Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 609th Engineer Detachment (Concrete) from Milwaukee put their specialized construction skills to work during the 86th Training Division’s Warrior Exercise and Regional Medic 2026 at Fort McCoy, Wis., helping continue a long-running troop project coordinated by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works.
The 609th supported ongoing improvements to a sidewalk project in the 1700 block of Fort McCoy’s cantonment area. The Soldiers continued work that had been started by other Army engineer units during previous training rotations, helping move the project closer to completion while receiving valuable hands-on concrete construction training during their annual training.
Fort McCoy Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works said the 609th also completed concrete work at Building 2889 during its training at Fort McCoy.
“609th also poured concrete at building 2889 (at Fort McCoy),” Morrow said. “They (had) a great annual training supporting Fort McCoy (troop projects.”
The 609th’s work on the sidewalk is part of a continuing approach Fort McCoy uses to pair Army engineer training requirements with installation improvement projects, Morrow said. Through the troop-project program, engineer units can practice their military occupational specialties and construction skills while completing projects that improve the installation for Soldiers, employees and visitors.
The 609th has a history of supporting Fort McCoy through the troop-project program. In 2017, Morrow specifically highlighted the unit for completing a significant amount of concrete work at the installation, noting that the detachment had “done and have done a lot for us.” At the time, Morrow explained that he coordinates with engineer units to identify projects that meet both the installation’s needs and the units’ annual-training objectives.
The current sidewalk work also continues a broader, multiyear effort involving Army engineer units from across the region and beyond.
In 2025, for example, Fort McCoy’s grounds contractor helped prepare a section of sidewalk along J Street by removing the decades-old concrete, allowing Army engineer units to continue the replacement work during their annual training. The 372nd Engineer Company from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, then prepared the base and installed forms for new concrete, followed by the 279th Engineer Utilities Detachment, which completed additional work on the project.
Other engineer units have similarly used Fort McCoy sidewalk projects as training opportunities. In 2024, Soldiers with the 612th Engineer Detachment (Utilities) replaced a 220-foot section of sidewalk, including removing the old concrete, preparing the base, setting forms and pouring 17 yards of new concrete.
The ongoing nature of these projects is intentional. Fort McCoy officials have emphasized that troop projects provide a mutually beneficial training opportunity: engineer Soldiers receive realistic construction experience while the installation receives improvements to its infrastructure, training areas and quality-of-life facilities.
“If we didn’t have these projects, many of these engineer troops wouldn’t get the training they need, and the installation wouldn’t benefit from the work they do to improve Fort McCoy training ranges and quality-of-life programs,” Morrow has said in describing the troop-project program.
The 609th’s work occurred as part of Warrior Exercise-Regional Medic 2026, the 86th Training Division’s major annual training exercise at Fort McCoy. The exercise brought together Army Reserve, joint, and Total Force personnel for large-scale collective training designed to replicate complex operational environments. Engineer operations were among the capabilities incorporated into the exercise.
For the 609th, that training environment extended beyond tactical scenarios and into the practical work of building and improving infrastructure.
By continuing a sidewalk project started by previous engineer units, the 609th demonstrated one of the long-standing strengths of Fort McCoy’s troop-project program: each training rotation can build on the work of the units that came before it, allowing Soldiers to receive meaningful hands-on experience while collectively improving the installation, Morrow noted.
The result is both a training benefit for the Army Reserve and a lasting improvement to Fort McCoy.
Fort McCoy has supported America’s armed forces since 1909. Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The post’s varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.
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 Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on DVIDS by visiting https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/FMPAO.
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: |
08.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
08.13.2026 13:45 |
| Story ID: |
572342 |
| Location: |
FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: |
24 |
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This work, 609th Engineer Detachment supports Fort McCoy sidewalk troop project during Warrior Exercise '26, by Scott Sturkol, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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