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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When 2024 began, there was already a wide variety of training, new construction, and more going on. The installation had new construction projects finishing up and planned construction soon to start.
There was also lots of training that was planned, and the year itself would lend itself to historic anniversaries, like 50 years since the name change from Camp McCoy to Fort McCoy.
And as the year went on, the Fort McCoy team and workforce stepped up to get many, many things accomplished successfully. No matter what challenge arose, through every month, the installation team worked with others to get big projects, events, and more completed.
APRIL
— Soldiers from across the Red Arrow brigade came together for a final week of training at Fort McCoy, Wis. prior to their upcoming month-long rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center this summer.
The training varied across the needs of the battalions, including final weapons qualifications, dry- and live-fire exercises, a command post exercise (CPX), as well as loading gear to ship to Louisiana ahead of the units.
Lt. Col. Matthew Myers, executive officer of the 32nd IBCT, described this week of training as a way to simulate what the brigade will see at JRTC on a smaller scale in order to work out any final details and pinch points before taking part in the larger exercise.
“We needed to exercise these movements to test our systems and refresh those who have been in the brigade for a while,” reflected Myers. “At the same time, we were able to get our new Red Arrow Soldiers up to speed with how things run and what the expectations are.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Aaron Johnson, the senior enlisted leader of the 32nd IBCT, echoed a lot of those comments, emphasizing the importance of bringing the entire brigade together so that everyone is on the same page leading up to the training this summer.
“As a brigade, we were able to come away with a definition of what success looks like, and an understanding of what needs to be done before this summer to make sure that happens,” conveyed Johnson.
— Fort McCoy conducted its second Area Development Plan workshop in mid-April 2024 as part of the installation Real Property Master Plan update, said Fort McCoy Master Planner Brian Harrie.
Key stakeholders and leaders from various garrison and tenant organizations participated in the weeklong event. A similar workshop was also held in January.
The workshop focused on identifying projects across four different district areas for short-term (0-5 years), mid-term (6-15 years), and long-term (16+ years) timelines. The areas targeted for development were transient training, simulations, institutional training, and administrative, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Director Liane Haun said.
The primary goal of the Fort McCoy Master Plan and Area Development Plans update is to validate existing plans and revise the master planning framework for installation development through a long-range planning horizon of up to 25 years.
Robert Weisbrod, training support officer with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, highlighted the importance of the workshop in shaping the future of Fort McCoy.
— Fort McCoy held a special event April 15, 2024, in the chapel building 2672 to observe the 2024 Holocaust Days of Remembrance and Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Rabbi Brian Serle, the rabbi for the Congregation Sons of Abraham of La Crosse, Wis., served as the featured guest speaker and presenter for the event that was organized by the Fort McCoy Equal Opportunity Office.
According to the National Archives at www.archives.gov, International Holocaust Remembrance Day is an international memorial day designated by the United Nations to mark the anniversary of the January 27, 1945, liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau — the largest Nazi concentration and death camp.
The Days of Remembrance, according to https://nationaltoday.com/days-of-remembrance, is observed every year in April and May and is a week-long commemoration of the Holocaust. In 2024, it is observed from May 5-12, with Remembrance Day being May 6.
“The Days of Remembrance was established as the country’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust by the United States Congress,” the website states. “The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is responsible for leading the country in commemorating Days of Remembrance and also for encouraging these commemorations. The Holocaust was the state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi rulers, allies, and collaborators.”
— Derek Daly, chief executive officer of Tomah Health at Tomah, Wis., visited Fort McCoy on April 12, 2024, along with another representative from Tomah Health to learn more about the installation’s mission.
Daly’s visit was led by Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major.
The three-hour visit included several stops. Daly first went on a windshield tour of the installation to see current construction operations as well as training operations that were taking place.
The visit also took Daly to the Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC) to see how Fort McCoy holds medical training for service members. Luis Illescas, course coordinator with MSTC, said the center is always busy with training, such as combat-lifesaver or first-responder training.
