2nd, 106th Cavalry Soldiers hold October training at Fort McCoy

Photo By Kevin Clark | A Soldier with the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry (2-106) of the Illinois National Guard fires a M9 pistol at a target Oct. 21, 2021, at a live-fire range at Fort McCoy, Wis. During their training on post in October, 2-106 Soldiers completed individual and crew weapons qualifications training at several installation ranges. National Guard Soldiers regularly train at Fort McCoy. Fort McCoy was established in 1909 and its 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 for 36 of 37 years since 1984. (U.S. Army Photo by Kevin Clark, Fort McCoy Multimedia-Visual Information Office)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

11.10.2021

Story by Scott Sturkol                                                                                        

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Soldiers with the 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry (2-106) of the Illinois National Guard conducted training at Fort McCoy in October that included a lot of weapons training.

Army National Guard members are a regular training customer at Fort McCoy throughout every year, including from Illinois. First Sgt. Kyle T. Bishop, 2-106 operations noncommissioned officer and first sergeant, said his unit made good use of the many live-fire ranges at Fort McCoy.

“During our training that week, we conducted individual weapons qualification on the M4 rifle, M249 automatic rifle, and M17 pistol,” Bishop said.

“We also conducted crew-weapon qualification on the M2 .50 caliber machine gun, and the MK19, M240B, and M249LMG machine guns,” Bishop said. “Also, our Charlie troop conducted day and night buddy team live fire on Range 41.”

The training by the 2-106 Soldiers reflects the continuing increase in troops training at the installation in the fall, said Larry Sharp, chief of the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) Training Coordination Branch.

And as more troops like the 2-106 train on post, annual training numbers will be higher. Fort McCoy supported the training of 116,053 troops on post during fiscal year 2021 — nearly double to fiscal year 2020 numbers of 60,054 troops trained at Fort McCoy.

Sharp said annually 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 also statistics 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.

Training activity like that from the 2-106 also reflect in Fort McCoy’s economic impact to the areas around the post. According to the Fort McCoy’s Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, in fiscal year 2020, Fort McCoy’s total economic impact for that fiscal year was an estimated $1.479 billion.

Fort McCoy was established in 1909 and its 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 for 36 of 37 years 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.

• Date Taken: 11.10.2021
• Date Posted: 11.10.2021 11:56
• Story ID: 409107
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US