Fort McCoy FY 2009 training totals near 106,000 mark

By Rob SchuetteOctober 26, 2009

Fort McCoy FY 2009 training totals near 106,000 mark
As part of a live-fire exercise, Soldiers carry a simulated casualty on a litter away from their convoy and along a Fort McCoy range in preparation for a helicopter evacuation. The Soldiers from the 401st Engineer Company, an Oklahoma City Army Reser... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT McCOY, Wisc. - Fort McCoy trained nearly 106,000 personnel during fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30. The installation has trained more than 100,000 personnel annually since 1984.

Mark Stelzner, Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) range supervisory scheduler, said the training included 70,302 personnel for extended combat training (ECT, two weeks or longer) and 35,434 personnel for battle drill training (BDT, weekend training). Mobilization totals are included in the ECT figures, and demobilization totals are included in the BDT figures. Training totals were 105,736 personnel trained during FY 2009, he said.

Terry Hoff, Fort McCoy Range Officer, said training highlights included the Combat Support Training Center (CSTC) Proof of Principle and Patriot and Patriot Warrior Exercises.

The CSTC Exercise brought a new generation of technology to the installation. Hoff said the exercise was designed to provide participating units with realistic, effective and constructive training in years three and four of the Army Force Generation Model and the Army Reserve Training Strategy.

Likewise, the Patriot Warrior Exercise gave Soldiers real-life training, which helped prepare them for future deployments. The Patriot Exercise also helped Soldiers hone their skills and prepare for any potential deployments.

"We had a good year for exercises and hope to carry that over to next year," Hoff said.

Stelzner said the Red Dragon Exercise, a homeland security scenario, also brought many troops to train at Fort McCoy in FY 2009. In addition to Red Dragon, the Diamond Saber, CSTC, and Patriot Warrior exercises have indicated they will return to train at Fort McCoy in FY 2010.

"They're telling us they get good support and they're meeting their training requirements," Stelzner said. "We give top-load service to units. If they don't have expertise (in a certain aspect of training they need), we can provide the expertise to them."

Other highlights included the 6th Engineer Battalion, a U.S. Marine Corps unit, which brought along Marine Corps improvised explosive device (IED) experts and conducted high speed IED training on Fort McCoy's Home Station Training Lanes. The training included a joint effort between British soldiers and U.S. Marines, he said.

The 29th Combat Aviation Brigade of the Maryland Army National Guard provided helicopter support to the Patriot Exercise. Stelzner said the unit's commander was impressed with McCoy's ranges and facilities and was considering having the unit return to Fort McCoy for training.

Rotary and fixed-wing training support also was provided to the Red Dragon and Global Medic Exercises, he said.

Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security personnel also are gearing up for a busy winter training season, which will include a large amount of mobilization training.

"We're getting warming shelters, tents, Southwest Asia Huts and trailers in place to support the training," Hoff said. "We're also making upgrades to a lot of training areas, including Home Station Training Lane improvements."

Ongoing projects on Range 100, which will support M-16 rifle and M-9 pistol firing, and Range 36, which will add another Live-Fire Shoot House, also will support the mobilization training, as well as future training in FY 2010 and beyond, Hoff said.

The FY 2009 Fort McCoy training totals include training statistics from a number of tenant activities or organizations at Fort McCoy, such as the Regional Training Site-Medical, Regional Training Site-Maintenance, the 84th Training Command (Unit Readiness), the Regional Training Center-North, the Wisconsin Military Academy, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion-25, the Noncommissioned Officer Academy, the 11th,100th Military Intelligence Battalion, the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy, and the Wisconsin ChalleNGe Academy.