Tomah Chamber & Visitors Center Newsletter December Newsletter | Page 10

SPOTLIGHTS
On Base at Fort McCoy
BY THERESA FITZGERALD
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.
Workforce Update
BY KARI MLSNA
Many times we get asked, ‘What can the chamber do for
me?’ The Chamber is here to help promote and support local
businesses. We offer a variety of avenues for businesses
to get their name out there within the community and to
surrounding areas. Being a member of the chamber allows
you to connect with fellow business people. It allows you to
talk to others regarding business opportunities, strategies,
problems, etc.
As a Chamber, we are here to work cohesively with our
members and the community. We thoroughly enjoy meeting
and working with new members, currents members and
potential new members. We are here to support every one
from every aspect. If a new idea is presented to us from a
member or someone in the community, it is our job and
responsibility to take that idea, explore all angles of it, and
decide if it will be something that will benefit our members,
members of the community and the city as a whole.
Being the new Members and Events Coordinator at the
chamber, I look forward to working with all of our members
and recruiting new members. I also look forward to growing
Tomah from both a business and event aspect, retaining
current programs and creating new. I am ready to hit the
ground running and look forward to working with all of the
businesses.
I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year!
10