This Month in Fort McCoy History — December 2025

Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from December 2025 and back.

80 Years Ago — December 1945 FROM THE DEC. 7, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: With festive holiday trimmings; Xmas trees order of day (By Newspaper Staff) — Christmas is coming to Camp McCoy with festive holiday trimmings, if unit commanders follow the suggestion of Brig. Gen. John Rice, commanding general.

Gen. Rice has urged the erection of Christmas trees in front of orderly rooms, in mess halls and day rooms, and wherever the Christmas spirit moves.

That shouldn’t start a wave of woodcutters into the surrounding forests, he cautioned, for Christmas tree cutting is the special job of the post engineer division.

Lt. Col. H.E. Fillinger, post engineer, has asked that requests for Christmas trees be phoned in to Paul Young, civilian post engineer superintendent, at phone 111 beginning next Monday. Trees will be cut under the supervision of Ray Bufton, agronomist, and will be ready for delivery at least by Dec. 17, Col. Fillinger said.

He also pointed out all Christmas trees and decorations used inside must be fireproofed. He warned against using unsafe extension cords and requested that those putting up trees with electrical decorations have them inspected by the fire department which also handles fireproofing. Phone 102 is the number to request this service, he said. Lighted candles are prohibited.

FROM THE DEC. 14, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: McCoy grandson serving here (By Newspaper Staff) — Pvt. Robert Bruce McCoy, grandson of the late Maj. Gen. Robert Bruce McCoy, for whom Camp McCoy was named, is serving in the separation finance department.

Young McCoy, whose father Lt. Col. R.C. McCoy, Sparta, served with the 32nd Infantry Division, was inducted Nov. 29.

FROM THE DEC. 14, 1945, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: B-r-r-r! These Badger Winters: Even La Crosse native finds the cold too much after tropical climes (By Newspaper Staff) — Thirty months of tropical weather without a winter has made Capt. Lyman J. Earney, assigned to Camp McCoy hospital, just a trifle concerned over the climate of his home state.

The recent cold wave as kept him inside longing for the warmth of the Virgin Islands sun where he was stationed for over two and one-half years with the medical unit on St. Thomas Island.

Currently residing in Sparta with his wife, Capt. Earney is attached to the surgery section of the camp hospital, which he states is “very active and well-staffed.”

While in the Virgin Islands he was assigned to a coast artillery unit which kept constant vigil to protect against enemy submarines lurking in the Caribbean waters. The captain’s main duties on the island were in preventing and treating tropical diseases, predominantly malaria and filiarisis.

Previous to entering the service, Capt. Earney graduated from Marquette University and served as an intern at Milwaukee County General Hospital. He received his basic training at Carlisle Barracks, Pa., and was shipped to his permanent station immediately after completing a month’s orientation work.

Upon his discharge, which his 66 points should entitle him to soon, he expects to take some post graduate training and then enter private practice.

FROM THE DEC. 21, 2025, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Sparta, Tomah carolers perform here for yule (By Newspaper Staff) — Christmas carols will be sung over the entire post on Monday afternoon and evening by a group of carolers from nearby towns.

A group of high school boys and girls from Tomah will sing during the afternoon and in the early part of the evening carols will be sung by a Sparta High School group.

Carols will be sung at the Station Hospital on Monday night by a choir composed of hospital personnel.

TURKEY AT BOTH CLUBS Cafeterias at Service Clubs 1 and 3 will serve turkey dinner Christmas Day, Capt. Charles R. Hoggard, exchange officer, announced Thursday.

40 Years Ago — December 1985 FROM THE DEC. 12, 1985, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: McCoy DOL blankets snow-bound travelers (By Lou Ann Mittelstaedt) — When impassable road conditions stranded 563 travelers in the Tomah Senior High School gym, Fort McCoy did its part to give them a warm, fuzzy, welcome feeling by providing 150 blankets for their overnight stay.

On Sunday, Dec. 1, Lt. Col. Phillip Jones, Director of Logistics, received a call from Julie Zebro, executive director for the Tomah Area Chamber of Commerce. Road conditions were deteriorating rapidly, hotels in the area were already full and motorists were searching for a safe place to wait out the storm.

The Tomah Senior High School had been transformed into a “hotel” and blankets were needed for the overnight guests. Zebro asked Jones if Fort McCoy could supply 150 blankets.

With an affirmative answer, Master Sgt. Everette Patterson, Plans Office noncommissioned officer in charge for DOL, began wading through waist-deep snow to the buildings where the blankets were stored. When he arrived, he shoveled out the snow-blocked doorway with his hands.