— Red Arrow Soldiers from the 1-120th Field Artillery Battalion and 1-105th Cavalry Squadron were visited by a team of civilian researchers and Wisconsin National Guard surgeons on April 9, 2024, during their training at Fort McCoy, Wis., to discuss a study being planned to measure blast exposure and evaluate associated effects among Soldiers during routine training.
Dr. Walter Carr, research psychologist with Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Blast Induced Neurotrauma Branch, has conducted this type of research for several years, and explained that it is eye-opening when he talks about the possible effects of blast exposure in front of people who have responsibility for Soldiers and they frequently nod and say ‘yup, I’ve heard this and I’ve seen this before.’
“We’re out here today to see how everything works in the field during training and plan how we can bring our equipment and research personnel on site to gather the information without interfering with the mission,” elaborated Carr.
The idea of bringing this study to the 32nd IBCT came from a conversation two years ago between Maj. Gregory Miller, 1-105th HHT Squadron Surgeon, and Sgt. First Class Joseph Russett, Troop A 1-105th, who serves as an indirect fire infantryman.
Russett has served in the Wisconsin National Guard for 16 years, most of which he has been around mortar fire. “Maj. Miller asked me if I had any questions, and all I could think was ‘What can we do for myself and my friends 20 years from now? What is that going to look like?’” reflected Russett. “A lot of us have or will have issues that are likely related to our MOS (military occupational specialty), but it isn’t documented anywhere.”
— After years of troop projects by multiple Army engineer units from the Army Reserve and Army National Guard to shape an area for a garrison operations support area at Fort McCoy, contractors are now beginning infrastructure work in the same area, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW) officials said.
The project is located in an area of land near the old Gate 20 and Logistical Support Area Liberty and the cantonment area fence. Work began to landscape this area in June 2021 with Soldiers from the Army Reserve’s 492nd Engineer Company, based in Mankato, Minn.
Then in July 2021, about a dozen Soldiers with the 4th Platoon of Wisconsin National Guard’s 950th Engineer Company (Route Clearance) continued working in the area with bulldozers and other construction equipment.
Fort McCoy Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow said in a 2021 news article that the site work to start was mainly moving out organic material, such as tree stumps and vegetation, and then developing it further from there.
“Larry set us up on this project, and we are continuing to move the organic material from the site,” said 2nd Lt. Nick Bures, 4th Platoon leader, at the time.
Now just under three years later, after many more units and contractors have continuously worked at the site, DPW General Engineer said more permanent work is now going on at the project now named the “Prepare Garrison Operations Support Area Site and Install Utilities Project.”
MAY
— After 18 months and millions of dollars’ worth of upgrades, the Rumpel Fitness Center at Fort McCoy was reopened before hundreds of attendees May 1, 2024, during a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ceremony was coordinated by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (DFMWR), which also is in charge of Rumpel. The ceremony included opening words by DFMWR Director Patric McGuane as well as special comments from Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger, and Fort McCoy Senior Commander, Maj. Gen. Matthew Baker, commanding general of the 88th Readiness Division.
“The original Rumpel Fitness Center (Field House) was built in 1966 by the Job Corps,” McGuane said. “This program was created under President Lyndon Johnson’s administration in 1964 as part of his war on poverty. The program trained young men in vocational, technical, and social skills, and the McCoy Job Corps operated at Fort McCoy from 1966 to 1968.
“And during that time, they used $750,000 to build a field house with a swimming pool,” McGuane said. “It cost a little more to do this one. That building became what is known now as Rumpel Fitness Center, arguably one of the most important buildings on Fort McCoy.”
McGuane also noted how the building is named after Lt. Col. Donald O. Rumpel. Rumpel served as the Fort McCoy executive officer from 1978 until his untimely passing in November 1979. Rumpel was a native of Hancock, Wis., and a 1954 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was a member of the ROTC program.
— Fort McCoy celebrated the Army Reserve’s 116th birthday April 23, 2024, with a special celebration at McCoy’s Community Center in combination with the installation’s April Triad Nights event.
Fort McCoy’s Senior Commander, Maj. Gen. Matthew Baker, commanding general of the 88th Readiness Division, led the Army Reserve birthday observance and also took charge of the leadership roundtable portion or Triad Nights.
