Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 13th Battalion, 100th Regiment held slingload training at Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport on May 22, 2025, at Fort McCoy with the support of two UH-60 Black Hawks and crews from the Wisconsin National Guard.
Leading the preparations for the training was Sgt. 1st Class Colter Lee Kincaid with the 13th Battalion, 100th Regiment. Kincaid, who said the slingload training they were completing best could be described as “cross-level” training for unit personnel who aren’t associated with the 89B military occupational specialty (MOS) of ammunition supply specialist.
“I'm here … to present to some different MOS’ to do some cross-level training and also try to share our experience and our knowledge base with what we do and why we do it,” said Kincaid, who regularly serves as an 89B instructor, during the training. “So that way, not just our MOS gets it, but other MOS’ understand why we do what we do, and how we put it together. So, it’s kind of a knowledge sharing experience.
Kincaid said they started the training operation’s planning process several months in advance. That included working out having the correct equipment in places as well as working with the Wisconsin National Guard to have the Black Hawks and crews participate.
Kincaid also explained why knowing how to complete a slingload is an important thing for a Soldier to have the skills to complete.
“So, getting bullets to the fight keeps Soldiers alive,” Kincaid said. “Bottom line, that’s what’s important. Experience, we’ve gotten to the stagnation where we don’t think about slingload a lot but for those areas like Afghanistan, Vietnam … areas in which we do not have the ability to transport assets in a fast, effective manner, has led us to forget about this option, this very effective option to get something that is needed to the Soldiers on the front line in a fast, rapid deployment process.”
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](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.”