With the help of the Fort McCoy military police and the roads and grounds crew, the roads and driveways leading to the buildings were cleared of snow, enabling trucks to be loaded with the blankets.

Patterson kept busy into the evening. Shortly after arrangements had been completed for the blankets needed in Tomah, a request for 50 cots and blankets for the National Guard armory in Mauston came in. Patterson and Maj. Nick Nugent did the organization for that request.

Meanwhile, two people in Tomah, each in four-wheel-drive vehicles, began the trip to Fort McCoy to get the blankets. Zebro said the trip, which normally takes 40 minutes round trip, took over two hours.

“The blankets and the support of Fort McCoy were greatly appreciated by the stranded travelers, the chamber, and the school,” Zebro said. “Fort McCoy was very cooperative. Lt. Col. Jones called me back within 10 minutes of my call and told me that we could count on the blankets.”

35 Years Ago — December 1990 FROM THE DEC. 14, 1990, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Desert Shield to bring more troops to McCoy (By Newspaper Staff) — Three military units were deployed, and the activation of 11 units increased the number of soldiers training on post to approximately 4,600 as Phase II of Operation Desert Shield at Fort McCoy proceeded smoothly.

The 32nd Transportation Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Fort McCoy, Wis., and the 213th Supply and Services Battalion, an Army Reserve unit from Wausau, Wis., both were deployed Dec. 2 from Volk Field near Camp Douglas, Wis.

The 12th Medical Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Beloit, Wis., was deployed Sunday. Eleven additional units were activated, bringing the total number of units activated here in Phase II to 38. The most recent units activated, by state, are:

• Wisconsin — Army National Guard: the 229th Engineer Company from Prairie du Chien and Platteville; the 132nd Military History Detachment from Madison; and the 1157th Transportation Company from Oshkosh. No Army Reserve units were activated.
• Michigan — Army National Guard: the 745th Ordnance Detachment from Camp Grayling. Army Reserve: The 182nd Transportation Company from Traverse City, Mich.
• North Dakota — Army National Guard: the 133rd Quartermaster Detachment from Cando; the 136th Quartermaster Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment from Grafton; and the 191st Military Police Company from Mandan. No Army Reserve units were activated.
• Iowa — No Army National Guard units were activated. Army Reserve: The 189th Transportation Company from Council Bluffs.
• Minnesota — Army National Guard: the 257th Military Police Company. No Army Reserve units were activated.
• Illinois — No Army National Guard units were activated. Army Reserve: the 308th Medical Detachment from Fort Sheridan, Ill.

The latest round of call-ups is due to the Department of Defense being authorized to activate an additional 60,000 reserve-component Soldiers from all branches of the military to support Operation Desert Shield, said Garrison Commander Col. Raymond Boland. That brings the total reserve component call-up to approximately 180,000 Soldiers nationwide.

Boland said the post is getting indications from higher headquarters that more units may be activated at Fort McCoy. These activations, if realized, would bring the total number of Soldiers activated here for Phase II past the 6,000 mark, he added. A total of about 1,450 Soldiers were activated and deployed during Phase I from Fort McCoy.

During their stay at Fort McCoy, the Soldiers receive refresher training in individual Soldier skills, such as marksmanship, first aid, land navigation, nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training and other military skills. They also are briefed on the customs and culture of Saudi Arabia.

30 Years Ago — December 1995 FROM THE DEC. 12, 1995, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Post archaeologist back from Laos (By Rob Schuette) — A final determination of the fate of the crew member(s) of an F-4C fighter jet that crashed into a jungle area in Laos 25 years ago during the Vietnam War may be one step closer to being resolved.

Dell Greek, the Fort McCoy archaeologist, said his one-month humanitarian mission to Laos in October and November was everything he thought it would be — long plane rides, hot weather, painstaking work in primitive conditions and long days.

The mission to find the remains of military service members missing in action was sponsored by the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting Team, an Army organization headquartered in Hawaii.

“I know if it were a member of my family in that aircraft, I would want to know for sure,” Greek said. “Proper identification allows the family to put the issue to rest and give the servicemember a proper burial.”

Greek, the only civilian member on the mission, said the final stages of a monsoon greeted the group upon its arrival to Laos. The weather delayed work for four days before the sun came out and it reached 105 degrees the next day, which is normal for that time of the year.

