105,546 troops train at Fort McCoy during fiscal year 2026

Fort McCoy continued its longstanding mission of preparing America’s military forces for future operations during fiscal year (FY) 2026, supporting training for 105,546 military personnel despite several significant challenges that affected the installation's annual training schedule.

The total, provided by the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), represents another year in which the installation supported more than 100,000 military personnel from across the Total Force.

Although the FY 2026 total was below the 109,962 personnel supported during FY 2025, installation officials said the difference was directly associated with a six-week federal government shutdown that resulted in multiple training cancellations, as well as the deployment of several large Army National Guard maneuver battalions.

The training total for FY 2026 demonstrates the continued demand for Fort McCoy’s training capabilities and the installation’s importance to military readiness, DPTMS officials said.

During FY 2025, Fort McCoy supported 109,962 troops, compared with 73,991 in FY 2024 and 86,090 in FY 2023. The FY 2026 total reflects a difference of 4,416 personnel from the previous fiscal year, but the circumstances affecting the training schedule provide important context for understanding the numbers.

Annual training, battle assemblies account for 105,000-plus personnel

According to the FY 2026 DPTMS annual strength report, the installation supported 50,905 personnel participating in annual training and 54,641 personnel participating in battle assembly training activities.

Together, those activities accounted for all 105,546 personnel supported during the fiscal year. The report also documented 820,583 total training man-days during FY 2026. That included 612,210 man-days associated with annual training and 208,373 man-days associated with battle assembly activities.

Man-days provide another way to measure the scope of Fort McCoy’s training mission by accounting for the number of days personnel spend participating in training activities, the report shows.

The monthly figures showed how activity increased as the fiscal year progressed and the traditional spring and summer training seasons began.

April accounted for 18,385 personnel, followed by 12,870 in May, and 8,459 in June. July brought 19,215 personnel, while August was the busiest month of the fiscal year with 22,244 personnel. September accounted for another 8,942 personnel as the fiscal year concluded.

The numbers reflect Fort McCoy’s role in supporting both large annual training rotations and recurring battle assemblies throughout the year, officials said.

Training includes field exercises, weapons qualifications, institutional instruction, mobilization-related activities, specialized military courses, and large-scale collective exercises.

The installation’s ability to accommodate those different requirements simultaneously remains one of its most important contributions to the Army and the joint force.

Training across Total Force

Fort McCoy’s FY 2026 training year began Oct. 1, 2025, with National Guard, Army Reserve, active-duty Army, and other service members continuing to use the installation’s ranges, maneuver areas, classrooms, facilities, and support infrastructure.

October and November 2025 included regular annual training, weekend battle assemblies, institutional training, and other military training activities. Documented activities show service members conducting training across the installation during both months.

October and November documented coverage also reflected the broad mix of military organizations that regularly use Fort McCoy. The installation supports both large organizations conducting collective training and smaller units completing specialized readiness requirements.

As the new calendar year began, Fort McCoy continued supporting aviation operations, medical readiness training, and other specialized requirements.

In January 2026, an aircrew and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Minnesota Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, conducted training operations Jan. 13 at Fort McCoy.

The aircraft’s mission capabilities include air assault, general support, aeromedical evacuation, command and control, and special operations support. The Black Hawk is also the Army’s primary utility tactical transport helicopter and provides a versatile platform for moving personnel and equipment. The January aviation activity was one example of the installation’s ability to support Army aviation operations alongside ground-based training.

Also in January, seven Soldiers started off 2026 by earning their newest Military Occupational Specialty — 91J — by completing five weeks of training in the 91J10 Quartermaster and Chemical Equipment Repairer Course at Regional Training Site (RTS)-Maintenance at Fort McCoy.

Instructors for this course session were Sgt. 1st Class Paul Hendrickson with RTS Maintenance and Staff Sgt. Aaron Devries of the 13th Battalion, 100th Regiment. Hendrickson described the course, and more.

“These are Soldiers who are coming from active duty, Guard, and Reserve,” Hendrickson said. “With this course, what they are learning is how to do maintenance on heaters, fuel pumping units, water purification units at unit level size, company level, and battalion brigade size. They are also learning laundry units as well and how to maintain those.”

February continued with annual training, weekend battle assemblies, institutional instruction, and other activities involving National Guard, Army Reserve, active-duty Army, and other service members.

