Photo By Scott Sturkol | Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 204th Army Band completed an equipment exchange and...... read more read more
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The Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility is one of several organizations on Fort McCoy that provides direct support to troops, and in fiscal year (FY) 2024 the facility had a “great year” supporting those troops, said the facility’s Property Book Officer Thomas Lovgren.
“This Central Issue Facility (CIF) is a newer one that was built … at a cost of approximately $9 million, and it’s 62,548 square feet,” Lovgren said. “We typically do about between $30 and $40 million worth of CIF transactions annually, which equates to about 400,000 to 500,000 pieces of equipment being issued out and turned in each year.”
For FY 2024, Lovgren said the CIF completed 19,212 transactions, which was $37.07 million worth of transactions.
“Through the work completed in this facility, we also had a transportation cost avoidance savings of $438,725,” Lovgren said.
The current Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility opened in September 2015 after months of construction, setup, and hard work, Lovgren said. In the years since the new CIF has been opened, tens of thousands of transactions have taken place there. He said customers have plenty of space to process through and receive equipment, and more.
“We have two waiting areas near the entry and exit areas and a streamlined setup that helps create a smooth flow for CIF operations,” he said. “Our facility makes the issuing process a nice experience for Soldiers as they visit here to receive their equipment, especially at busy times.”
Lovgren also stated that Reserve Soldiers make up approximately 98 percent of all CIF transactions.
“As a matter of fact, this CIF was built with Reserve funding,” Lovgren said.
He also said the Fort McCoy CIF is the only CIF that’s been given authorization and one that actually takes the time to issue organizational clothing and individual equipment (OCIE) directly to Reserve Soldiers.
“That means that a Reserve Soldier can come here for training … and if they want to do a turn in or an issue, they can schedule an appointment, come here (to the CIF), and get the OCIE issued to them.”
During FY 2024, Lovgren said the Fort McCoy CIF distributed 401,236 OCIE pieces to troops.
There also was 8,211 individual issues of equipment and items at the CIF in FY 2024 along with 3,458 individual turn-ins of equipment.
“We also completed 197 hand receipts for items,” Lovgren said.
Over the years, the Fort McCoy CIF has supported service members training in major exercises to others participating in cold-weather training where they received the Army Extreme Cold-Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS.
More than a dozen items make up the Army Extreme Cold-Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS, that are issued to Soldiers. 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,” Lovgren said. 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.
“We ordered additional cold weather gear for the cold-weather training that goes on around here,” Lovgren said. “You just can request it. We have the parkas, trousers, … mittens, and … certain types of items like that that units can go ahead and sign out for their winter training here.”
Lovgren said one of the keys to their success in addition to having all the necessary items available is also accessibility.
“We’re open seven days a week, which as you know includes Saturday and Sunday,” Lovgren said. “I believe we’re the only CIF around anywhere that’s open seven days a week. So, the Soldiers, they can come in, be properly sized, try the equipment on, make sure it fits, and know that we’ll be open.”
Another advantage of the Fort McCoy CIF is its location, Lovgren said. Fort McCoy is in a part of the country where many units converge for training on a regular basis, and because of that and the facility’s size it means more items can be stored at the Fort McCoy CIF instead of being transported to units across the country.
In March, numerous Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 204th Army Band of Fort Snelling, Minn., were at Fort McCoy to exchange and turn in thousands of dollars worth of equipment at the CIF. Master Sgt. Karsten Finseth, band detachment noncommissioned officer in charge, described her unit’s experience at the CIF.
“We experienced superb customer service with immediate attention to our needs, including several third-person turn-ins,” Finseth said. “The staff was ready to rock and processed us quickly. The facility was immaculate. The space to navigate the turn-in and issue process also lended to a seamless experience.
“During our two-hour visit, several thousand dollars of materiel was returned and issued efficiently,” Finseth said. “Many thanks to the team at CIF.”
When looking overall at transportation cost avoidance savings over the years, Lovgren said between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2024, the Fort McCoy CIF operations — especially since 2015 — allowed for a transportation cost avoidance savings of more than $5.5 million.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Andrew Nelson, commander for the 204th Army Band at Fort Snelling, Minn., also said he appreciated the CIF’s support when his unit completed their equipment issue and turn-in.
“The facility itself is thoughtfully laid out, and the staff were extremely organized and helpful in getting the event scheduled and completing transactions quickly while we were on ground,” Nelson said.
Lovgren said FY 2024 work by the facility staff proves yet again the importance of the facility to the troops who train at Fort McCoy.
“One of the selling points we like to say to units is … you can come to do you come to Fort McCoy for great training, great training ranges, and more,” Lovgren said. “You can also come to Fort McCoy to get your OCIE issued directly to you as a Soldier. You can use it for your training, and then take it back home with you, which you’ll maintain as long as you’re in the Army Reserve.”
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 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 483666 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 1,133 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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