Baker discussed many facets of leadership from his experiences, and he reflected on the day.
“The Reserves have been around for 116 years, and we’re gonna be around for another 116 years,” Baker said. “Our brother … the National Guard are going to be there right beside us, and we're going to continue to support the mission. We know we activate. … And if you see … at what’s happening in Europe, they’re depending on sustainment operations. … We need to be ready.”
Baker also encouraged everyone to enjoy the event.
“This is the time that we as brothers and sisters can get together and have some fun and then relax and talk and get to know each other,” he said. “Let's make the most of it.”
— The 2024 Fort McCoy Arbor Day Celebration was delayed from April 26 to May 1, 2024, because of inclement weather but it didn’t stop dozens of people from arriving to the event to plant trees for the good of the future.
Fort McCoy held its 2024 Arbor Day event with community members that included adults and children in attendance. And they in turn planted more than 600 trees in a plot near building 102 on the cantonment area at the installation — an area adjacent to 2023 Arbor Day tree plantings on post.
During the observance, Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger and other installation personnel and children from the post Child Development Center planted the hundreds of tree seedlings in rows that were pre-dug by Directorate of Public Works (DPW) staff.
Messenger addressed everyone, but he specifically addressed the children in attendance to the event.
“Who’s ready to plant some trees?” Messenger said, speaking specifically to the children. “The trees we plant today are going to grow up big and strong. … You are about to make a difference on Fort McCoy.”
And at the end, they all said in unison, “Happy Arbor Day!”
— Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger held a quarterly town hall meeting for the garrison workforce April 25, 2024, and as part of that meeting, Messenger asked the workforce members to take a walk-through of Fort McCoy’s historic Commemorative Area.
The 900 block of Fort McCoy and the 11-acre area surrounding it are at the hub of the fort’s history-preservation efforts and is called the Commemorative Area. The Commemorative Area consists of five World War II-era buildings set aside to help tell Fort McCoy's unique story.
These facilities are representative of the types found in the cantonment area when it was constructed in 1942. Three of the buildings — an administrative facility, a dining facility, and a barracks — are set up to depict Soldier life during the 1940s. Display items include a World War II chapel, bunk beds, footlockers, mannequins, and potbelly stoves.
Another building highlights four different modern military training venues, and a separate facility shows various training aids. The area also has the Equipment Park. Veterans Memorial Plaza is a tribute to all of the men and women who have served the nation during each era of Fort McCoy’s history.
In doing the Commemorative Area walk-through, it was a first for the town-hall meetings and it included hundreds of workforce members. They went through three of the historical buildings, saw Equipment Park, and made their final stop at Veterans Memorial Plaza.
— The 2024 fishing season at Fort McCoy is going to be well stocked with fish as anglers have several thousand more reasons to fish on post after workers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Genoa National Fish Hatchery of Genoa, Wis., stocked more than 15,000 rainbow trout in several waterways throughout the post.
USFWS personnel delivered the trout April 23 and 26, said Fort McCoy Fisheries Biologist who works with the Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB). Trout were stocked in Suukjak Sep, Sandy, Stillwell, and Big Sandy lakes and Sparta and Swamp ponds.
“Each year we purchase and stock the same number of rainbow trout into each lake,” Rood said. “The average length of the rainbow trout that were stocked this year is 10.8 inches. These quality fish will provide an exciting opportunity for all anglers to pursue.”
— Marlene Hemsey, formerly known as Marlene Hackett and a native of Tomah, Wis., now calls Winona, Minn., her home, and at 86 years old, has a fondness for history — including Fort McCoy history.
As she entered her mid-80s, Marlene and her family embarked on a journey to document notes and conversations of her cherished memories from her formative youth spent near Fort McCoy and in Tomah during the 1940s and 1950s.
Coming to age on the edge of Fort McCoy in Tomah, Marlene Hemsey said her childhood was punctuated by the sounds of American Soldiers training for World War II.