Also in late January, with one CH-47 Chinook and three UH-60 Blackhawks from the 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment supporting, Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 120th (1-120th) Field Artillery held cold-weather sling-load training Jan. 28 at Firing Point 421 at Fort McCoy.

Because the focus was to operate during cold weather, Mother Nature didn’t disappoint as temperatures were as low as -10 degrees Fahrenheit at the start of the training. Soldiers with the 120th prepared for the event, setting up a couple of Arctic 10-person tents with heaters.

Soldiers also donned their Army Extreme Cold-Weather Clothing System, or ECWCS, that’s issued to Soldiers. The system includes a lightweight undershirt and underwear, midweight shirt and underwear, fleece jacket, wind jacket, soft shell jacket and trousers, extreme cold/wet-weather jacket and trousers, and extreme cold-weather parka and trousers.

With helicopter blade wash just increasing the wind-chill factor ten-fold during the training operations, all the cold-weather preparation was a good thing, said Command Sgt. Maj. (CSM) Nick Kletzien, battalion CSM. And the training provided a realistic feeling for what 120th members would have to face in extreme cold-weather conditions possibly somewhere else in the world.

“This was a great opportunity to test our equipment,” Kletzien said. “And a good opportunity to have a training event that’s realistic to what we could face.”

For the sling-loads, the helicopter aircrews were lifting the M119 Howitzer. According to Army facts about the Howitzer, the M119 is alightweight, 105mm towed artillery piece used by the U.S. Army for mobile fire support, based on the BritishL119 gun, known for being air-transportable by helicopter or parachute and towed by Humvees, with upgrades like the M119A3 adding digital fire control for increased accuracy and effectiveness in rapid deployment scenarios.

This training event was completed over several hours. Teams of Soldiers took turns hooking up the sling-load Howitzers to the different helicopters. The helicopters would then pick up the pieces, take them for a short flight, and then return them to the same spot they were picked up from.

The installation’s February training was documented showing military personnel conducting activities throughout the post as the winter training season continued.

Specialized medical training supports Army Reserve readiness

One of the significant specialized training efforts during the first half of FY 2026 involved the Fort McCoy Medical Simulation Training Center (MSTC), which supported Army Reserve combat medics completing required 68W Sustainment Training.

Staff with the Fort McCoy MSTC, which is part of the Fort McCoy DPTMS, stepped up in early 2026 help Army Reserve Command complete 68W Sustainment Training for more than 90 combat medics before March 31.

Healthcare Instructor and Interim Director Benjamin Leonard with the Fort McCoy MSTC described the kind of training his center was completing between January and March 2026.

“We’re doing 68-Whiskey Sustainment Training, which is a two-year requirement for all combat medics to complete 72 hours of training, plus a Table 8 validation — the lane validation — where we put them into high levels of stress,” Leonard said. “There, they perform their medical care under that stress in a simulated combat environment. We also utilize the high-fidelity simulators to make sure that all the mannequins and related equipment actually give those vitals as well.

“During the training here, they’re doing everything on the patient as they would out in the real-world environment so that way they have the confidence, and we have the confidence in them as well to perform medicine to standard,” Leonard said.

One part of the training that enhances realistic training is the trauma lanes, Leonard said.

“The Soldiers go out there, treat casualties, and more in a stressful environment,” he said. “

Leonard said other things the combat medics are training on and learning is their medical treatment.

“It’s similar to … a troop medical clinic,” Leonard said. “They get the experience of working, doing sick call, or other medical care as they would in any other troop medical clinic. We also do prolonged casualty care training with them as well, so getting used to longer times, sitting on patients for longer experiences.”

The training requirement included 72 hours of training and a Table 8 validation. The validation placed medics in simulated combat environments where they had to perform medical procedures while experiencing elevated levels of stress.

The MSTC also used high-fidelity medical simulators that provided realistic patient vital signs and responses, allowing medics to practice treating simulated casualties as they would in an operational environment.

The effort demonstrated how Fort McCoy’s institutional training resources can support specialized readiness requirements while helping military organizations overcome scheduling challenges.

The MSTC is one of several specialized training resources at Fort McCoy that provides realistic instruction for military personnel who must maintain demanding technical and occupational skills.

Spring training activity

As spring 2026 arrived, training activity increased across the installation.

Soldiers with the 11th Field Hospital, based out of Fort Hood, Texas, successfully concluded a Collective Training Exercise at Regional Training Site (RTS)-Medical at Fort McCoy, Wis., which ran from March 4 to 12.

