Photo By Scott Sturkol | Training operations are shown at Fort McCoy, Wis., on June 5, 2024. During June 2024,...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy completed another busy year supporting troop training with 73,991 troops training at the installation in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
The FY 2024 number is less than the 86,090 troops who trained on post during FY 2023 and the 77,411 troops who trained at the installation in FY 2022. The lower total for FY 2024 is largely due in part to units not completing their annual training at Fort McCoy because of other Army commitments, said Larry Sharp, chief of the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) Training Coordination Branch,
“Numbers from FY 24 dropped due reduced training attendance of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) and 33rd IBCT for both annual training and battle assembly training,” Sharp said. “Many 33rd IBCT units are currently deployed, and 32nd IBCT Soldiers attended a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation.”
Sharp said the training numbers include Army Reserve Soldiers; National Guard service members; and active-duty troops from not just the Army but also other services, such as the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
Training statistics also reflect many types of training opportunities that take place at the installation by active- and reserve-component forces and other governmental agencies, according to DPTMS.
During fiscal year 2023, training included battle-assembly (weekend) training; annual training; mobilization; institutional training; and numerous exercises, including a Warrior Exercise, Combat Support Training Exercise, Global Medic, Spartan Warrior military police exercise, Mobilization Support Force — Exercise 24, and numerous other training events.
Sharp said the training numbers were split as 30,573 troop completing annual training, and 43,418 troops completing battle assembly training.
“The exercises are counted as annual training, and institutional training is all mixed in as well,” Sharp said.
Training in FY 2024 started immediately. Soldiers with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 724th Engineer Battalion, headquartered in Chippewa Falls, Wis., completed weapons training Oct. 13, 2023, on two ranges on North Post at Fort McCoy. The unit completed a weekend training for weapons training and other training.
Also in October 2023, 20 students in the Unit Movement Officer Deployment Planning Course learned about all aspects of transporting military equipment, vehicles, goods, and more during 10 days of training, said Chief Warrant Officer 1 Eric Frank, a course instructor.
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 in a previous news article about the course. “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.”
In November 2023, more battle assembly/weekend training was taking place across the installation. On Nov. 9, 2023, a large contingent of hundreds of Army Reserve Soldiers with several units set up an “austere” training location on North Post near Pine View Campground.
Also in November, aircrews with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment operated UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in mid-November to support several training operations at Fort McCoy. Members of the unit regularly complete training operations at Fort McCoy and the unit would go through the rest of the fiscal year doing many trips to the post for training.
Institutional training at Regional Training Site (RTS)-Maintenance, RTS-Medical, the Fort McCoy NCO Academy, and the Wisconsin Challenge Academy also continued through November and into December 2023. In early December, another Challenge Academy class graduated. They were part of Class 51 at the academy.
The Challenge Academy, a Fort McCoy tenant organization, offers youth the opportunity to change the direction of their lives and develop the strength of character and life skills necessary to become successful, responsible citizens. The program begins with a 5 1/2-month residential phase, followed by a one-year, post-residential phase.
According to its website, https://challengeacademy.org, the academy was founded in 1988.
“The Wisconsin Challenge Academy is an alternative education program designed to reclaim the lives of at-risk youth and produce graduates with the values, skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as adults,” the website states. “The academy is part of the (Wisconsin) National Guard Youth Challenge Program, a community-based program that leads, trains, and mentors 16–18-year-olds so that they may become productive citizens in America’s future.”
In January, some Fort McCoy Soldiers took some time to complete some winter training. During mid-January, Fort McCoy was hit with nearly a foot and a half of snow followed by sub-zero temperatures. That weather prompted many Soldiers at the installation to go out and get some winter training completed, including Soldiers assigned to U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy.
Nearly a dozen Soldiers with the garrison took the whole day Jan. 19 to practice a host of skills related to Army cold-weather operations. First Sgt. Jacob Pattison with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy, said the day was filled with all things cold-weather.
“We conducted familiarization training on the Extended Cold Weather Clothing System or Extended Climate Warfighter Clothing System (ECWCS), depending on what regulation you are referencing), in the morning which enabled us to better understand what layers of the system should be worn for different weather and activities,” Pattison said. “In the afternoon, we did a practical exercise at Whitetail (Ridge Ski Area) with an ahkio sled and snowshoes using the recommended layers of the ECWCS for the current weather conditions.”