As a young girl during the early 1940s, Hemsey’s family farm was close enough to the Army post that the booming sounds of training ammunition would sometimes shake their old farmhouse, often spooking their cow and Collie dog that her family named Bing Crosby.
“We could hear the shooting and whatever kind of equipment they were using for the Soldiers,” Hemsey recalled. “And I don’t know if there were bombs or what, but you could hear the shelling and it would rattle the old farmhouse windows. This was a constant noise that I was experiencing when I was growing up because World War II was going on, and the Soldiers were sent to McCoy, to you know, learn how to go into battle and what to do.”
Camp McCoy, as it was known then, served as a training ground for Soldiers preparing to deploy to Europe during World War II. The constant noise of shelling and frequent conversations about the latest news from the front served as a regular backdrop to Hemsey’s early years, an unescapable reminder of the global conflict that was raging overseas.
— Located in the heart of Fort McCoy, the Wisconsin Challenge Academy stands as a beacon of hope for at-risk youth, offering them the chance to change for the better.
Established in 1998 as part of the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, the academy has been instrumental in reclaiming the lives of thousands of youths falling behind in high school and providing them with the guidance needed to thrive in adulthood.
The voluntary “boot camp-like” program operates in three phases, each designed to instill discipline, foster personal growth, and facilitate successful reintegration into society. The pre-challenge phase, spanning the initial two weeks, serves as a crucial acclimation period where teenagers trade in their cellphones and bad habits for a new life immersed in discipline and education.
The residential phase next unfolds over 22 weeks, during which cadets undergo intensive training in core components such as academic excellence, physical fitness, and responsible citizenship.
The post-residential phase, extending up to one year after graduation, then ensures sustained support as cadets transition back to their communities.
Milwaukee’s WISN 12 News anchor and reporter, Dianna Gutierrez, visited Fort McCoy to spotlight the academy with a series that so far has captured the experience of cadets from the beginning of the semester to just over a month from graduation. Through interviews with staff and cadets, the series offered a firsthand view of the program’s profound impact on Wisconsin’s troubled youth.
— An estimated audience of nearly 4,000 visitors participated in the 2024 Fort McCoy Armed Forces Day Open House on May 18, 2024, at Fort McCoy, which included a Vietnam veterans welcome home ceremony, Army band performances, numerous military vehicle static displays, bus tours, and much more.
The day’s activities were centered on the Commemorative Area from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which features the History Center; five World War II-era buildings filled with historical equipment and displays, the outdoor Equipment Park, and Veterans Memorial Plaza.
Within the Commemorative Area, there were dozens of displays set up under tents for more interactive fun. Planned activities included guided installation bus tours, a sandbag-filling station, personalized ID tags, camouflage face painting, military equipment displays, marksmanship galleries, the special ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans, and more.
Open house visitor Catrice Jackson Boyer wrote on a Facebook post about the event that she enjoyed participating. “Even the bus drivers were great!! Nice job everyone!”
Another attendee, Dave Jorgensen, also wrote on Facebook, “Had a great day there with the grandsons. Favorites were the bus tour, historical vehicles and buildings, shooting simulation, talented band, and the belly crawl! Thanks to all for your service!”
— The 238th Quartermaster (Field Feeding) Company competed in the 2024 Philip A. Connelly Competition in the U.S. Army Reserve in mid-May 2024 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.”
According to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, the Philip A. Connelly Program is “the personification of food service excellence executed by culinary specialists resulting in the presentation of extremely gratifying dining experiences across all Army food service platforms in garrison and field environments.” Program objectives include improving the professionalism of food service personnel, thus providing the best quality food service to supported diners and providing recognition for excellence in the preparation and serving of food in Army dining facilities and field kitchen operations.
The 238th has Soldiers from teams in multiple states, including Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and they often train together at Fort McCoy, Smalley said. So, completing this competition at the installation also made sense.
— Fort McCoy is supporting its first rail movement of 2024 in the second half of May with an effort that includes nearly 200 railcars and approximately 800 pieces of equipment for the Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT).
