Fort McCoy DPW provides behind-the-scenes support for OAW mission

Photo By Spc. Eric Cerami | Angela Salazar, center right, the Operation Allies Welcome federal coordinator for Fort McCoy, Department of Homeland Security, holds a town hall in a Fort McCoy barracks area to understand the concerns of Afghan evacuees at Fort McCoy, Wis., on Sept. 13, 2021. The barracks where the Afghan evacuees reside are managed by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works. The directorate has been directly supporting Operation Allies Welcome from the beginning of the operation in August 2021. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric Cerami/55th Signal Company)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

11.22.2021

Story by Aimee Malone 

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

A lot of behind-the-scenes work was required at Fort McCoy to prepare for the arrival of the Operation Allies Refuge/Operation Allies Welcome mission and its Afghan guests, and one of the main players on post was the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW).

DPW is responsible for Fort McCoy’s infrastructure and as such had to determine which buildings and facilities were available or could be reassigned to the OAW mission. A variety of facilities are needed with the mission, including barracks, laundry facilities, dining facilities, classrooms, warehouses for supply storage and distribution, prayer spaces, and recreation spaces. In addition, DPW needed to provide space for additional military personnel, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and interagency partners that arrived to help with the mission.

“We spent a lot of time taking NGOs, interagency partners, and Task Force McCoy personnel to buildings to determine if the building would work for their requirements,” DPW Director Liane Haun said. In the early days of the mission, DPW personnel were on hand 24/7 to ensure that any issues with the facilities could be addressed as soon as possible.

DPW personnel reviewed all requests for facilities on post to determine which buildings and locations would best serve the mission, Haun said. In addition, DPW set up an additional Help Desk line dedicated to handling requests from the OAW mission, prioritizing facilities request for these buildings.

Haun said she’d especially like to recognize the employees who served as action officers and those in Work Reception for their support to the mission.

“These individuals stopped their full-time DPW work to make sure the mission was supported,” Haun said. “Although not every task was DPW-related, the DPW was always looked to provide input or guidance to the Task Force McCoy personnel who may not have had the institutional knowledge of Fort McCoy.”

Throughout the course of the mission, DPW will continue to make sure both the Afghan evacuees and the personnel assisting them have safe, well-maintained facilities.

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: 11.22.2021
• Date Posted: 11.22.2021 13:33
• Story ID: 409794
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US