This training was supported by the 1st Medical Brigade from Fort Hood, Fort McCoy’s RTS–Medical and the Fort McCoy Medical Simulation Training Center.

Organizers said the exercise was structured to ensure medical personnel train as they fight. Participants engaged in a range of activities, including refining staff processes and enhancing medical skills through state-of-the-art simulation and cadaver-based training.

These efforts, organizers said, are crucial for strengthening overall medical readiness and preparing our teams for future missions. They also stated the event highlights the power of partnership between active-duty units and Reserve training assets. Such joint efforts, they say, foster a shared learning environment, ensuring that warfighters will receive the highest level of care through a cohesive and expertly trained medical force.

Maj. Toritsetimiyin M. E-Nunu with the 11th Field Hospital described the training.

“We’re here to do a culminating training event where we’re able to enhance our medical training as well as integrate our standard protocols,” E-Nunu said in an early March interview at https://www.dvidshub.net/video/1000528/11th-field-hospital-sharpens-medical-readiness-fort-mccoy-wis, who also noted there were close to 100 Soldiers in the training event.

“Those who are participating are actually active-duty Soldiers as well as active-duty nurses, doctors, and medics, and we do have Soldiers from outlying units that are serving as our role players,” E-Nunu said.

April 2026 also brought thousands of service members to Fort McCoy for annual training, battle assemblies, field exercises, and institutional instruction.

Units from the Army Reserve, National Guard, and active-duty components used the installation's extensive ranges, maneuver areas, classrooms, and support facilities.

Institutional training remained an important part of the month’s activity, with courses and hands-on instruction taking place at Regional Training Site-Medical and Regional Training Site-Maintenance.

The Wisconsin Challenge Academy also continued its educational and leadership-development mission at Fort McCoy. The installation’s three major training organizations — the 181st Multi-Functional Training Brigade, 86th Training Division, and 88th Readiness Division — play important roles in supporting military training and readiness requirements.

The Regional Training Sites provide additional capabilities for technical and medical instruction, allowing service members to complete specialized training without traveling to other major military installations.

Fort McCoy’s April training activity demonstrated how the installation supports both field-based collective training and classroom instruction, often simultaneously.

In institutional training, students with the Battle Staff Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Course held their end-of-course Combined Arms Rehearsal (CAR) on April 1 at the Fort McCoy NCO Academy with Fort McCoy Deputy Garrison Commander Lt. Col. Chad Holder serving in support of the training event.

The future enlisted leaders of the Army Reserve, National Guard, and active-component units who were in the course combined their experience from the course to hold the rehearsal, Fort McCoy NCO Academy officials said — the institutional training venue that manages the course.

The CAR is the culminating event for the course, officials said. It synchronizes what the students have been doing for 22 days at Fort McCoy. One of the main points of having the CAR is to synchronize each battalion, so that way then the brigade can understand exactly what’s going on. It also gives the picture to the other battalions on what’s going on across the entire battle space.

Holder served as a simulated brigade commander receiving the briefing during the CAR.

Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Caires, course director for the Battle Staff NCO Course, described the course training.

“Here at Fort McCoy NCOA, our Battle Staff Course consists of 159 academic hours,” Caires said. “One-hundred-eleven of those hours are just military decision-making processes on its own. Our course here has key topics such as mission command, command and control, Army operations, multi-domain operations, and large-scale combat operations.”

National Guard, Army Reserve units conduct extensive May training

May traditionally represents one of the busiest periods of the training year as Army Reserve and National Guard organizations conduct annual training and other readiness exercises. May 2026 was no exception, with thousands of troops representing numerous military organizations conducting training at Fort McCoy.

Among the organizations training during the month were units from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, including the 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 120th Field Artillery Regiment.

Other Wisconsin Army National Guard organizations included the 724th Engineer Battalion and 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment.

Army Reserve organizations also maintained a significant presence, including the 644th Regional Support Group, 445th Transportation Company, 624th Quartermaster Company, 214th Legal Operations Detachment, 324th Engineer Company, 482nd Engineer Detachment, 801st Field Hospital, and 364th Theater Public Affairs Support Element.

The variety of organizations reflected the installation’s ability to support infantry, cavalry, artillery, aviation, engineering, transportation, logistics, medical, legal, and public affairs training requirements.

Air Force personnel also took advantage of Fort McCoy’s training environment during May. Airmen with the 934th Airlift Wing, based at Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station, conducted training with C-130 Hercules aircraft and aircrews at Fort McCoy.

