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This Month in Fort McCoy History — March 2024

Courtesy Photo | This is a news clipping from the March 11, 1944, edition of The Real McCoy newspaper...... read more read more

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

03.19.2024

Courtesy Story

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office

Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from March 2024 and back.

80 Years Ago — March 1944
FROM THE MARCH 11, 1944, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Upper Michigan puts out welcome mat for division; hospitable folk help conquer cold north — Communities in the Upper Michigan area where 76th Infantry Division troops are undergoing winter training have put out the welcome mat to the “invading” troopers and have been high in their praises of the men from Camp McCoy.

The Upper Peninsula inhabitants have also been lauded for their hospitality by visiting Soldiers. Maj. Gen. William R. Schmidt, division commander, has personally thanked many of the communities for their helpfulness.

Movies, dances, reading, radio and writing facilities, refreshments and recreational opportunities have been at the disposal of the division personnel.

Theaters in Ironwood, Iron River, Ontonagon, Watersmeet, and Mass, all Upper Michigan cities, have shown first run flickers. The division orchestras have been performing at dances Saturday nights at Ironwood, Iron River, Ontonagon, Watersmeet, Iron Mountain, Stambaugh, Land O’Lakes, and Crystal Falls.

A full schedule of events has kept division men busy on weekends. Sports contests, shows by division men, and various other competitions have helped the men conquer the cold north country.

FROM THE MARCH 11, 1944, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: 655th technical training progresses at full speed — Technical training in the 655th Engineer Topographical Battalion continued at full speed … as the enlisted men grapple with mathematical problems, studies in operations and aerial photography, basic drafting, lettering, and conventional signs and photomapping.

In H & S Company, the training is under the supervision of Lt. Moore and Master Sgt. Mahinske. Tech. Sgt. Nogushi is conducting classes in mathematics, assisted by T-3 Albright. Tech. Sgt. Siegel is in charge of operations and aerial photography.

Classes in basic drafting, lettering, and conventional signs are being held in Company A. Staff Sgt. Bloch and T-5 Burley are in charge.
Photomapping training is supervised by Master Sgt. Lecklider. Company B men are being trained in all branches of lithographic reproduction.

FROM THE MARCH 25, 1944, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Laundry worker cherishes missing son’s Purple Heart — A Purple Heart medal — a memory of her son missing in action — is the possession of Mrs. Eva Weatherford, civilian employee in the post laundry.

Although there has been nothing but silence since Staff Sgt. Roy L. Weatherford disappeared last July 25 when his Flying Fortress was shot down over Germany, Mrs. Weatherford still holds out hope for her son.

The reason for her hope is that eight of the 10-man bomber crew has been accounted for, either killed or prisoners in German prison camps. But there has been no word from the other two, including Sergeant Weatherford.

Mrs. Weatherford received the Purple Heart medal three weeks ago. The name of her son, tail gunner on the shot down bomber, is engraved on the back the decoration. She also has two large Purple Heart certificates, one from the War Department and the other from the Army Air Forces.

One month to the day before Sgt. Weatherford was reported missing, he received three head wounds during an air battle when his Fort was returning from a bombing mission. The plane had more than 300 bullet holes through it. Two engines were almost shot away. He was hospitalized only a few days, but his next mission wasn’t until exactly a month from the nearly fatal one — and the plane was lost.

The Fortress, pounced on by Nazi fighters after it had been damaged and fallen out of formation, crashed 60 miles northwest of Hamburg.

30 Years Ago — March 1994
FROM THE MARCH 12, 1994, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: New TISA facility dedicated (By Hugh Williams) — Ribbon-cutting ceremonies to dedicate Fort McCoy's new Troop Issue Subsistence Activity (TISA) were held March 5.

Joe Helsing, deputy director of the Directorate of Logistics (DOL), presided over the ceremonies, which included remarks from Installation Commander Col. Scott Hyatt, and Mitchell Hartson, director of Operations of the Quartermaster Center and School (formerly the Troop Support
Agency), Fort Lee, Va.

Hyatt told the approximately 200 people assembled for the ceremony that the new TISA is another example of how Fort McCoy is growing to meet future needs.

“This facility will greatly improve customer service by providing one-stop shopping for those it serves,” he said. “It is a great addition to the Fort McCoy community.”

Hartson complimented Fort McCoy on the facility, saying it bodes well for the future of the installation. “New construction, such as this, represents a commitment to the future on the part of the Army,” he said. “This is one of the best TISA facilities in the Army, and I am very pleased to have the opportunity to participate in its dedication.”