This rail operation, according to Warrant Officer 1 Eric Frank with the 32nd IBCT who helped plan the movement, is “the largest rail movement with civilian linehaul the Wisconsin National Guard has ever done.”
The 32nd IBCT is sending its equipment and vehicles for a future rotation of training at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Polk), La. Frank said the rail movement has been about six months in the making.
“Basically, I built this plan from scratch with the help of all my (unit mobility officers) from all over the state,” Frank said. “Putting each and every single piece of equipment on the railcar takes consideration of length, width, height, and all of the dimensions. Certain rail cars can only handle certain pieces of equipment.”
Frank said prior to this rail movement, dozens of 32nd Soldiers also received training to be ready. A representative from the Army’s National Training Center conducted a three-day course on railcar loading at Fort McCoy in October 2023.
“Then our Soldiers could then train the train the troops who are here today loading these railcars,” Frank said.
Frank also said members with the Fort McCoy rail operations team have been helpful in getting the work completed.
“They have been very supportive and (answered) any questions we have,” Frank said. “They have provided us with a lot of their rail tools, their spanners, and even their personnel to help supervise and to make sure we're doing the right thing. The transportation officer and the LRC (Logistics Readiness Center) here has been a great help to us.”
— Fort McCoy hosted the Vietnam-era Veteran Recognition Ceremony during the 2024 Fort McCoy Armed Forces Day Open House on May 18 at the installation.
Several Vietnam-era veterans attended along with their family members. Overall, approximate 150 to 200 people attended the event that was held early on in the open house in building 905.
The event honored the service and sacrifices of Vietnam-Era veterans, including those who served overseas and in the United States.
The ceremony brought members of the community of all ages together to honor the courage, sacrifice, and unwavering duty of Vietnam-era veterans, organizers said, serving as a heartfelt tribute to the brave men and women who served the nation during a restless time in America’s history.
The ceremony was conducted by Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy. They also coordinated the pinning of veterans with a commemorative pin, which was completed by members of Fort McCoy Garrison leadership. Each Vietnam-era veteran in attendance received the commemorative pin and personal thanks for their dedication.
“As a community it is important that we acknowledge the roles these veterans played in our history,” Lt. Col. James Ontiveros, a key organizer of the event, said. “This ceremony was one way to show appreciation.”
Participating from Fort McCoy Garrison leadership was Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger; Garrison Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Mike Corkum; Deputy to the Garrison Commander Cameron Cantlon; and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major.
— Chief medical noncommissioned officers, whose military occupational specialty is 68Z where they specialize in healthcare, came from across the United States to gather at Fort McCoy for the two-day 68Z Active Guard Reserve Forum from May 7-8, 2024.
The summit, aimed at enhancing collaboration and discussing future initiatives for the combat medic specialist (68W) community within the Army Medical Department, drew attendees from various installations nationwide.
Formed by a coalition of distinguished command sergeants major and sergeants major, the 68Z Summit provided a platform for 68Zs to engage in vital discussions on pertinent issues facing the 68 Career Management Field (CMF) community, officials said.
Some of the attendees included Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, Fort McCoy Garrison command sergeant major and 68Z from Fort McCoy; Sgt. Maj. Rachel Kaye with the Office of the Surgeon General in Falls Church, Va.; and Sgt. Maj. Adalgisa Fernandez, who is slated to become the incoming U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence sergeant major at Camp Parks, Calif.
“This summit offered an invaluable opportunity for 68Zs to exchange insights and explore strategies for addressing challenges within the 68 CMF community,” said Sgt. Maj. Tinamarie Reese, who attended as the U.S. Army Reserve Surgeon sergeant major.
— News team members with the show Good Morning America and USO members from all parts of America traveled to Fort McCoy on May 6, 2024, to be a part of a news gathering effort to recognize USO’s National Volunteer of the Year for 2023.
Evan Nelson, a volunteer through USO Wisconsin at the Fort McCoy USO station, earned the National USO Volunteer of the Year in 2023 and has served as a volunteer at McCoy for several years.
Nelson was interviewed by ABC television journalist Elizabeth Harrison for a Good Morning America segment that will air nationally about his reasons for volunteering, and more.