Students with the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy Basic Leader Course also learned about land navigation Jan. 29 at the Fort McCoy Virtual Battle Space simulations facility. The students spent a day training at the facility as part of course instruction, said Basic Leader Course Instructor Staff Sgt. Sabrina Magness.
“Our students (were) receiving their block of instruction and some hands-on time for the land-navigation portion of our course,” Magness said. “Currently at Fort McCoy, we're not able to put students out on the (outdoor) course … in the field. So, this is the next best thing. They’re still getting a lot of hands-on training, map reading, plotting points, and they’re using their avatar to navigate to these points.”
The training is called “Virtual Battle Space for Map Reading and Land Navigation,” and is one of the newest additions to the course, Magness said. According to Fort McCoy DPTMS’ concept of operations for the tactical land-navigation training the academy students underwent, the mission for the training is designed for four squads of six Soldiers. Each squad is briefed to conduct dismounted land-nav following designated points.
“Upon reaching the second point, squads will find a vehicle with which to conduct movement to their third point,” the training document states. “Upon reaching the third point, A/B squad will link up into a section, C/D squad likewise.” And then the students continue with a specific scenario.
Sgt. David Smith, an Army Reserve Soldier who was in the BLC who attended land-navigation training, said all of the training has helped him become a better Soldier.
“Being in this course, I’ve learned to become a better leader, become a better listener, and also just become a better team worker as it pertains to leadership in my unit and also in small group units as well.”
Smith also said the BLC is a crucial step to becoming a stronger Army NCO, as well.
“Being a part of this class is very crucial — not just to being a Soldier, but as an individual as well. I’ve definitely (added) attributes that I can take back to my unit to become more lethal as the Army wants us to become and be able to do the things that’s required of (NCOs).”
Also from the Fort McCoy NCO Academy, the first class of Soldiers in calendar year 2024 at the academy’s Battle Staff NCO Course held their course finale’s combined arms rehearsal Jan. 31 at the academy at Fort McCoy.
The future enlisted leaders of the Army Reserve, National Guard, and active-component units who were in the course combined their experience from the course to hold the rehearsal.
“(This) is the culminating event for the … course,” said Master Sgt. David Shimota, course director for the Battle Staff NCO Course. “It synchronizes what the students have been doing over the last 22 days here at Fort McCoy. … One of the one of the main points of having the combined arms rehearsal is to synchronize each battalion, so that way then the brigade can understand exactly what’s going on. It also gives the picture to the other battalions on what’s going on across the entire battle space.”
As part of the rehearsal, two special guests were also present from the 3rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 340th Infantry Regiment (3-340th), 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade. This included 3-340th Commander Lt. Col. Brian Corbin, and the unit’s senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Zwolinski.
“Having the command teams from installation come over and kind of cycle through gives a different perspective for students,” Shimota said. “(It provides) how it looks from an outsider's perspective, and what a battalion commander … would be looking for.
“Having that partnership with other units here on Fort McCoy is very important for the Battle Staff Course,” Shimota said.
In March, the Fort McCoy RTS-Maintenance facility was holding another session of the 91L10 Construction Equipment Repairer Course. Among the thousands of students the Fort McCoy Regional Training Site (RTS)-Maintenance facility trains every year, many are Soldiers training to the 91L military occupational specialty of construction equipment repairer.
By description by the Army at goarmy.com, a construction equipment repairer has a significant role in Army operations.
“As a construction equipment repairer, you'll keep the Army’s engineer equipment safe and operational by repairing and maintaining trucks, bulldozers, power shovels, and other heavy equipment that is needed for construction,” the description states. “You’ll replace and perform tune-ups on brakes, motors, engines, drive pumps, water pumps, transmissions, and high-pressure hydraulic systems.”
At RTS-Maintenance at Fort McCoy, the 91L10 Construction Equipment Repairer Course trains both active- and reserve-component Soldiers into the career field in two phases, said Master Sgt. William Parker, chief instructor for RTS-Maintenance.
The course has two phases of training, Parker said. Phase one of training is 120 hours and consists of 40 hours of shop operations, 40 hours of basic electrical systems training, and 40 hours of hydraulic systems training. Phase two training is 179 hours and consists of 80 hours of diesel systems training, 40 hours of power train systems training, 40 hours of brake systems training, and 19 hours of preventive maintenance checks and services training.
“This course is of huge importance to putting those trained Soldiers back into the field so they can support their units,” Parker said.