A previous group had started excavating the triple-canopy jungle site, which is surrounded by mountains, but was forced to stop by monsoon rains.

Greek said his pre-mission briefings included access to flight records, eyewitness accounts of the crash, and dental records to help identify the aircraft and crew members. He said a global positioning system was used to help pinpoint locations of distinct areas within the crash site.

“Still, some missions have to go through a lot of work to find the actual crash site because there are few signs of the crash after 25 years,” Greek said. “Then there is the fact the locals usually have salvaged whatever scrap metal or material they can from the aircraft to sell for reuse.”

Fortunately, there still were indications of where the 30-ton aircraft had crashed into the jungle at 400 to 500 mph after being hit by hostile fire in 1970, Greek said. The crash site is near the famous Ho Chi Minh Trail.

“Local villagers helped the eight-person crew, which included a logistics specialist, mortuary affairs specialists, a medic and a linguist, make the painstaking search for aircraft and human remains,” Greek said. Americans performed quality control on all fragments to ensure they were actually from the crash.

Because the plane hit the ground at high speed, it was reduced to fragments. Greek said the largest aircraft fragment the team found was about two to three inches in length. The group did discover one of the aircraft's 750-pound bombs intact and another bomb partially decomposed.

Greek said the group could not disarm them but was able to work around them. During the month, the eight-member team, along with 35 to 50 villagers, sifted through 122 cubic meters of dirt, and recovered about 150 pounds of plane parts. Greek said the search was very exhaustive to ensure the team didn’t miss anything.

20 Years Ago — December 2005 FROM THE DEC. 9, 2005, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: McCoy site of Army Reserve Conference (By 84th Reserve Training Command Public Affairs) — More than 160 senior leaders and staff from across the Army Reserve gathered at Fort McCoy for the Fall 2005 Army Reserve Commanders’ Conference, which was held at the 84th U.S. Army Reserve Readiness Training Command.

The theme of the three-day conference, which was held Nov. 18-20, was “Answering America’s Call to Duty,” and it provided leaders an opportunity to come together and focus on the proactive and holistic management of change within the Army Reserve.

“It is our obligation as the leaders of this great organization to effectively implement change in our force, while continuing to fight, win, and prepare for future wars,” said Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, Chief, Army Reserve, while speaking to attendees during the conference.

Many spouses of leadership personnel also attended the conference and attended meetings geared toward their needs, to include topics on family readiness. Maria Helmly, wife of Lt. Gen. James R. Helmly, attended and led several of these meetings.

10 Years Ago — December 2015 FROM THE DEC. 11, 2015, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: State Patrol K-9 teams train at McCoy’s CACTF (By Scott T. Sturkol) — Several K-9 teams with the Wisconsin State Patrol (WSP) trained at Fort McCoy’s Combined Arms Collective Training Facility (CACTF) for the first time Dec. 2.

The teams conducted numerous narcotics search-and-recovery scenarios, and the CACTF proved to be the perfect location, said WSP K-9 Unit Supervisor Sgt. Todd Brehm in Milwaukee.

“We’ve trained at Fort McCoy before at the (WSP) Academy, but this is the fi rst time we’ve used the CACTF,” Brehm said. “The (CACTF) is a great place to train. We completed scenarios in buildings, vehicles, and open areas.”

Exposing the dogs and their handlers is crucial to team success, said Trooper and K-9 Handler Dave McCarthy from the Tomah WSP post.

“Any time we can get into multiple areas like we (see at the CACTF), it exposes the dogs to new environments,” McCarthy said. “And, in training like this, it’s not only for the dog but the handler as well. It helps the handlers to recognize changes in behaviors in their dogs.”

WSP has both narcotic- and explosive-detection dogs, which are stationed throughout all areas of the state, Brehm said. Dog breeds used are Belgian Malinois, German shepherds, and Labrador retrievers. Each breed from every WSP K-9 team participated in this narcotics detection training.

Brehm also noted how important the K-9 teams are to the State Patrol, especially during traffic stops.

“Narcotics are transferred at one time or another by a vehicle,” Brehm said. “Our primary focus, as the State Patrol, is to ensure the safe passage of motorists and to enforce the motor vehicle laws, and to do that, we do what is called interdiction. Highway criminal interdiction is done on the interstate highways, state highways, and even county highways.

“Some areas (of the state) are more prevalent to narcotics movement than others, particularly in the more-populated areas, so we look at some areas closer than others,” Brehm said. “There are certain things we will look for at traffic stops called indicators. If we see those indicators, that will determine whether or not we will deploy a K-9 around the vehicle.

