A 14-person Mobilization Force Generation Installation (MFGI) Mobilization Assessment Team from several Army commands visited July 26-28 to assess Fort McCoy for a possible future mobilization mission.
The MAT included representatives from 1st Army, Army Forces Command, Installation Management Command (IMCOM), IMCOM-Readiness Directorate, the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, Army Medical Command, and Army Sustainment Command.
The team received an in-briefing, toured several areas of the post, and met with their Fort McCoy counterparts in breakout meetings to discuss dining facility service, lodging, training areas and ranges, and more.
Chris Bagley, chief of the Mobility Branch at Army Forces Command, said the team is looking at 13 installations for the MFGI mission.
"We're making sure the Army is ready for mobilization if we have to," Bagley said.
Fort McCoy has a history of supporting mobilization. The installation supported mobilization during World War II from 1942-45, the Korean War from 1950-52, Operation Desert Shield/Storm from 1990-91, and for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom from 2003-11. During the 2003-11 mobilization mission, more than 140,000 troops with more than 2,600 units mobilized at Fort McCoy.
Garrison Commander Col. David J. Pinter Sr. told the team during the in-briefing that the level of support needed for another mobilization mission is already in place as the Fort McCoy team supports "mobilizing and demobilizing" when large exercises are held at the installation each year.
"I think you will find they go through the process each time they train here," Pinter said. "The processes of getting ready for the large exercises and finishing are essentially the same (as mobilization)."
Pinter added that each of those exercises are successful because of the experienced team supporting transient troop training each year. "We have a great team here. ... That is why our mission is successful."
In addition to a strong installation team, the members of the Mobilization Assessment Team were reminded of strong partnerships the installation also has to support the MFGI mission. For example, the partnership the installation had with the Air Force and its operations at Volk Field, Wis., during the last MFGI mission was highlighted.
"We are a key and strategic partner with Fort McCoy," said Col. David W. May, commander of the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center. May also noted that Volk Field served as the main air hub for the 2003-11 Fort McCoy MFGI mission.
"We have a lengthy runway that can land everything in the (Air Force) inventory," May said. "The capability we had then remains today, virtually unchanged."
During the installation tour, Mobilization Assessment Team members looked at dining facilities, barracks, administrative buildings, equipment yards, and other facilities. The team also received a helicopter tour of the entire installation.
Brad Stewart, director of the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, served as the main speaker during the in-briefing and tour for the Mobilization Assessment Team. He said the Fort McCoy team is ready, if called upon, to support an MFGI mission once again and the installation also will continue to support all the other training that takes place.
"All you have to do is open your aperture and imagination," Stewart said to the team. "If you have a training event you need to have done, we can help you. ... And it's not just talk - we deliver."
Installation officials will find out at a later date if a mobilization mission will once again come to Fort McCoy.
Fort McCoy has supported America's armed forces since 1909. The installation's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center." 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.
Today, Fort McCoy has become the Army's premier Total Force Training Center for Army Early Response Force early deployers to meet the Army's operational demand requirements. Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," and on Twitter by searching "usagmccoy."
Social Sharing