Spc. Evan Olson, who was a student in the 91L10 Construction Equipment Repairer Course from the 661st Engineer Company of the Illinois National Guard, said he gained valuable experience and more from the course.
“The training is really good here,” Olson said March 6. “It’s a really good class, and it’s very hands on, very informative, and a great experience. I’m learning a lot about different construction equipment and engines and hydraulic systems.”
In April, Fort McCoy saw an uptick in weekend training with many units coming to the post to complete weapons training, and more. Weekend training operations increased significantly during the first half of April, officials with the Fort McCoy DPTMS said.
Most of the units and thousands of Soldiers completing the training on the installation were from Army Reserve and Army National Guard units, officials said.
“April is probably going to be one of the busiest months we have for training this year,” said Interim Director of DPTMS James Sprackling. Sprackling also mentioned the second weekend of April likely being the busiest.
“This (could) be the busiest weekend all year for our ranges,” Sprackling said in April. “April is always busy as units complete crew certifications and individual and crew-served weapons qualifications in preparation for annual training.”
Many Soldiers with the Wisconsin National Guard, including the 120th Field Artillery, completed training at Fort McCoy in early-to-mid-April. Overall, during April, DPTMS officials said thousands of troops trained at Fort McCoy to continue to build on the training numbers for FY 2024.
In May, the Air Force showed up. Air Force pilots guided A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft over the airspace on North Post at Fort McCoy, Wis., on May 6 as part of training operations at installation. Several A-10s completed training runs while flying routes over the installation over the course of several days at the installation, DPTMS officials said.
According to the Air Force fact sheet for the A-10C, the Thunderbolt II is the first Air Force aircraft specially designed for close air support of ground forces. They are simple, effective and survivable twin-engine jet aircraft that can be used against light maritime attack aircraft and all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles.
The A-10C offers excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude while maintaining a highly accurate weapons-delivery platform. They can loiter near battle areas for extended periods of time, are capable of austere landings and operate under 1,000-foot ceilings (303.3 meters) with 1.5-mile (2.4 kilometers) visibility.
In mid-May, the 238th Quartermaster (Field Feeding) Company competed in the 2024 Philip A. Connelly Competition in the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort McCoy. The unit, comprised of 92G (culinary specialist) Soldiers, held their competition under the eyes of Army Reserve evaluators at Logistical Staging Area (LSA)-Freedom on May 14-15. The 238th is newer concept field feeding unit in the Army Reserve, said Sgt. Zachary Smalley, the unit’s competition noncommissioned officer in charge. And in this competition, it’s about feeding troops in the field.
“When it comes to this competition, we’re judging the troops on how to jump in a combat situation and feed their troops without having extra assistance from others,” Smalley said. “It’s supposed to be like a mobile site feeding situation. … They judge to see if we can do a speedy set up in a field situation, and then we should be able to (feed) our Soldiers and then pack back up and continue the mission.”
In June, work on troop projects on post started to heat up. 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.
Also in June, Soldiers with the 106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry) were having a blast June 8-9 at Fort McCoy when they coordinated a pair of quarry demolitions at the installation to help take apart a sandstone hill that’s part of an ongoing troop project at the post.
The project leader was 1st Lt. Nicholas Bures, commander of the 106th. Ironically, Bures had previously worked on the same project in 2021 when he was the 4th Platoon leader with the 950th Engineer Company (Route Clearance). 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. Plus, it also serves as a borrow pit for sand for projects around the installation.
For the June 8-9 quarry demolition event by 106th, Bures said his troops prepared extensively for it and worked with installation officials to make sure it was conducted safely and correctly. Both blasts were at the top of a hill in the borrow pit area.
Four explosions took place — one borehole test blast to start on June 8, then a a grid blast on the afternoon of June 8, then two more grid blasts on June 9 at midday and late afternoon.
“It all went great,” Bures said. “We figure we blasted around 3,400 tons of sandstone from the hill. There’s definitely more up there but it was a great first step and proof of concept.”
In May and July, Fort McCoy’s rail operations support team steamed into action once again in late June and early July to support the sending off and then the return of more than 800 pieces of equipment and vehicles belonging to the Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd IBCT.
Fort McCoy first supported a rail movement in May to move the same 800-plus pieces of equipment on dozens of railcars, which made their way to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, La., for a rotation of training for the 32nd.