It’s not just one indicator; it’s several indicators, the totality of the circumstances during the traffic stop. That’s why this training is so important.”

While the K-9 teams trained at Fort McCoy, they stayed at the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy.

“Fort McCoy offers a vast opportunity for different locations to train,” Brehm said. “And since the installation also houses our academy for the Wisconsin State Patrol, it’s a good location for all of the handlers from throughout the state to meet up.”

McCarthy said having accommodation at Fort McCoy also allows for more opportunities for training. “It allows us to get a lot more training completed in a shorter amount of time,” he said.

5 Years Ago — December 2020 FROM THE DEC. 11, 2020, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: 2020-21 Cold-Weather Operations Course training season starts at Fort McCoy (By Scott T. Sturkol) — The 2020-21 season of the Fort McCoy Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) started Dec. 4 at the installation, beginning officially the fifth season of the course.

This season, the CWOC training team of instructors — Hunter Heard, Joe Ernst, Manny Ortiz, and Brian Semann — is prepared to hold five, 14-day training sessions of CWOC as well as two, three-day sessions.

Class dates are: class 21-01, Dec. 4-17; class 21-02, Jan. 4-17, 2021; class 21-03, Jan. 21 to Feb. 7; class 21-04, Feb. 15-28; and class 21-05, March 8-21. Dates for the three-day short courses are Jan. 22-24 and March 5-7.

At the end of the 2019-2020 CWOC training season at Fort McCoy in March, the CWOC staff and students experienced the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and had to adapt and adjust training, said Heard, who works for contractor Veterans Range Solutions, which supports the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, or DPTMS. And since the pandemic is still going on at the start of this new season, COVID-19 safety precautions are in place for students and staff.

“We are just hoping to get a full and successful training season this year while still abiding by the safety guidelines for COVID-19,” Heard said.

In addition to social distancing, hand washing/sanitizing, and mask requirements, Heard said they reduced the class size from 50 students per class to 30.

“We will do everything we can to ensure our students are safe,” Heard said. “Since the pandemic started, we have all learned a lot about how to increase the safety measures in our training program, and what we have in place should help us have a successful training season.”

During the 2019-20 season, the CWOC training program trained dozens of Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and — for the first time — Airmen.

“I believe we will continue to see another diverse collection of students from all the services this season,” Heard said. “As word has spread about how Fort McCoy is a great place to hold this training, we’ve had continued interest from active duty, Guard, and Reserve service members from all the military branches. CWOC training has truly become a Total Force training environment.”

The CWOC is modeled after the Cold-Weather Leader Course taught by the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Black Rapids, Alaska. During training, students learn about a wide range of cold-weather subjects, including skiing and snowshoe training, how to use ahkio sleds and the Arctic 10-person cold-weather tent, and how to build improvised shelters.

For each class, students start with classroom training and then move into various aspects of field training. Ernst said some students come to the course having never been on skis or snowshoes.

“It’s amazing to see how they adjust and learn throughout the training experience,” Ernst said. “Every season, our students are tested in tough conditions. And in the feedback we receive from every class, most students are appreciative of everything they have learned.”

Students complete miles of ruck marching in the snow and cold during the season. Sometimes students move in snowshoes and skis covering dozens of miles. Students also complete training terrain and weather analysis, camouflage and concealment, and risk management. They also learn about properly wearing issued cold-weather clothing and how to prevent cold-weather injuries.

“An important part of the training and understanding operations in the cold weather is how to identify and understand what causes cold-weather injuries,” said Ortiz, who was a combat medic in the Army. “Continuing in this year’s training, we will have training that will include scenarios on how students can respond to help a victim of hypothermia. This will help them build confidence and knowledge in understanding cold-weather injuries as well.”

Semann will be working his first full season as an instructor. “I’m definitely looking forward to supporting this training,” he said.

And the training should continue to help students help their own units be prepared for winter operations. Sgt. Jacob Larson, a past student in CWOC Class 20-05 with the 950th Engineer Company at Superior, Wis., completed training in March. He said he’ll be able to share what he has learned and that Fort McCoy was the right place to be for the training.

“I feel like I have learned a lot of skills I can take back to teach the Soldiers on my team,” Larson said. “I can help teach the proper way to wear the Army’s cold-weather gear as well as fire-starting tricks. … Also, completing this training at Fort McCoy was excellent.”

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 Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at 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.”