Personnel from the 435th Training Squadron also conducted specialized training at Fort McCoy during May. The squadron provides expeditionary skills and readiness training for Air Force personnel. Its activities benefited from the installation's combination of training areas, classrooms, facilities, and field environments.

The Air Force participation provided another example of Fort McCoy's joint-service training mission, which extends well beyond Army organizations.

June brings additional joint-service, engineering, sustainment training

June 2026 continued the installation’s busy training schedule as thousands of Soldiers and members of partner forces from across the United States conducted readiness activities. The month included significant participation from Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force, Civil Air Patrol, and institutional training organizations.

One of the largest organizations training during June was the Illinois Army National Guard’s 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The brigade conducted collective training designed to strengthen combat readiness and mission command while using Fort McCoy's maneuver areas, live-fire ranges, and other training facilities.

Supporting the brigade’s training were artillery, aviation, engineer, and sustainment organizations. Their training included fire-support coordination, mission planning, aviation support, engineering operations, logistics, and other collective tasks.

Army Reserve Soldiers from the 407th Civil Affairs Battalion conducted planning and field training emphasizing coordination between military forces and civilian authorities. The 624th Quartermaster Company completed logistics and sustainment training, while the 416th Theater Engineer Command worked alongside subordinate organizations to enhance theater-level engineering capabilities.

Soldiers assigned to the 16th Psychological Operations Battalion also trained at Fort McCoy, refining information-related capabilities and operational planning skills.

Joint-service training continued with Airmen from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Security Forces Squadron, who conducted force-protection and base-defense training. Members of the Wisconsin Wing of the Civil Air Patrol also participated in leadership development, emergency-services training, and aerospace education activities.

Institutional training continued throughout June with the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Wisconsin Challenge Academy, Regional Training Site-Maintenance, Regional Training Site-Medical, and 86th Training Division.

Wisconsin National Guard annual training highlights July

July brought another major training period to Fort McCoy as thousands of Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers completed annual training at the installation during a two-week period.

The training included aviation, engineering, tactical, logistics, and sustainment missions designed to strengthen readiness for future state and federal requirements.

The 1st Battalion, 147th Aviation Regiment, was among the organizations supporting the annual training period. UH-60 Black Hawk crews conducted aviation operations throughout July, supporting training scenarios and transporting personnel while maintaining flight proficiency.

The battalion also provided aviation support for the Wisconsin Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Boss Lift on July 22. Civilian employers from Wisconsin and Minnesota boarded Black Hawk helicopters and traveled to training locations across Fort McCoy to gain firsthand insight into the missions performed by their Guard and Reserve employees.

Engineer Soldiers also combined readiness training with improvements to the installation. The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 229th Engineer Company (Horizontal) worked with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works to complete a sidewalk improvement project during annual training.

The project allowed Soldiers to practice surveying, site preparation, excavation, grading, aggregate placement, concrete forming, concrete placement, finishing, and quality control. The skills involved in the project are similar to those used by horizontal engineer units during construction and infrastructure missions in operational environments.

The troop project program provides an opportunity for engineer units to complete meaningful hands-on training while improving Fort McCoy infrastructure, Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works officials said. That partnership benefits both the Soldiers completing their annual training requirements and the installation, which receives improvements that support future training operations and the quality of life for personnel working and living on post.

Warrior Exercise, Regional Medic strengthen collective readiness

Another major training effort began in late July and continued into August as the Fort McCoy-based 86th Training Division led its Warrior Exercise and Regional Medic 2026.

The combined exercise, known as WAREXRM26, brought thousands of Army Reserve Soldiers to Fort McCoy for collective training designed to replicate demanding operational environments and prepare military organizations for large-scale combat operations, 86th Training Division officials said.

The exercise combined the traditional Warrior Exercise with Regional Medic training, allowing combat-support, combat-service-support, and medical organizations to operate simultaneously within a common training scenario.

Soldiers conducted dismounted tactical operations, tactical vehicle and convoy operations, mounted weapons training, casualty response, medical operations, sustainment activities, and other collective tasks, exercise planners said.

Training scenarios also addressed mission command, tactical decision-making, communications, force protection, engineering operations, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response.

Medical units trained alongside maneuver and support organizations, conducting casualty triage, emergency treatment, casualty movement, medical evacuation, and other battlefield medical tasks.

