Photo By Christopher Jones | Canadian armed forces members visit the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area Aug. 16, 2024,...... read more read more
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On Aug. 16, more than a dozen Canadian armed forces members participating in the 2024 Global Medic exercise at Fort McCoy took the opportunity to visit the installation’s Commemorative Area.
Arriving in Wisconsin on Aug. 3, the soldiers decided to use their free time after field exercises to explore the historical site. Cpl. Noah Smith, a medic with the Canadian Armed Forces, was eager to see the Commemorative Area.
“I’ve always enjoyed military history,” Smith said. "When I drove by and saw all of the vehicles, immediately I knew that probably must be some kind of museum, so I wanted to stop in and check it out. We had a couple of free days after getting out of the actual field exercise, so we definitely made it a point to stop by and see it.”
Smith, who was visiting Wisconsin for the first time, was impressed by the site’s authenticity.
"It’s the first military museum I’ve been to where you actually have the original buildings intact and spread out to explore. You can kind of mimic the small base feel of it rather than ones I’ve been to like Canada’s National Military Museum in Ottawa. That one is pretty impressive, but it’s all under one roof and they don’t have all the original buildings from the time period to walk through. I think this definitely adds to the charm of the Fort McCoy Commemorative Area.”
Cpl. Jin with the 35th Field Ambulance, based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, also found the visit fascinating.
“I thought it would be an interesting way to spend our day taking a look at the history of Fort McCoy,” Jin said. “I was interested in learning about the history of this base and the history of the U.S. Army.”
Jin particularly enjoyed the historical newspapers, as they helped immerse him into the past.
“I saw a big book of newspapers, so I took a look at that and I put myself into the shoes of someone around that era reading the newspapers and seeing the world the way they would have seen it then.”
Both soldiers also appreciated the insights gained from cross-training in Fort McCoy’s Global Medic exercise with the U.S. Army during their visit.
“It gives us the opportunity to engage with our allies to compare and contrast our trainings,” Smith said. “All NATO member nations are supposed to be under the same sort of NATO standards when it comes to certain things, especially like the emergency medical practices that we do. So, it’s been cool to compare and contrast and see the nuances between how we do things and how the U.S. does things.”
Smith encouraged other Soldiers and veterans to visit the Commemorative Area when the chance arises.
“If you have the time, absolutely cut some time out of your schedule and come down to the Commemorative Area,” Smith expressed. “They’ve got some really cool vehicles. The buildings are awesome. You can tell that a lot of work went into it and it’s definitely something worth taking the time to appreciate.”
The Canadian soldiers’ visit helps highlight the importance of military collaboration and shared historical appreciation among allied forces.
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,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post 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: | 08.21.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2024 12:57 |
| Story ID: | 479134 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 203 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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