the Fort McCoy Commissary to support the RAD like it has in past years.
More than 300 miltary retirees and family members attended the 2023 RAD at Fort McCoy, and many of those attendees also likely visited the sale at the commissary.
— Fort McCoy held its 2023 Retiree Appreciation Day (RAD) on Sept. 8, 2023, and as part of the day’s festivities the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area was opened to the hundreds of RAD attendees to also see more about Fort McCoy’s and the Army’s history.
The area was open from noon to 4 p.m. and nearly a hundred of the RAD attendees visited the area’s many attractions, said Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Tonya Townsell.
The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts that make up the Commemorative Area. Many of the visitors would first take a walk around the Fort McCoy History Center.
— Hundreds of Soldiers, veterans, workforce members, family members, Wisconsin Challenge Academy cadets, and others lined up in the dark, early morning hours to pay honor to the victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the United States as they participated in the Fort McCoy 9/11 Memorial Run and Stair Climb.
The 3-mile run/2-mile walk started and ended in the parking lot of one of the new four-story barracks at Fort McCoy — the tallest buildings on post. The stair climb, which also was meant to resemble the firefighters climbing the stairs of the World Trade Center, also took place inside the barracks building.
Chaplain (Maj.) Carlos Ruiz with the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade gave an opening prayer to start the event after having a moment of silence to remember the victims of the violence from 22 years earlier.
“Lord, we give you thanks for this, this morning,” Ruiz said. “This wonderful day … this group that has gathered here today. You have seen the end from the beginning. … Lord, we pause, and we remember this morning … for those who gave their lives … for those God whose lives were taken from us, for those who have sacrificed ever since Lord. And so, I pray as we gather this morning that you will honor the honor them, honor their memories. But also, that you will allow us to leave this place. Lord knowing that we remember and that we will never forget. Be with us every single moment. Be with us with every single thought. And I pray that you will continue to place your grace and your mercy on this great nation.”
Lined up in front of the chaplain were many members of the 1304th Military Police Company of Arlington Heights, Ill. The MPs were at Fort McCoy for annual training but also were major participants in the event.
— Staff of the Fort McCoy Commissary were presented with a plaque on Sep. 21, 2023, in recognition of their outstanding efforts supporting the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program.
The Fort McCoy SHARP Team joined together to express their gratitude for the Fort McCoy Commissary’s ongoing advocacy.
“In recognition of outstanding support and donations the past two years to the Fort McCoy SHARP Team during the month of April for Sexual Assault Awareness Prevention Month (SAAPM),” said Michael Bowman, sexual assault response coordinator, 88th Readiness Division, while presenting the plaque to Kimberly Graham, interim commissary manager.
The Fort McCoy Commissary highlighted events during the month of April, displaying the Clothesline Project and acting as a donation site.
Donations in the past two years have been equivalent to $20 worth of items that go to sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.
— Fort McCoy held its annual observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 19, 2023, at McCoy’s Community Center with a special event led by a guest speaker who’s a Milwaukee-native.
The guest speaker for the event was Vickie Sanchez, director of Multicultural Student Services at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Sanchez shared many personal experiences in her presentation.
Sanchez’s presentation was about culture, which also reflects the 2023 Department of Defense theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month — “Todos Somos, Somos Uno.”
“Todos Somos, Somos Uno” translates to “we are all, we are one.” Jennifer Lasko, human resources specialist and diversity, equity, Inclusion and accessibility advisor at the Bureau of Fiscal Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury came up with the 2023 theme.
“I thought of this theme in retrospect to how we in the Hispanic community represent so many different things (many cultures, many skin colors, many points of views) and yet we are together as one — one community, one people, one vision,” Lasko said in a presentation by the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
Sanchez’s presentation encouraged others to view this cultural diversity through more than a surface-level glance. Explaining that perception and experience give two views to the same thing. Tamales being one of the examples of a cultural moment that is more than meets the eye. It’s not just about the meal but making it and who you share those moments with.
— Aircrews with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment operated UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters Sept. 14, 2023, at Fort McCoy for a training operation at the installation.
Members of the unit regularly complete training operations at Fort McCoy and the unit also supports numerous training events at the installation each year. According to the Army fact sheet for the Black Hawk, its mission is to provide air assault, general support, aeromedical evacuation, command and control, and special operations support to combat, stability, and support operations.
— The regular archery/crossbow archery season began at Fort McCoy on Sept. 16, 2023, at the same time as the opening of the Wisconsin archery season.
The regular archery early season will go from Sept. 16 and run through Nov. 16. Late season will run from Nov. 27 and run through Jan. 31, 2024, said Wildlife Biologist Kevin Luepke with the Natural Resources Branch (NRB) of the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division in September.
— More than a dozen members of the Sparta, Wis., Honorary Citizens Group visited the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area on Sept. 22, 2023, to learn more about the installation's history and heritage.
The group’s visit to the installation was part of ongoing Army community relations efforts between Fort McCoy and communities within Monroe County and other areas outside of Fort McCoy, said Fort McCoy Public Affairs Officer Tonya Townsell.
The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts that make up the Commemorative Area. Many of the visitors from the group stopped at the Fort McCoy History Center.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office through the archives of The Real McCoy newspaper with support from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and Army Reserve and Army National Guard personnel.)
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.19.2024 16:42 |
| Story ID: | 462120 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 705 |
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