Photo By Scott Sturkol | Fort McCoy workforce members participate in a town hall meeting April 24, 2025, with...... read more read more
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Leaders with U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy took time April 24 to hold a pair of town hall meetings with the installation workforce where they took questions, provided updates about ongoing personnel programs, and discussed upcoming construction that will affect installation personnel.
Fort McCoy Deputy to the Garrison Commander Cameron Cantlon led the effort on both meetings. Cantlon gave updates on news and information within the garrison.
In discussing an ever-changing environment in the workplace currently facing the workforce, he offered some encouragement.
“Please continue to do what you do every day,” Cantlon said. “Let's focus on that. Those are the things that make us what we are here at Fort McCoy. We have a great reputation. We have a great ethic. We do good work.”
Cantlon also took numerous questions about personnel actions. One included about whether or not restructuring within the garrison is likely.
“The question is, will there be restructuring looked at before October, because clearly after October, we will be doing restructuring,” Cantlon said. “The answer is yes, we will be looking at restructuring and where we have the ability within the hiring freeze restraints for moving personnel and doing things on personnel actions, where we have flexibility and some agility, we will take action. Planning has already started.”
He added that with planning, feedback to leaders is also needed.
“If you have ideas for your sections, your organizations, feed up those ideas,” Cantlon said. “We need them. … We want to get it right. We need the feedback, and we need feedback and input from the whole workforce. So if you haven't thought about it, start thinking about the organization you work in, and if you have ideas, please share those with us.”
First Sgt. Thomas Ninkovich, first sergeant for U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy Headquarters and Headquarters Company, followed Cantlon to discuss upcoming events, and more.
“It’s an honor to be able to finally get to speak at one of these things and see this many people in here,” Ninkovich said. “So, thank you for coming out.
“We have our Memorial Day observance coming up and Army Heritage Month (in June),” Ninkovich said. “I do want to see everybody come out for our Mud Run (also in June). Hopefully, everybody in this room can be out there for that. And the Lt. Dan Band is going to be a really big event (in July). And that's for our workforce. … I want to see everybody come out for that.”
Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Director Liane Haun also spoke. She provided an update about the Highway 21 repaving project that goes from Tomah to Sparta, Wis., and also includes Fort McCoy in the middle.
“If you come (to Fort McCoy) from Tomah or Sparta on 21, they just posted the signs out there,” Haun said.
She stated how the road work started April 30.
“(To start it will be) mostly survey work — putting up traffic control signage,” Haun said. “And the big work is really going to start on Monday, May 5. And it's essentially going to go all the way through the end of May. … They’re going to do a complete repaving project of Highway 21.
“They will keep the road open to traffic the entire time they do this,” Haun said. “But it will be down to one lane of flagging. So, be prepared for delays. She said during construction, workers will be present starting on Mondays at 6 a.m. and they’ll work through noon on Fridays.
“There will be no weekend work,” Haun said. “There will be no overnight work. They’ll reopen at nighttime and on the weekends to two lanes. But during the daytime, you will have significant delays because they’re basically doing milling and replacing under flagging operations. Please be very cautious when you’re driving out there. The worst thing we want to have happen is an accident.”
Hain also discussed another project, that also on Highway 21, the involves redoing the rail crossing.
“The last time we had a project to repair the crossing at this railroad location was the 2014 time frame,” Haun said.
Haun was estimating the project will start either on May 31 or June 7 and will go approximately two weeks. People traveling from Sparta to Fort McCoy will have to find an alternate way to get on the installation’s cantonment area. People traveling from Tomah will be unaffected.
“So, you’ll have two weeks of inconvenience of coming from Sparta,” Haun said. “If you’re coming from Sparta, you will not be allowed to cross the railroad tracks to get to the main gate. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has to publish a detour that will put you on an equivalent state highway, just like 21. So, their published detour for this will be to take Highway 16 all the way to Tomah, jump on Highway 12, go north, and then take 21 back up.
“There are alternate options of getting to Fort McCoy,” she said. She encouraged people to take the time before the project starts to look at alternative ways to get to the installation from Sparta.
“It’s going to be two weeks,” Haun said. “We do this all the time. It has to be done. The railroad crossing is in desperate need of repair. … Unfortunately, this is the only time to get it done.”
Cantlon also took time to present Kendra Pierce, graphic artist with the Fort McCoy Multimedia-Visual Information Office, with an award certificate she received from Installation Management Command for placing in their 2024 awards competition in Category A: Layout and Design for graphic arts.
This category required submitting single- or two-page layouts created using elements from various sources. Examples include info charts, infographics, flyers, certificates, CD covers, cover art, and posters.
Pierce’s entry was a backdrop design used by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. It features photos of training at Fort McCoy, highlighting the installation’s motto to be the Total Force Training Center. It can be seen at https://www.dvidshub.net/graphic/33122/dptms-tradeshow-backdrop.
Pierce earned the award in the same competition that the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office won in two categories. One was the award for Best Community Engagement Event in Category B: Community Relations Special Event for the 2024 Fort McCoy Armed Forces Day Open House. The second was The Real McCoy newspaper earning an award for IMCOM Best Printed Publication for Category D: Printed Publication.
Pierce as well as the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office also earned awards in the 2024 Army Materiel Command David Harris competition in the same categories.
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: | 04.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.30.2025 17:39 |
| Story ID: | 496635 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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