Photo By Scott Sturkol | Training operations are shown at Fort McCoy, Wis., on June 4, 2024. During June 2024,...... read more read more
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Training by thousands of troops at Fort McCoy in June 2024 has been steady with a wide variety of engineer units supporting troop projects as well as other types of training, including weekend training.
Engineer Soldiers with Wisconsin National Guard units supported major troop projects both on and off the the cantonment area. On the cantonment area, Soldiers with the 824th Engineer Detachment (Concrete) set up to work in early June on the cantonment area to replace a 100-foot section of sidewalk, and within days had the troop project completed.
Staff Sgt. Jesse Flores, construction supervisor for the project with the 824th, which is a Wisconsin National Guard unit based in Baraboo, said the first part of the project, and likely the most difficult, was dealing with muddy conditions following some recent steady rain.
“I know it had been raining quite a bit over the past month because I normally live in Sparta,” Flores said. “So, we knew we could encounter some of that with this project.”
Flores’ team dug out all of the 100 feet old sidewalk, put in new aggregate on the base, and set in forms to pour concrete for the new stretch of sidewalk.
“This portion of sidewalk … took about 8 yards of concrete,” Flores said. When all was said and done, Flores said the team had more than 20 hours of work into the project.
Near the cantonment area, the 106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry) coordinated a special demolition project to complete a quarry-like dynamite operation on a hill at the installation.
Soldiers with the 106th completed the demolition in blasts on June 8-9 and had to prepare the area with heavy equipment.
The work is part of a much larger troop project they're supporting that is turning the area into an operations support area in the future for contractors, and more, said Engineering Officer 1st Lt. Nicholas Bures, commander of the 106th. The 106th is one of six engineering units in the Army that is capable of completing quarry-like operations.
“Essentially what we did was drill 25 bore holes after our test blast,” Bures said about completing the two major blasts that included filling 25 bore holes twice with explosives.
And not too far outside the cantonment area, at Logistical Support Area (LSA) Liberty, formerly known as Forward Operating Base Liberty, Soldiers with the 229th Engineer Vertical Construction Company were busy working on an ongoing troop project to build office buildings at Liberty.
The troop project began in 2022 is now up to five buildings, and work on those buildings has continued with the 229th as they completed interior electrical and other carpentry work.
“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.”
Other training in June included the Air Force Bumbu Forge Exercise that was held mainly at nearby Volk Field, Wis., but also had many events completed on Fort McCoy. According to the website for the exercise, https://bumbuforge.com, “This exercise centers on combat communication and combat support units as defined in (Air Force Policy Directive 4-0). It offers a venue for expeditionary training, functional visits, and readiness exercises. It is designed for operating on tactical networks and transmission systems as they are used in real-world, high-pressure situations.”
Hundreds of Airmen and others trained at McCoy during Bumbu Forge scenarios on the installation.
Additionally, others were on post for weekend training for weapons qualifications, completion of Army Warrior tasks, and much more.
Larry Sharp, chief of the Training Coordination Branch with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, said the summer is only going to get busier with training.
“The Warrior Exercise starts July 13, and then we are really busy until mid-August,” Sharp said.
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.”
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2024 18:36 |
| Story ID: | 474327 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Hometown: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 327 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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