“I see our service members as being at the very top,” Nelson said about volunteering. “I have such respect for them and their serve. Being able to help them out, even in a small way. I will do whatever I need to do.”
The news team, which also included a videographer/photographer and sound specialist, also covered Nelson in action doing work for the USO, including serving Soldiers during an ice cream social at the Fort McCoy USO building on the cantonment area.
The news team also covered Nelson supporting service members out in a training area at Fort McCoy, which the USO volunteers complete regularly at the installation.
Harrison and the news team also took time to interview Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger about the importance of volunteers like Nelson and how they contribute to the welfare of the installation community.
“It’s fun to see the USO go out to the field and provide for the troops,” Messenger said. “As soon as the truck pulls up, they realize they are about to get something that is not part of their normal day.”
Messenger went on to refer about how a treat from the USO makes a busy day of training in the field a little easier. He said that’s what people like Nelson have done and continue to do daily through their volunteer service with the USO.
— Soldiers participating in the E3B event — Expert Field Medical Badge for medics, Expert Infantry Badge for infantry, and Expert Soldier Badge for all other Soldiers — held their first day of activity May 6, 2024, at Fort McCoy, Wis.
More than 150 Soldiers from the active-duty Army, National Guard and Army Reserve tried out to earn their badge. To earn their badge, candidates demonstrated their proficiency through physical fitness, day and night land navigation skills, various duty related tasks, and a ruck march.
At the end of the event, five Soldiers earned Expert Infantry Badges, 17 earned Expert Soldier Badges, and nine Soldiers earned Expert Field Medical Badges.
— Every year, watershed management biologists and specialists with the Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands who work in partnership with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB) hold fish surveys at Fort McCoy’s 10 lakes and ponds.
Fort McCoy Fisheries Biologist Steve Rood who works with NRB said this work is critical to understanding the health of each of those 10 waterways, and more.
“Each spring we conduct surveys of the fish populations in the lakes on Fort McCoy,” Rood said. “Since there are 10 lakes and ponds on Fort McCoy, they are sampled on a rotating schedule and each water body can be thoroughly surveyed.”
Rood said there are specific ways the fish are caught to get a sampling of what types of fish are in each lake and pond.
“To sample the fish, we place fyke nets around the edge of a lake to capture them,” Rood said. “We also will use a boom shocker, which is a boat outfitted with electrodes that puts an electrical current into the water. When the boat goes over a fish, it temporarily stuns them so they can be collected with a net. Using both methods allows us to effectively collect all the fish species in the lake. Each fish that is caught is measured and weighed so we can determine its body condition.
“We also collect a few scales from the fish, which can be used to age them,” Rood said. “This is similar to how you age rings on a tree.”
— Contractors were busy for weeks in May 2024 getting the site set up for the fourth transient training troops barracks project at Fort McCoy, which was awarded in February to L.S. Black Constructors, LLC, for approximately $27.3 million.
L.S. Black Constructors is a familiar name in the barracks construction history at Fort McCoy, having built the first two of the 60,000-square-foot transient training troops barracks on post. They also recently built the new brigade headquarters building located in the same block as the barracks buildings.
In the first update about the project on May 23, Nathan Butts with the Resident Office of the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort McCoy said the basic setup of the site was taking place.
“The contractor continues to strip and stockpile topsoil,” Butts wrote in the update. He also wrote the contractor is continuing the silt fence installation, “surveying and building layout continues,” and “project trailers are being set up.”
Work on the site officially began May 13, Butts’ update showed.
— The U.S. Army Reserve hosted its annual Expert Soldier Badge (ESB), Expert Infantry Badge (EIB), and Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB) train-up and testing at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin from May 5 to 17, 2024. Active-duty and Army Reserve candidates pursued one of three badges, collectively referred to as E3B.
The E3B encourages all Soldiers, enlisted, commissioned, and warrant officer, to become experts in their profession and set themselves apart from their peers. Candidates completed 34 tasks demonstrating their expertise in physical fitness, land navigation, weapons knowledge, medical and patrol procedures, and other warrior tasks and battle drills. Of the 158 candidates who registered for E3B, only 31 completed every task necessary to secure one of the badges.
