Fort McCoy, Wisconsin
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Fort McCoy is a
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
installation on between
Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
and Tomah,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, in Monroe County. In 1909, there were two separate camps named Camp Emory Upton and Camp Robinson; in 1926, these camps were joined together to form Camp McCoy. Since its creation in 1909, the post has been used primarily as a military training center. A part of Fort McCoy is also used by the Wisconsin State Patrol as a training facility.


History

The post has been in virtually constant use since it was first formed as the "Sparta Maneuver Tract" on 14,000 acres (57 km2) in 1909. At first, the tract was made up of two camps, Camp Emory Upton and Camp Robinson. These were separated by a line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad that ran across the land from east to west. In 1910, the army renamed the entire tract "Camp Bruce Elisha McCoy" for the father (a Civil War captain) of
Robert Bruce McCoy Robert Bruce McCoy (September 5, 1867January 5, 1926) was an American lawyer and Army National Guard officer in the early 20th century. He served as a colonel in World War I and is the namesake of Fort McCoy, Wisconsin (formerly Camp McCoy). B ...
, a retired major general who first proposed the area as a training ground and bought part of the property on which the fort stands. In 1926, the name of the post was officially renamed "Camp McCoy" in honor of Robert Bruce McCoy, who had died in January of that year. It has gone by many different names such as Sparta Maneuver Tract; Sparta Military Reservation; Camp McCoy; and now the present, Fort McCoy. The name McCoy comes from Robert B. McCoy who was a military man, farmer and served as county judge who initially set up the land as a military camp. In 1938, the United States began a major expansion of the camp. This included the addition of over 45,000 acres (180 km2) to the post, as well as the construction of several new structures, including living quarters for the troops. This increased the camp's capacity to 35,000 soldiers. In all, the project was estimated to have cost about $30 million. The expansion was officially concluded with a new inauguration on August 30, 1942. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Fort McCoy was used as a camp for approximately 170 Japanese and 120
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and
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American civilians arrested as potentially dangerous "enemy aliens" in 1942."Camp McCoy"
''Densho Encyclopedia'' (accessed 11 June 2014)
After the internees were transferred to other camps, McCoy was used as a training facility for units from across the country preparing to enter combat, including the segregated all-
Nisei is a Japanese language, Japanese-language term used in countries in North America and South America to specify the nikkeijin, ethnically Japanese children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants, or . The , or Second generation imm ...
100th Infantry Battalion. The post was also used as a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the conflict, holding 4,000 Japanese and German POWs. Fort McCoy's POWs were featured in the 2011 film '' Fort McCoy''. The camp was briefly deactivated following World War II, but with the advent of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
in 1950, it was once again used for training. This continued until 1953, when the camp was again deactivated. It was then used to house various small national, state and civilian projects, and served as a training center for the Army Reserves, the
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
, and the Job Corps. In 1973, the Army reactivated Camp McCoy as a permanent training center, and on September 30, 1974, it was officially re-designated as Fort McCoy. In the 1990s, a second major construction project was undertaken, costing about $140 million. Today, Fort McCoy serves as a Total Force Training Center. More than 100,000 members of the military are trained at the fort every year, and the total number has exceeded 149,000 in the past. After the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, Fort McCoy hosted one of the largest populations of Afghan evacuees with over 12,600 as of October 2021. The 181st Infantry Brigade is the largest unit stationed at Fort McCoy. The brigade is responsible for training selected U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard units in the Central-Northern United States to support contingency operations in the Global War on Terror.


Deployments

Fort McCoy was used as a mobilization station during
Operation Desert Shield , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
and
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. This was the first time units had mobilized at Fort McCoy since the Korean War. Seventy-four military units deployed through Fort McCoy, totaling more than 9,000 Soldiers, 8% of the reserve forces activated during the Persian Gulf War. Volk Field Air National Guard Base was used as the primary point of departure. In addition, more than 3,000 pieces of equipment were deployed from Fort McCoy by train. The 769th Engineer Battalion and the 927th Engineer Company (Sapper) of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the
Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (; ) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal ...
mobilized for deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008 and 2009. The 890th Engineer Battalion of the Mississippi Army National Guard conducted Mobilization training at McCoy from April to June 2008 before deploying to Iraq. The 194th Engineer Brigade mobilized from Fort McCoy to Iraq in 2009 and 190th Engineer Company mobilized to Afghanistan from there in 2010, both are part of the
Tennessee Army National Guard The Tennessee Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. It is administered by the Tennessee Military Department. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained ...
. In late 2009 the 105th Engineer Battalion of the North Carolina Army National Guard completed its predeployment training and deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in early 2010 in support of the 2009-2010 surge in Afghanistan ordered by President Obama. During February and March 2003, the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 229th Engineer Company (Combat Support Equipment) deployed from Fort McCoy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 477th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance), located in Duluth, MN, mobilized to Ft. McCoy from December 2003 to February 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon returning from Iraq, the unit redeployed back to Ft. McCoy before returning home to their families. The 477th also mobilized to Ft. McCoy in support of Operation Desert Storm From December 2003 through February 2004, the 458th Engineer Battalion (Combat) of
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...
, mobilized through Fort McCoy. One of the soldiers mobilized was an intra-Reserve transfer or "fill" from Boise, Idaho, who later used his experiences there to form a major chapter in the online webcomic ''BOHICA Blues''. The entirety of Chapter 3, "Mobe Station", takes place at Fort McCoy and the surrounding area of Sparta and Tomah. File:Bob Hope at LaCrosse 1990.jpg, Fort McCoy commander and
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
at a 1990 show in La Crosse, Wisconsin File:Headquarters, 2nd Battalion, 351st Regiment on Fort McCoy 1980s.jpg, 2nd Battalion, 351st Regiment's Headquarters at Fort McCoy in the 1980s during Annual Training