All along, Fort McCoy’s personnel has worked in step with unit movement coordinators for the 32nd, who have conducted the loading and off-loading of the equipment with the railcars, said Warrant Officer 1 Eric Frank with the Wisconsin National Guard who has coordinated the rail movements for the 32nd.
The last of the equipment was offloaded on July 9 on the second rail movement, Frank said. And overall, he said it was not only a historic rail movement for the Wisconsin National Guard but also well done.
“This was the largest rail movement with civilian linehaul the Wisconsin National Guard has ever done,” Frank said in May when the movement of the 800-plus pieces of equipment and vehicles started.
Frank noted how his team of Soldiers did meticulous planning for the entire operation.
“Putting each and every single piece of equipment on the railcar takes consideration of length, width, height, and all of the dimensions,” he said. “Certain rail cars can only handle certain pieces of equipment.”
Also in July, hundreds of Army Reserve Soldiers with a multitude of units descended on Fort McCoy in July to train in the 87th Training Division’s Warrior Exercise (WAREX) 87-24-02, said Sharp.
The dates of the exercise were July 13-27, and it covered a wide variety of activities for units participating in the training. For example, at the 87th Training Division’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/87thTrainingDivision, a post from July 16 where Soldiers in WAREX were completing M249 shooting at a Fort McCoy live-fire range, division officials gave an idea of what the exercise was about.
“Part of the WAREX is validating Soldier warfighting capabilities in both individual and collective common Warrior tasks,” the 87th’s post stated.
Similarly, on July 18, Soldiers with the 1006th Quartermaster Company familiarized themselves with the M2 .50-cal weapon system under the guidance of Task Force Stormbreaker’s Sgt. 1st Class Daryll Slimmer and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Lott before heading out for qualifications. Again, more Soldiers building their warfighting capabilities.
In late-July, a C-130 Hercules with the Air Force Reserve’s 934th Airlift Wing out of Minneapolis completed an airdrop over Badger Drop Zone on South Post on July 30.
The 934th has aircrews completing airdrop training at Fort McCoy regularly as it offers many spaces to complete the training, plus also has Young Air Assault Strip where C-130s also can land and take off.
In August, more than 6,000 service members descended upon Fort McCoy at the beginning of August 2024 to train and build their Soldier skills in the 86th Training Division’s Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) 86-24-02 from Aug. 3-17 at Fort McCoy.
The 86th Training Division, a tenant organization at Fort McCoy, conducts a CSTX annually at the installation.
In a video about CSTX 86-24-02 by Staff Sgt. Samuel Conrad with the 326th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment at https://www.dvidshub.net/video/934058/86th-training-division-conducts-cstx-24-02, Col. David Nash, deputy commander of the 86th Training Division, discussed how the exercise is unique.
“A Combat Support Training Exercise, or CSTX, is the Army Reserve’s last fully evaluated — externally evaluated — collective training exercise. It is to validate that units are ready to go into their available year into a (Forces Command) ready pool of units that could be picked to deploy worldwide. The CSTX is the Army Reserve’s equivalent of a combat training center (CTC).
“A lot of these units don’t get the opportunity to go to a CTC because the CTC is built for really that brigade combat team forward and … maybe a division construct. At echelon, in the size that these units are, they really need a different exercise design to get after all of their individual trading objectives at the same time, forcing them to work together across organizations to develop the relationships to get after how integrated sustainment, the casualty evacuation, and replacement process works.”
By September, training more focused back on institutional training and battle assembly training. For example, Students and staff with the 89B Ammunition Supply Course (ASC) of RTS-Maintenance conducted sling-load training with a CH-47 Chinook crew at Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport on Sept. 26.
The ASC, taught by RTS-Maintenance staff with the 94th Training Division at Fort McCoy, is a four-week course that provides training for Soldiers who are reclassifying to the 89B military occupational specialty, said course manager Staff Sgt. Christopher Nieves. The sling-load training is one of the last major training events during the course.
“We teach all of our students here how to perform sling-load operations,” Nieves said. “We’ll go over the basics, including about some of the types of aircraft that the Army utilizes to perform this operation, the different types of operations where its needed, and the different equipment that we use to do sling loads.
“We also teach them hand signals to use during sling loads because obviously, if you can’t communicate … it’s not gonna happen,” Nieves said.
DPTMS officials project similar training numbers or higher at the installation in fiscal year 2024.
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: | 10.22.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.22.2024 01:35 |
| Story ID: | 483627 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 2,130 |
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