Following the ceremony refreshments were served, and those attending were free to tour the new $3.9 million facility.

The 44,000-square-foot building is located near the corner of East K Street and East 14th Avenue. It replaces five existing post buildings. DOL TISA Officer Ed Pedersen said the new facility includes a variety of state-of-the-art equipment, including temperature and humidity control equipment for proper food storage, an automatic fire-and security-alarm system, and automated unloading dock doors.

In addition to nearly tripling the cubic foot storage space available in the five buildings being replaced, Pedersen said the new facility will cut by one-third the amount of time necessary to issue materials to customers. “It’s a great facility,” he said.

20 Years Ago — March 2004
FROM THE MARCH 26, 2004, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Post marks 1-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom (By Public Affairs Staff) — The process to mobilize and deploy Soldiers to support a number of missions from Fort McCoy is constantly evolving, as seen in the changes in Fort McCoy mobilization training since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) one year ago, said Col. Barbara Davidson.

Davidson talked to media representatives during a news conference held March 19 at Fort McCoy to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of OIF. Davidson, who commands the 6015th Garrison Support Unit of Forest Park, Ill., was activated in January 2003. The 6015th, which has detachments at Fort McCoy and Hurley, Wis., has personnel activated who are serving at Fort McCoy to support the installation’s mobilization mission.

Davidson currently serves as the installation’s deputy commander for mobilization and reports to Installation Commander Col. Danny G. Nobles. As of March 19, about 1,000 Soldiers were at Fort McCoy undergoing mobilization or demobilization processing, Davidson said. The number changes daily.

As one of the Army’s 15 power-projection platforms, Fort McCoy has processed more than 20,000 Soldiers since Sept. 11, 2001, to support various military operations around the world. Those Soldiers have supported Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom and Desert Spring, among other deployments, in addition to Operation Iraqi Freedom, she said. About 5,000 of the mobilized Soldiers who came through Fort McCoy are supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“Most of the troops (currently) supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom (in country) are coming home in the next month or so, and some will be demobilized here and be replaced by troops that mobilized through here,” Davidson said. “The troops spend a year with ‘boots on the ground.’”

The mobilization training process at Fort McCoy has changed dramatically since Soldiers were first mobilized for OIF, Davidson said. These first Soldiers didn’t know what to expect, except that they were being activated for up to two years to support the mission.

Now, Soldiers being activated, mobilized and deployed know about the lessons learned and may be in contact with the units in theater, which was not available to the first units being mobilized, Davidson said.

Fort McCoy has offered a number of new training opportunities based on lessons learned, such as convoy operations and checkpoint training. Civilian role players help create a realistic environment to help train troops for conditions in country. The addition of a Central Issue Facility helps ensure mobilizing units, which can range from several personnel to hundreds of personnel, have the proper clothing and personal equipment prior to deployment, Davidson said.

All mobilized units must accomplish standard training requirements, such as qualifying with individual and crew-served weapons, and doing the necessary common task training, such as nuclear, biological and chemical training, she said. The installation also has an important role when troops return from their deployments. Once the installation gets the call that troops are returning, the staff works on getting the troops through Fort McCoy as quickly as possible and back to civilian life, Davidson said.

The troops are debriefed, including counseling, which is available in theater, and also is available as they go through the demobilization process at Fort McCoy. The installation stands ready to support future mobilizations or additional troop rotations, Davidson said.

Davidson said the Soldiers supporting the mobilization mission at Fort McCoy, who currently number about 400 personnel, were like any other mobilized Soldiers when they received activation orders. It was stressful at first as they had to put their personal lives on hold.

“Life at Fort McCoy has been very good for us,” Davidson said. “It’s been very easy to do our mission here.”

“(6015th) personnel may have been stressed and homesick at first, but when you see people in desert BDUs (battle dress uniforms), they (the 6015th) know why they’re here,” she said. “In the 14 months we’ve been here, we have been actively involved in the community.

“Some personnel have moved their families here and are attending the churches and schools here,” she said. “This is a great community to live in.”

10 Years Ago — March 2014
FROM THE MARCH 28, 2014, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: RTS-Medical trains Soldiers on advanced cardiac life support skills (By Scott T. Sturkol) — Soldiers from Wisconsin and Illinois built on their skills during the Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course at the Regional Training Site (RTS)-Medical complex at Fort McCoy.