The exercise also incorporated modern battlefield considerations, including training related to unmanned aircraft threats, said Maj. Jon Dahl, 86th Training Division public affairs officer. The combined exercise demonstrated how Fort McCoy can accommodate large numbers of personnel while supporting multiple military specialties and mission requirements within a coordinated training environment.

The 86th Training Division, which is headquartered at Fort McCoy, plays an important role in preparing Army Reserve units for operational assignments and supporting collective training across the Army Reserve, records show.

August features more than 22,000 training participants

More than 22,000 personnel participated in training at Fort McCoy during August 2026, making it the busiest month of the fiscal year. The DPTMS annual strength report recorded 22,244 personnel for the month, including annual training, battle assemblies, and other training activities.

In addition to the Warrior Exercise and Regional Medic training, the month included military police training, medical and sustainment operations, Air Force weapons training, aviation operations, and a major domestic-response exercise.

The 327th Military Police Battalion conducted nearly three weeks of training before completing its period Aug. 19. The training included physical and tactical activities, confidence-course and litter-obstacle-course training, medical instruction, tactical communications, casualty care, vehicle operations, and navigation.

Air Force Reserve A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft also returned to Fort McCoy from Aug. 17-21. The aircraft from the 303rd Fighter Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., conducted specialized bombing training and low-level flight missions toward the installation's impact area. Fort McCoy’s extensive airspace, varied terrain, and designated impact area provide an environment where A-10 pilots can practice realistic flight profiles and air-to-ground weapons employment, Fort McCoy DPTMS officials said.

The training allowed pilots to maintain and sharpen the skills associated with the aircraft's close-air-support mission while gaining valuable flight time.

Another significant August event was Patriot ‘26, conducted Aug. 24-29 in conjunction with Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center. Approximately 1,000 Airmen and Soldiers from National Guard units representing 35 states participated, along with federal, state, and local agencies.

Hosted by the Air National Guard, Patriot ‘26 focused on domestic-response readiness and interagency coordination through realistic emergency scenarios. Fort McCoy provided several specialized training locations, including Training Area Rice, Training Area Harrison, the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility, Young Air Assault Strip, and Badger Drop Zone. Army aviation crews from the Kentucky National Guard used UH-72 Lakota helicopters to support training scenarios involving medical-evacuation hoist operations.

Aircrews practiced recovering simulated casualties from areas where helicopters could not safely land, requiring coordination between aviation and ground personnel. Other scenarios involved mass-casualty response, search and rescue, damaged infrastructure, emergency operations, and coordination among military and civilian organizations.

The exercise highlighted Fort McCoy’s ability to support joint and interagency training beyond traditional military field exercises.

September completes another year of Total Force training

September brought the fiscal year to a close with another 8,942 personnel supported through annual training, battle assemblies, and other activities. Training continued across the installation with Army Reserve and National Guard organizations, institutional training programs, and Air Force aviation operations.

Air Force A-10 aircraft returned to Fort McCoy for additional training, while C-130 Hercules crews also conducted September training operations. The installation continued supporting Regional Training Site-Maintenance, Regional Training Site-Medical, and the Fort McCoy Noncommissioned Officer Academy.

The September activities demonstrated the installation’s ability to maintain a busy training schedule through the final month of the fiscal year while supporting a broad range of military organizations and specialties.

Installation capabilities support training throughout the year

The variety of military organizations and exercises conducted during FY 2026 reflects the depth of Fort McCoy's training capabilities. Located in west-central Wisconsin, Fort McCoy encompasses approximately 60,000 acres and provides extensive maneuver land, live-fire ranges, specialized training facilities, aviation infrastructure, classrooms, barracks, dining facilities, and other resources.

Fort McCoy has 31 live-fire ranges, including automated and instrumented ranges that support individual and collective weapons training. The installation also has artillery and mortar firing points and an approximately 8,000-acre impact area.

Collective live-fire training capabilities include multipurpose training ranges, a convoy live-fire range, an infantry platoon and squad battle course, multipurpose machine-gun ranges, live-fire shoot houses, and a live-fire breach facility. Those resources allow units to conduct everything from individual weapons qualification to complex collective training involving multiple organizations, Fort McCoy DPTMS officials said.

Fort McCoy also supports aviation training through its airspace, aviation facilities, Young Air Assault Strip, and Sparta-Fort McCoy Airport. The installation’s training areas support engineering, military police, aviation, medical, sustainment, tactical, and emergency-response activities.

Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”

And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.”

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 athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on DVIDS by visiting https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/FMPAO on DVIDS. 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.”

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