Photo By Scott Sturkol | Training operations are shown at Fort McCoy, Wis., on June 23, 2025. During May 2025,...... read more read more
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Thousands more troops have trained at Fort McCoy during June 2025, including National Guard and Army Reserve units as well as troops attending institutional training courses as several installation tenant units.
In early June and throughout the month, Wisconsin National Guard troops either held training, supported training, and even displayed training for employers from throughout Wisconsin for a Bosslift event.
One Wisconsin National Guard event included Soldiers with the 724th Engineer Battalion and 173rd Brigade Engineer Battalion competing in a Sapper Stakes competition during annual training at Fort McCoy. Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock with the Wisconsin National Guard Public Affairs Office covered the competition.
“The competition consisted of eight squads completing various training lanes, such as road reconnaissance, applying first aid, searching for land mines, breaching through wire, creating a hasty crater, and more,” states Stock’s caption information at https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9104351/wisconsin-national-guard-combat-engineers-test-skills-sapper-stakes-competition. “The purpose of the competition is to allow Soldiers to test their knowledge on critical engineering tasks at both the individual and squad level.”
Soldiers with the Wisconsin National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment also completed a long stretch of training at Fort McCoy during the first half of the month to prepare for a deployment.
Staff Sgt. Mitchell Fromm, a 127th medic, described what the importance is for his team is to come to McCoy, to train together, and get that camaraderie and that knowledge of each other built up right before they deploy overseas.
“Largely it’s trust,” Fromm said. “I have a very large platoon … broken up across five to six different companies, and it is decentralized leadership. So, I don’t have eyes on or the chance to meet with every single medic every day. I must trust that I have leaders at every level. … We need to build that training and that trust that they can … not only to treat those Soldiers and get them home but also that they make the right decisions. That they can live with that decision after they come home or potentially leave the Army. It’s up to us to ensure that we take care of Soldiers for the rest of their career and then they can pass those lessons along. So, the more that we do here, even though it’s some longer days and some higher training, it helps in the long run.”
Lt. Col. Kevin R. Whitney, brigade surgeon for the Wisconsin National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, supported training medics as well at Fort McCoy in June.
“So, this annual training, our highest priority is to get the 127th Infantry Battalion ready to deploy,” Whitney said. “They’ve already basically left their home stations and are currently doing two weeks of train up before they head to Fort Bliss (Texas) and then continue their training before they head to their assignments overseas.
“They’re going to be gone about a year, so the train up is pretty significant because they’re an infantry battalion. There’s a lot of training, a lot of ranges that need to be done, a lot of high-level training that has potential for injuries and so our medics that are here are supporting that training and, they’re training themselves because they're getting ready to deploy with the battalion.”
On June 10, other Soldiers with the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry Regiment also conducted a mass casualty training exercise at Fort McCoy with assistance from the 135th Area Support Medical Company, states further coverage by Stock at https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9104465/wisconsin-national-guard-combat-medics-train-mass-casualty-preparedness.
“The mass casualty training exercise enables combat medics and medical providers to assess response time and quality of treatment for patients in a controlled environment,” the coverage states.
Also in early June, the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) held their 2025 Boss Lift event on June 4 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.
On a Facebook post by Wisconsin ESGR, they also reviewed their Boss Lift event that took several hours on the installation.
“The Wisconsin National Guard provided six UH-60 Black Hawks to move 44 employers flying from Appleton, Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau,” the post states. “These employers were brought to Fort McCoy and given briefings. … They saw a hands-on static display and then treated to MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) for lunch.”
With institutional training, Basic Leader Course 006-25 students at the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy joined academy cadre June 14 for a Commandant’s Run at Fort McCoy to honor the Army’s 250th birthday.
In a Facebook post at https://www.facebook.com/NCOAFortMcCoy/videos/1895325627953240, academy leaders stated it was a great event.
“It was a motivating way to honor 250 years of history, service, and sacrifice,” the post states. “Happy Birthday, Army!”
Those academy Soldiers also took part in the Army Birthday 5k Run/2-Mile Walk on June 13 in front of Rumpel Fitness Center at Fort McCoy. In the run, which was organized by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Soldiers from across the installation also participated, including many at the post for annual training.
The run was part of Fort McCoy’s overall observance of the Army’s 250th birthday. That same day, the Army Reserve’s 204th Army Band got in work of their own in supporting the birthday luncheon at McCoy’s Community Center with a lengthy performance by band members.
June also included training with Marines and Airmen during the Sentry North 25 exercise that was mainly completed at nearby Volk Field, Wis., but also included training events at Fort McCoy.
In a coverage post by Master Sgt. Scott Thompson with the Air Force’s 186th Airlift Wing, it shows U.S. Marines with Detachment, Bulk Fuel Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, of Green Bay, Wis., emptying fuel from the hose June 2 after offloading fuel from a C-130H Hercules aircraft assigned to the 182nd Airlift Wing, Illinois Air National Guard.
“The defueling is part of the tactical airfield fuel disposing system for the forward arming refueling point mission to support Sentry North 25 at Fort McCoy,” the post states. “Sentry North 25 is a joint military exercise that simulates realistic combat environments, including future battlefields. The training is customized to meet specific unit goals and provides advanced, joint exercises and unique opportunities not typically available at their home bases.”
Training on post also included training events at Regional Training Site (RTS)-Medical, RTS-Maintenance, Wisconsin Challenge Academy, and more.
No matter what type of training, all of it contributes to the economic impact Fort McCoy has on local communities. Fort McCoy’s total economic impact for fiscal year (FY) 2024 was an estimated $1.6 billion, Fort McCoy Garrison officials announced, which is up from FY 2023’s total impact of $1.38 billion. The data was compiled by Fort McCoy’s Plans, Analysis and Integration Office.
Workforce payroll, operating costs, and other expenditures totaled more than $398 million for FY 2024. A total of 1,934 personnel worked at Fort McCoy in FY 2024 — 1,061 civilians, 495 military, and 378 contract employees.
Fort McCoy also supported training for 73,991 troops in FY 2024, which ran from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. During FY 2024, training included battle-assembly (weekend) training; annual training; mobilization; institutional training; and numerous exercises, including a Warrior Exercise, Combat Support Training Exercise, Global Medic, Spartan Warrior military police exercise, Mobilization Support Force — Exercise 24, and numerous other training events.
More of the same kind of training is expected as 2025 continues.
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: | 06.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2025 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 501607 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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