As training accelerated in May 2026, thousands of service members from across the active component, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, and Air Force trained at Fort McCoy, demonstrating the installation’s critical role as one of the Department of War’s premier Total Force training centers.
According to the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), units conducting training throughout May represented a diverse cross-section of military specialties, ranging from infantry, artillery, cavalry, aviation, engineers, logistics, medical, legal, public affairs, and firefighting personnel to Air Force airlift and training organizations. The broad mix of units highlighted Fort McCoy's ability to simultaneously support multiple mission sets across its extensive training lands, ranges, airspace, and cantonment facilities.
Among the Wisconsin Army National Guard units training during the month were elements of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team — Wisconsin's largest combat formation. Soldiers assigned to the brigade’s 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment; 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment; and 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment conducted training designed to maintain combat readiness and prepare for future missions. Together, the infantry, reconnaissance, and artillery formations showcased Fort McCoy’s ability to support the full range of combat-arms training required by modern brigade combat teams.
The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 724th Engineer Battalion also trained at the installation, bringing specialized engineer capabilities that included construction, route-clearance, mobility, and sustainment operations. Fort McCoy's expansive maneuver areas and engineer-training facilities continue to provide ideal conditions for engineer units conducting realistic mission-essential training.
Army aviation training was represented by the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, which regularly uses Fort McCoy’s airspace and facilities to conduct helicopter operations, aviation-support missions, and readiness training. Aviation operations add another important dimension to the installation's ability to support combined-arms training across multiple domains.
Army Reserve participation during May included units from throughout the Midwest and beyond. The 644th Regional Support Group trained alongside sustainment and support organizations such as the 445th Transportation Company, 624th Quartermaster Company, 214th Legal Operations Detachment, 324th Engineer Company, 482nd Engineer Detachment, and the 801st Field Hospital. Together, these organizations represented the logistical, engineering, legal, medical, and emergency-response capabilities required to sustain military operations around the world.
The month also included training by public affairs professionals associated with the 364th Theater Public Affairs Support Element, demonstrating how Fort McCoy supports not only combat and sustainment units but also specialized organizations responsible for strategic communication, media engagement, and documentation of military operations.
Air Force training activity further reflected the installation’s Total Force mission. Airmen from the 934th Airlift Wing trained with C-130 aircraft and aircrews at Fort McCoy, while personnel from the 435th Training Squadron conducted training that leveraged the installation's unique resources and capabilities. Their presence highlighted Fort McCoy's value as a joint-training environment that supports readiness across multiple military services.
May is traditionally one of the busiest periods of the training year as Army Reserve and National Guard units conduct annual training and readiness exercises. Fort McCoy’s ability to support multiple units simultaneously is made possible by its extensive training infrastructure and unique role within the Department of Defense.
Located on approximately 60,000 acres in west-central Wisconsin, Fort McCoy features hundreds of training areas, maneuver corridors, live-fire ranges, aviation facilities, urban-training sites, classrooms, maintenance facilities, barracks, and dining facilities that enable units to conduct realistic, mission-focused training.
The installation routinely supports everything from small-unit tactical exercises to brigade-level operations, engineer construction projects, aviation training, convoy operations, sustainment exercises, medical readiness training, and joint-service activities. Its airspace, range complexes, and maneuver lands allow units to integrate multiple warfighting functions in a single training environment while benefiting from modern support facilities and experienced training personnel.
In addition to serving Army National Guard, Army Reserve, and active Army units, Fort McCoy regularly hosts Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and interagency organizations. The installation also serves as a major mobilization platform, helping prepare units for overseas deployments while supporting homeland-defense and domestic-response readiness missions.
According to DPTMS, Fort McCoy’s ability to support a wide range of military specialties — from infantry and artillery to aviation, engineering, logistics, medical, legal, public affairs, and emergency-response operations — makes it one of the Army’s most versatile Total Force training centers. The diverse mix of units training throughout May 2026 provided another example of how Fort McCoy helps build readiness across the joint force.
That readiness mission was reflected in fiscal year 2025 training totals, when Fort McCoy supported 109,962 troops in training, including 46,047 personnel participating in annual training and major exercises and 63,915 personnel conducting battle-assembly training. Those numbers represented a significant increase over previous years and reinforced Fort McCoy's standing as one of the Army's premier Total Force training locations.
Whether supporting Wisconsin National Guard combat formations, Army Reserve sustainment organizations, Air Force airlift crews, or specialized medical, legal, engineering, public affairs, and emergency-response units, Fort McCoy continues to serve as a critical readiness platform for America’s military.
The wide variety of organizations training at the installation during May 2026 highlights not only the scope of Fort McCoy's capabilities, but also its enduring importance to Total Force readiness throughout the Midwest and across the nation.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.”
The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”
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 athttps://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: |
06.05.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
06.05.2026 15:38 |
| Story ID: |
567005 |
| Location: |
FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
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19 |
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This work, Fort McCoy hosts thousands of troops during major spring training operations in May 2026, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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