Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce Newsletter December | Page 15

From Fort McCoy 148,733 troops train at Fort McCoy in fiscal year 2018 Fort McCoy continues to be a high-volume training venue as 148,733 personnel trained at the installation in fiscal year (FY) 2018 — just a few thousand under the record number of troops who trained on post in FY 2017. Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) personnel document the training statistics each month of the fiscal year. This involves combining numbers of the entire training population, which encompasses reserve- and active-component military forces as well as other training agencies, such as law-enforcement agencies or the Wisconsin Challenge Academy. The FY 2018 training statistics were split between extended combat training (ECT) and battle drills. The ECT total for the fiscal year was 91,073, which includes institutional, civilian, and law-enforcement training and major exercises. The battle drill (weekend training) total for FY 2018 was 57,660. During fiscal year 2018, Fort McCoy held its highest level of winter training in many years with hundreds of service members completing the Cold-Weather Operations Course (CWOC) and more than 1,200 Marines participating in the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Ullr Shield exercise in January. Other big training events during the year included three Combat Support Training Exercises and Operation Cold Steel II, as well as smaller exercises. Two of the CSTXs were coordinated by the 84th Training Command and the 86th Training Division as part of the Army Reserve’s Combat Support Training Program (CSTP). For fiscal year 2019, Fort McCoy will continue to see high numbers of troops training on post, said DPTMS Director Brad Stewart. This will include numerous CWOC classes throughout the winter, Operation Cold Steel III taking place, and much more. Fort McCoy first broke the 100,000 troop training level in fiscal year 1985. An annual training record of 155,975 was set in fiscal year 2017. ftmccoy usagmccoy