As ESB and EIB test board president, U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Randles oversaw the integrity of those assessments and pinned 17 ESB recipients and five EIB recipients during a ceremony on May 17, 2024.
Randles remarked that “you learn to be a soldier first, right?...So how do Soldiers, identify themselves as being the best?” He continued, “that is what this these badges allow a Soldier to do. They allow Soldiers to say that not only am I good at the job that the Army has me do, but at the core of it all, I'm an excellent Soldier.”
— Fort McCoy community members gathered at McCoy’s Community Center on May 21, 2024, to observe May as Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
The 2024 Fort McCoy AAPI Observance, organized by Master Sgt. Ana Guzman-Gregory with the Fort McCoy Equal Opportunity Office, featured Tony Yang and other members of the Hmoob Cultural and Community Agency of La Crosse, Wis.
Yang and three other members from the agency gave a special presentation to talk about Hmong culture, and much more. According to the agency's description, as seen on LinkedIn, it was originally founded in 1982 as the La Crosse Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, Inc. (HMAA).
“The HMAA's primary role at that time was to assist Southeast Asian refugees, most of whom were Hmong, adjust to life in the La Crosse area,” the description states. “The HMAA grew and expanded services into areas of translation and interpretation, job placement and development, elderly services, youth services, domestic violence prevention, health screening and referral, advocacy, and others.”
Yang took the time to explain the rich history of the Hmong community, the areas in Asia where they originally are from, and how many of them arrived in the United States and other countries.
— Tyler Griffith, a heavy mobile equipment repair leader with the 88th Readiness Division’s Equipment Concentration Site-67 at Fort McCoy is being hailed as a hero after his quick actions saved a family from a potentially tragic house fire on the morning of May 24, 2024.
Griffith, a former U.S. Marine with extensive military training who currently serves in the Army Reserve as a staff sergeant, was on his morning commute May 24 when he noticed a manufactured home ablaze near the Monroe County highway intersection of Q and B outside of Cataract, Wis.
“I turned on one of the side roads and happened to look and see a porch on fire,” Griffith recounted. “The first thing I thought of was, ‘That’s weird for somebody to be burning stuff this early in the morning.’ And then I realized nobody was out there.”
Without hesitation, Griffith pulled into the driveway, rushed to the door, and woke the occupants, ensuring their safety.
“I said, ‘Hey, you need to get everybody out and your house is on fire,’” Griffith explained. He then assisted in extinguishing the fire, quickly utilizing a garden hose found on the property to save the family and their home from being engulfed in flames.
Griffith arrived on the scene at a pivotal moment, just mere minutes away from potential tragedy for the family.
“I found out later that the fire department said if it had been a minute or two more — or had nobody stopped — the parents would have probably been separated from their kids and wouldn’t have been able to get to them in the house,” Griffith said. “With me having kids myself, that was a really sobering thing right there.”
JUNE
— Warrant Officer 2 (W02) Paul Barnes, hailing from the British Army's Land Warfare Centre, made a pivotal visit to Fort McCoy in May. His mission? To champion the importance of international cooperation and interoperability in military operations between the U.S. and United Kingdom.
From immersive installation tours with Fort McCoy Garrison leadership to insightful presentations covering warfare doctrine and lessons learned from the British Army’s studies on the war in Ukraine, Barnes' itinerary was packed with engagements aimed at fostering deeper cooperation between the British and American military.
“The purpose of my visit to Fort McCoy was to come over and do some personal development for the U.S. Army, bringing experience of doctrine and warfare development from the U.K. perspective to show what it’s like to work in an international environment,” said Barnes.
“Another purpose was to showcase Fort McCoy’s training capabilities, specifically the ones that can enhance interoperability like the Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA) and the Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC),” added Fort McCoy Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Michael Corkum, who first met Barnes in Turkey at the 2022 NATO Land Operations Working Group.