Students in the two-day course, which took place March 3-4, are those who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest and other cardiovascular emergencies. This includes people who work in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive-care and critical-care units.

“Our training customers include doctors, nurses and many military occupational specialties in the medical career fields,” said Mike Roth, ACLS instructor. “This is an American Heart Association (AHA)-approved course and is an excellent foundation for medical people to build their skills in cardiac care and response.”

According to the AHA, ACLS is an advanced, instructor-led classroom course that highlights the importance of team dynamics and communication, systems of care and immediate post-cardiac-arrest care.

“Our students, for example, learn about stroke recognition, signs of cardiac arrest, electrocardiogram recognition and what medications are important,” said Roth, who spent 21 years in the Army as a medic.

“Each class can be a maximum of 20 students, but we have also had smaller class sizes,” Roth said. “We remain flexible to support the training needs as required.”

Sgt. 1st Class Jance Cook, Bravo Company, 452nd Combat Support Hospital of Milwaukee, Wis., gave high marks for the training he received in the course.

“I’m very thankful for the availability of this class,” Cook said. “It’s a top-rate course that offers everything we need to know to be successful in understanding the type of care we have to do. You can see the level of knowledge with the instructors is very high. Also, we have all the
training tools we need here (at Fort McCoy) to be successful in this course.”

Another student, Pfc. John Jessie from the 472nd Chemical Battalion of Chicago, said he appreciated the experience Roth brought to teaching the course. “That made this course even better for me,” Jessie said. “You could see his level of experience was extensive. It helped me better understand some of the course material.”

Pfc. Richard Bass, also from the 472nd Chemical Battalion, added, “In this course, the information is broken down into pieces we can understand and remember. Its design is perfect for the medical learning environment.”

RTS-Medical offers one-stop training in its medical complex of buildings in the 10000-block area, according to Administrative/Executive Officer Gerry Meyer. This allows units to conduct all their training in the area, reduces travel time and minimizes distractions. The organization has been a tenant activity and training partner at Fort McCoy since 1991.

5 Years Ago — March 2019
FROM THE MARCH 22, 2019, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Fort McCoy DPW Natural Resources Branch earns USFWS award (By Public Affairs Staff) — The Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch was recently awarded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Military Conservation Partner Award.

“On behalf of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), I congratulate you on your selection as the recipient of our 15th annual Military Conservation Partnership Award,” wrote Assistant USFWS Director for Fish and Aquatic Conservation David Hoskins in a letter to Fort McCoy’s senior commander, 88th Readiness Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. Jody J. Daniels announcing the award.

“This award recognizes significant natural resource management achievements by military installations, particularly the conservation of important wildlife and their habitats through cooperative work with the (USFWS) and other partners.

“Fort McCoy is an outstanding example of the conservation contributions that military installations make across the nation,” the letter states.

New NRB Chief Tim Wilder, who was previously the endangered species biologist for Fort McCoy, said many efforts contributed to his team earning the award.

“This is a reflection of the team effort — the many partners it takes to be successful in managing the myriad of resources entrusted to our care,” Wilder said.

The team, Wilder said, includes everyone within the Natural Resources Branch including former NRB Chief Mark McCarty who recently retired; all of the employees working on the installation through Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands agreement who completed much of the on-the-ground work; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security personnel; volunteers; and USFWS and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) employees who either assisted with surveys or worked behind the scenes to ensure funding was secured for projects.

“We are very proud of the positive relationship we have with both the USFWS and WDNR,” Wilder said.

“The relationship has been built over many years and is based on trust. They trust us to do what we say we will do. It is always gratifying to be recognized for the work you do — especially when that recognition comes from one of the agencies responsible for overseeing that work.”

The USFWS recognized those Fort McCoy relationships as well.

“Your partnerships with the (USFWS) and the state of Wisconsin are protecting and restoring four federally and 33 state-listed species,” Hoskins’ letter states. “Aggressive habitat restoration and management activities on Fort McCoy are providing conservation benefits that reach beyond the installation fence line."

Fort McCoy completed 107 high-priority projects scheduled during the most recent annual conservation planning review, exceeding a 98 percent completion rate.

“Recently, your Natural Resources Branch partnered with the (USFWS) and WDNR to remove the failing West Silver Wetland Dam and completed over a half mile of stream habitat enhancement,” the letter states. “Fort McCoy has met recovery goals for Karner blue butterfly and, through partnerships with the (USFWS) and WDNR, is ensuring continued progress toward delisting.

