Metal siding installation is nearly complete on one of two buildings Army Reserve engineers from the 389th Engineer Company are working on during annual training at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 17, 2022. These Soldiers are working on multiple projects at the installation, assisting the Directorate of Public Works improve the training opportunities offered here. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ethan Cowell, construction squad leader, 389th Engineer Company, marks where to cut metal siding during a construction project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. Cowell and other engineers from the 389th En. Co. are conducting annual training here and working on improving the training areas during that time. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jason Amy, an engineer supervisor with the 389th Engineer Company, prepares metal siding to be used on a building improvement project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Specialists Evin Main, left, and Jesse Greene, engineers with the 389th Engineer Company, prepare metal siding to be used on a building improvement project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Soldiers from the 389th Engineer Company install metal siding to a building at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Spc. Evin Main, an engineer with the 389th Engineer Company, prepares metal siding to be used on a building improvement project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Pvt. Daniel Johnson, an engineer with the 389th Engineer Company, prepares metal siding to be used on a building improvement project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ethan Cowell, construction squad leader, 389th Engineer Company, uses a chalk line to mark where to screw metal siding during a construction project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. Cowell and other engineers from the 389th En. Co. are conducting annual training here and working on improving the training areas during that time. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Spc. Jesse Greene, an engineer with the 389th Engineer Company, inspects metal siding as part of a project to improve the training areas at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The engineers are working to make the buildings at Tactical Training Base Courage cooler and better able to accommodate the various weather conditions here as well as improving roads around the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Spc. Jesse Greene, an engineer with the 389th Engineer Company, prepares to screw in metal siding as part of a project to improve the training areas at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The engineers are working to make the buildings at Tactical Training Base Courage cooler and better able to accommodate the various weather conditions here as well as improving roads around the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ethan Cowell, standing with drill, construction squad leader, 389th Engineer Company, screws down metal siding as part of a construction project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. Cowell and other engineers from the 389th En. Co. are conducting annual training here and working on improving the training areas during that time. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Soldiers from the 389th Engineer Company are working on building improvement projects at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The project is one of several undertaken by the 389th En. Co. as it conducts its annual training here. Additionally, the unit is working to improve roads in the training area. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Two buildings stand in contrast as engineers from the 389th Engineer Company are fortifying the buildings at Tactical Training Base Courage at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The building on the right is the before version, the building on the left is in the midst of upgrading the water barrier and conversion to metal siding. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ethan Cowell, center, construction squad leader, 389th Engineer Company, cuts metal siding as other members of the units hold it in place as part of a construction project at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. Cowell and other engineers from the 389th En. Co. are conducting annual training here and working on improving the training areas during that time. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Cadet John Fisher, assistant project manager, 389th Engineer Company, directs a road grader operator as they work to improve the roads at Fort McCoy, Wis., June 16, 2022. The road improvements are part of annual training events for these engineers based out of Des Moines, Iowa. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Zach Mott)

Knocking out both vertical and horizontal projects, Soldiers with the 389th Engineer Company spent their annual training at Fort McCoy working on troop special projects.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based Army Reserve unit tackled building re-siding and road maintenance projects from mid to late June 2022 at Camp Courage on Fort McCoy’s South Post. The projects were offered through the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works (DPW) and DPW Troop Projects Coordinator Larry Morrow.

Staff Sgt. Ethan Cowell, the unit’s construction squad leader and training noncommissioned officer, explained the building project. He said the Soldiers had to remove and replace rotten boards, add waterproofing material, reframe and add new plywood, and cut holes in the eaves to allow more ventilation. Bright green metal siding replaced dingy gray plywood. An electrician also added new exterior light fixtures.

“You can tell how much better the temperature is inside once we cut the holes,” Cowell said. Without the ventilation, it was too hot or too cold inside.

The building project was new for many of the Soldiers. “This is a learning project. We are training them properly as we go so we don’t have any mistakes,” Cowell said.

“It’s all new to me,” Pvt. Daniel Johnson said. He joined the Army Reserve in April 2021 to learn engineering skills to give him better opportunities in the civilian world.

On the other end of the experience spectrum is Staff Sgt. Jason Amy, who’s been in the Army Reserve for 10 years. He joined the Army Reserve because his “entire family has been in the military. It’s a tradition.”

Amy also joined the Army Reserve for the camaraderie and the opportunity to meet people from other places. He said he likes the environment where he can “share knowledge and put it all together…working as a team.”

Although Amy works as an information technology manager for his civilian career, he likes being a 12H engineer supervisor because it’s something he’s “always wanted to learn and do. It’s a good field. It’s something that will never go away, and I can always use my skills at home.”

Replacing the existing plywood with metal siding was a new job for Amy. “It’s interesting learning a new task,” he said.

Other unit members worked on a road maintenance project. Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Morian, horizontal project NCO in charge, outlined the job. A total of 6 inches of gravel was added —  first 3 inches that is compacted, then another 3 inches, and more compacting. Then a crown was built to the center. The sides were shaved to permit water runoff into ditches.

389th Engineer Company Commander Capt. William Gentzsch said he likes coming to Fort McCoy because of the “good training opportunities. There’s lots of room here to use for all of our engineer tasks and individual tasks. We can do a lot here in two weeks,” he said.

Learn more about the Army Reserve by visiting https://www.usar.army.mil. Learn more about the 88th Readiness Division by visiting https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/88RSC.