Dozens of Christmas trees donated to Fort McCoy troops during 2022 Trees for Troops event

Fort McCoy military members were treated to dozens of free Christmas trees Dec. 2 courtesy of the Trees for Troops effort as a FedEx truck delivered the trees to the installation’s South Post Housing area.

By midday Dec. 2, staff with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Housing Division were lining military members and their family members up to get their free trees.

“There’s was a lot of people here when we started handing out the trees at noon,” said Housing Division Chief David Brande who was helping with the event. “This is one event that will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit.”

The truck delivering the trees arrived at 9 a.m. Dec. 2, and Brande and a couple of the Housing Division staff members helped unload the truck. Once the trees were out of the truck and lined up, the delivery to the troops was next later in the day.

According to www.christmasspiritfoundation.org, 15,300 total trees were picked up from 54 locations in 2022 and given to 84 total bases, including Fort McCoy.

Trees are donated by individual farms and lots, the collective efforts of state and regional Christmas Tree associations, local sponsoring groups, and the customers of participating locations. Hundreds of donors and volunteers participate each year to make Trees for Troops happen, the website states.

Also on the website, it states: “Trees for Troops, a program of the Christmas Spirit Foundation, provides free, farm-grown Christmas Trees to United States armed forces members in all branches of the military and their families through donations, sponsorships, grants, and the work of many volunteers. … Christmas tree growers have been providing free trees for military families for years.

“In 2005, FedEx contacted the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable branch of the National Christmas Tree Association, and wanted to be involved in the foundation’s mission. Together the two organizations expanded the idea of providing Christmas trees to military families, and Trees for Troops was born,” the website states. “Since 2005, 277,001 free, farm-grown Christmas trees have been provided to troops and military families in the United States and overseas through Trees for Troops. Thousands of trees are donated by American farm families and the public, and FedEx delivers these trees to around 70 military bases in the U.S. and overseas. FedEx has logged more than a million ground miles for the Trees for Troops program.”

“In 2017, Trees for Troops was honored to win the Department of Defense Spirit of Hope Award,” the website also states. “Trees for Troops was nominated for the award by the U.S. Coast Guard. The award is given annually by each branch of the military to groups that epitomize Bob Hope’s values of patriotism, loyalty, freedom, and dedication. Winning this award was a highlight of the season.”

Fort McCoy has been a recipient of Trees for Troops Christmas trees for many years, and they are always delivered to the South Post Housing area, and the feedback is always appreciative from the troops who receive them, Brande said.

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, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.