“It was great catching up,” Corkum said. “Having WO2 Barnes here was a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the bonds between our nations and enhance our mutual understanding of each other's military capabilities and training methods.”
— Command Sgt. Maj. Jason D. Kirkman became the 15th commandant of the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy (NCOA) on June 29, 2024, during a special change-of-commandant ceremony at the academy.
The 83rd United States Army Reserve Readiness Training Center Commander, Col. William G. Morris, presided over the ceremony.
Kirkman took over responsibility from Command Sgt. Maj. Deanna L. Czarnecki who had been the commandant since July 2022.
In accepting his new role, Kirkman said he looks forward to the challenge.
“I am humbled to serve as the commandant for the Army’s finest NCO Academy where we will develop the next generation of NCOs,” Kirkman said. “For when the nation calls, they will be ready. I accept this honor and privilege … I thank you again for attending today and for continuing to support the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy.”
— Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Stephen Messenger was everywhere on the installation during the 2024 Fort McCoy Army Birthday Celebration on June 14.
Starting early on, Messenger opened the day with the Commander’s 5k Run/2-Mile Walk discussing the Revolutionary War roots of the Army Birthday to the more than 200 participants. He then joined them in the effort, running 5 kilometers himself with fellow members of the Fort McCoy Garrison leadership team.
Later on, Messenger opened the free luncheon for the Army Birthday Celebration at McCoy’s Community Center. Messenger’s effort first included the opening remarks.
“Today we celebrate our people — Soldiers, civilians, and family who protect America 24/7,” Messenger said. “Today, we continue to defend this country, and we’re needed so much with our all-volunteer force. Serving one’s country is a noble cause, and I got to tell you I believe it’s among life’s greatest work.
“Whether you’re a Soldier or a civilian serving, nothing illustrates our nation’s commitment more to freedom and democracy than putting boots on the ground where they’re needed and conducting defensive and offensive action at the expense of our enemy,” he said.
— 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.
— As June 2024 begins, the third four-story, 60,000-square-foot barracks project at Fort McCoy — funded in fiscal year 2022, stands at 22 percent complete.
According to a May 31 update from Ken Green with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Resident Office at Fort McCoy, construction remained steady and lots of work is getting completed.
Initial framing on the new building started Jan. 31. As of the latest update from Green, structural steel installation currently continues as well as rebar installation. Other work includes slab-on grade completion, steel stud/exterior sheeting installation, slab-on grade vapor barrier installation, and rebar and concrete placements continuing to be placed.
Also, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing rough-in continues; and roof truss installation was continuing.
All this work continues even as the start of a fourth barracks project by a different contractor begins nearby.
— Organizers with the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) held their 2024 Boss Lift event on June 5 at Fort McCoy that included Wisconsin National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters flying in employer representatives, static displays, a Commemorative Area visit, and more.
According to their website at https://www.esgr.mil/About-ESGR/Contact/Local-State-Pages/Wisconsin, the ESGR, a Department of Defense office, “is comprised of dedicated and trained volunteers and staff. (They) develop and promote employer support for Guard and Reserve service by advocating relevant initiatives, recognizing outstanding support, increasing awareness of applicable laws, and resolving conflict between employers and service members.”
On a Facebook post by Wisconsin ESGR, they also reviewed their Boss Lift event that took several hours on the installation.
“Patriotic employers of Guard and Reserve service members from around the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota were treated to an Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Boss Lift courtesy of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Wisconsin National Guard aviators and crews flew employers from Appleton, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, and Wausau to Fort McCoy for a day of briefings and static displays of military equipment.”
— Fort McCoy’s rail operations support team steamed into action once again in late June and early July to support the return of more than 800 pieces of equipment and vehicles belonging to the Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in the post’s second large rail movement of the year.
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.
— 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. He added the work is good training for all members of the unit, but is especially useful for newer members of the engineer detachment.
— Soldiers with the 106th Engineer Detachment (Quarry) were having a blast June 8-9, 2024, 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.”
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, on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy,” on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fortmccoywi, and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@fortmccoy.
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: | 01.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.07.2025 00:06 |
| Story ID: | 488732 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 645 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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