Exercises and training

Fort McCoy hosts large-scale exercises multiple times each year: a WAREX (Warrior Exercise) focused on platoon level training, and a CSTX (Combat Support Training Exercise) that focus on Company level training. During both exercises, battalion and brigade headquarters exercise their mission command functions to the units participating in the exercises. The installation also hosts Global Medic, an annual joint-field training exercise designed to replicate all aspects of theater combat medical support, and Operation Cold Steel, a major initiative to improve the Army Reserve's gunnery training, from February through May 2018. These exercises are organized by the 86th Training Division and facilitated by the Observer/Controller-Trainers of the 181st Infantry Brigade. Between December and March, the Cold Weather Operations Course (CWOC) trains personnel to operate specialized military equipment under winter conditions. This course is open to the regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve soldiers as well as Navy, Marine, and Air Force personnel.


Prisoners of war

Fort McCoy housed many prisoners of war and is known to have held the most Japanese POWs during the war. About 3,000 German, 2,700 Japanese, and 500 Korean prisoners of war were held there. There were many other places that these prisoners were housed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order titled Order 9066 that brought these prisoners into the different states and away from the coasts. The first Japanese prisoner of war to enter the camp was captured at Pearl Harbor. There were five different POW compounds at Fort McCoy. There were two for the Japanese, another two for the Germans, and one for the Koreans. There were two barracks in each compound consisting of 50 bunk beds This is where they would sleep, spend time with one another and write home if they wanted. Japanese POWs were served steamed rice, usually once a day, and they were offered soy sauce with all their meals. Their utensils were replaced with chopsticks. Prisoners at Fort McCoy were fed well compared to other camps that were criticized for how they treated Japanese POWs. Health was important factor to Fort McCoy. They had an on-site hospital that POWs could use if they were ill and had access to prescription medicines and the camp dentist. They were allowed to practice religion freely. Japanese POWs were given a chapel which was converted to a place of worship. Buddhist preaching was performed daily and in order to perform, the prisoners needed incense. They did not have incense so they asked the YMCA for it and it was granted to them. File:CSTX 86-16-03 Bridging 160809-A-DR075-275.jpg, 652nd Engineer Company and the 739th Engineer Company conduct rafting operations during CSTX August 2016 File:CSTX 86-16-03 Bridging 160809-A-DR075-191.jpg, 652nd Engineer Company conducts rafting operations during CSTX August 2016 File:CSTX 86-15-03 150823-A-HX393-057.jpg, 1st Infantry Division participating in a combined arms breach during CSTX August 2015 File:CSTX 86-15-03 150823-A-HX393-069.jpg, 316th Engineer Company, 844 Engineer Battalion, in a combined arms breach during CSTX August 2015 File:Army Reserve Goes Virtual During Training Exercise at Fort McCoy, Wis. 080813-A-AB123-001-CC.jpg, 443rd Transportation Company during CSTX August 2013 File:CSTX 86-15-03 150815-A-ID814-102.jpg, 824th Quartermaster Company (Heavy Airdrop Supply) during CSTX August 2015 File:WAREX 86-13-01-Global Medic 2013 130727-F-AH330-090.jpg, 1982nd and 691st Forward Surgical Teams practice wound care in support of WAREX July 2013 File:WAREX 86-13-01-Global Medic 2013 130729-F-AF679-035.jpg, Aeromedical evacuation training as part of WAREX July 2013 File:HMMWV Night Live Fire at WAREX 86-16-03 160713-A-DR075-594.jpg, 329th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion during WAREX July 2016 File:US Army 51746 1st, 338th provides training, support at Fort McCoy to deploying units.jpg, 181st Infantry Brigade train deploying soldiers from the 101st Construction Battalion September 2009


Education

Dependents living in the South Post Housing are zoned to the Sparta Area School District. - .mil site.


See also

* Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 25


References


External links

*
Description at GlobalSecurity.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccoy, Fort 1909 establishments in Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Wisconsin Forts in Wisconsin United States Army posts