“We are moved by your efforts to provide hunting and fishing opportunities for youth and disabled people,” the letter further states. “Because of your commitment, you are successfully conserving rare species and providing robust outdoor recreation programs to the public, all while achieving success in your military mission.”

In the awards submission letter, other efforts by NRB were also noted.

Some of those additional efforts include supporting research projects, such as:

• a grasshopper sparrow geo-locator study looking at determining migration routes and over-wintering locations.

• research looking at the fungal relationships between Pennsylvania sedge and surrounding vegetation.

• a snake fungal disease study.

• western slender glass lizard research aiming to understand chemical signaling and divergence among isolated populations.

• prairie fame flower DNA sequencing.

• research dealing with conspecific attraction as a management tool for endangered and at-risk species.

“The golden-winged warbler, a species currently undergoing a status review, was one of the target species of this research,” Wilder said.

FROM THE MARCH 22, 2019, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Army Rangers complete training in cold-weather ops course at Fort McCoy (By Scott T. Sturkol) — More than two dozen Army Rangers with battalions from the 75th Ranger Regiment bolstered their skills in cold-weather operations during training Feb. 21 to March 6 at Fort McCoy.

The Soldiers were part of the 14-day Cold-Weather Operations Course Class 19-05, which was organized by Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security and taught by five instructors with contractor Veterans Range Solutions.

The Rangers received classroom training on various subjects, such as preventing cold-weather injuries and the history of cold-weather military operations. In field training, they learned about downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ahkio sled use, and setting up cold-weather shelters, such as the Arctic 10-person cold-weather tent or an improvised shelter.

“Building a shelter among other Soldiers and being able to stay warm throughout the night was one of the best things I learned in this course,” said Sgt. Paul Drake with the 3rd Battalion of the 75th at Fort Benning, Ga. “This training also helped me understand extreme cold weather and how to conserve energy and effectively operate while wearing the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS) uniform properly.”

The Army ECWCS features more than a dozen items that are issued to Soldiers, said Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility Property Book Officer Thomas Lovgren. The system includes a lightweight undershirt and underwear, midweight shirt and underwear, fleece jacket, wind jacket, soft shell jacket and trousers, extreme cold/wet-weather jacket and trousers, and extreme cold-weather parka and trousers.

“It’s a layered system that allows for protection in a variety of climate elements and temperatures,” said Lovgren, whose facility has provided ECWCS items for Soldiers since the course started. “Each piece in the ECWCS fits and functions either alone or together as a system, which enables seamless integration with load-carrying equipment and body armor.”

In addition to many of the Rangers praising the course’s ECWCS training, many also praised the field training.

“Living out in the cold for seven days and sleeping in shelters makes me more competent to operate in less-than-optimal conditions,” said Sgt. Austin Strimenos with the 2nd Battalion of the 75th at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. “Other good training included becoming confident with using the Arctic tents and the heaters and stoves and learning about cold-weather injuries and treatments.

“Also, the cross-country skiing and the trail area we used were awesome,” Strimeros said.

During training, the students experienced significant snowfall and below-zero temperatures. Spc. Jose Francisco Garcia, also with the 2nd Battalion of the 75th, said the winter extremes, along with Fort McCoy’s rugged terrain, helped everyone build winter-operations skills.

“The best parts of this course are the uncomfortable setting that Fort McCoy confronts the Soldiers with during this kind of weather,” Garcia said. “This makes us think critically and allows us to expand our thought process when planning for future cold-weather operations. It also helps us to understand movement planning, what rations we need, and more.”

Spc. Stephen Harbeck with the 1st Battalion of the 75th at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., which is near Fort Stewart, said enjoyed the training, including cold-water immersion training. Cold-water immersion training is where a large hole is cut in the ice at the post’s Big Sandy Lake by CWOC staff, then a safe and planned regimen is followed to allow each participant to jump into the icy water.

“The experience of a service member being introduced to water in an extreme-cold environment is a crucial task for waterborne operations and confidence building,” said CWOC instructor Joe Ernst.

“The best things about this course are the training about fire starting, shelter building, and the cold-water immersion,” Harbeck said. “CWOC has helped me understand the advantages and disadvantages of snow and cold weather. Everything we learned has equipped me with the knowledge to operate in a cold-weather environment.”

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.)