Staff with the Fort McCoy Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC), which is part of the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training Mobilization and Security, stepped up in early 2026 help Army Reserve Command complete 68W Sustainment Training for more than 90 combat medics before March 31.
Healthcare Instructor and Interim Director Benjamin Leonard with the Fort McCoy MSTC described the kind of training his center his completing between January and March 2026.
“We’re doing 68-Whiskey Sustainment Training, which is a two-year requirement for all combat medics to complete 72 hours of training, plus a Table 8 validation — the lane validation — where we put them into high levels of stress,” Leonard said. “There, they perform their medical care under that stress in a simulated combat environment. We also utilize the high-fidelity simulators to make sure that all the mannequins and related equipment actually give those vitals as well.
“During the training here, they’re doing everything on the patient as they would out in the real-world environment so that way they have the confidence, and we have the confidence in them as well to perform medicine to standard,” Leonard said.
One part of the training that enhances realistic training is the trauma lanes, Leonard said.
“The Soldiers go out there, treat casualties, and more in a stressful environment,” he said. “
Leonard said other things the combat medics are training on and learning is their medical treatment.
“It’s similar to … a troop medical clinic,” Leonard said. “They get the experience of working, doing sick call, or other medical care as they would in any other troop medical clinic. We also do prolonged casualty care training with them as well, so getting used to longer times, sitting on patients for longer experiences.”
The Fort McCoy MSTC has long been one of the best kept secrets for medical training in the Army Reserve, officials said. Every year, people come from across the Army and Army Reserve to get training at the facility.
“As a Troop Program Unit (Soldier) myself, what is nice about centers like this is they have the equipment that any simulation center, even on the civilian side, would have,” Leonard said. “We’ve also done tours for civilian organizations as well as they look to stand up their own sim centers. We’ve become quite the standard even across the Wisconsin area. The level of simulation that you get here and the cost that it takes to get that simulation would be unachievable for an individual unit or shipping those elsewhere.”
Teaching 68W-related training isn’t the only thing the Fort McCoy MSTC does. Leonard said they also support numerous other courses.
“Besides the 68W training, Fort McCoy MSTC offers Combat Lifesaver for all service members, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Prolonged Casualty Care, and other medical training to include Basic Lifesaver CPR, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, and Pediatric Life Support.”
Leonard said he and the entire MSTC team are proud to support the five-day 68W Sustainment Training and all the training they do for the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, active Army, and all other services.
“Compared to other instructional areas that I’ve been in, as an NCO and even as a civilian, we really defocus on the PowerPoints here and try to refocus back on the actual doing, the hands-on training,” Leonard said.
Learn more about MSTC training by visiting the MSTC Sharepoint site at [https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/teams/FortMcCoyMSTC](https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/teams/FortMcCoyMSTC).
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](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: |
03.05.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
03.05.2026 00:29 |
| Story ID: |
559405 |
| Location: |
FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
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This work, Fort McCoy’s MSTC steps up to support Army Reserve Command combat medic training, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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