Fort McCoy undertakes major effort to clear outdated training equipment, improve readiness

Official Statements

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “A yearlong effort led by a garrison supply specialist is helping remove decades-old equipment from training areas, improve safety, and return valuable resources and land to more relevant military training. At U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy, Staff Sgt. Dequan Johnson understands that managing Army property is about much more than keeping track of equipment, maintaining inventories, and making sure supplies are accounted for. It is also about ensuring the installation has the resources, space, and capabilities needed to support the Army’s changing training requirements.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “As a member of the garrison’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company at Fort McCoy, Johnson is helping lead a substantial installation-wide effort to remove excess equipment and materials that have accumulated over decades, particularly in former forward operating base (FOB) training areas such as FOB Liberty and FOB Freedom on North Post and South Post respectively.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “The project, which has been nearly a year in the making, involves removing hundreds of containers, vehicles, trailers, shelters, and other equipment originally placed at Fort McCoy to support training requirements during the buildup of the Global War on Terrorism.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “This process has been nearly a year in the making of essentially removing excess equipment from Fort McCoy that’s been here for about 25-plus years,” Johnson said. “This equipment poses both safety and environmental hazards to the units that come and train on it, so it's my top priority to ensure that we get it out of here so we can use this area for training that's more relevant to the military at this time.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “The effort is being coordinated with Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS), along with numerous installation organizations and mission partners. At the center of the work is a large-scale removal operation involving approximately 420 40-foot containers located throughout the installation. Through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Reutilization Program, equipment and materials are being transferred out of Fort McCoy for reutilization, recycling, or other appropriate disposition.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “Johnson said a company awarded an $83,000 contract is conducting the removal operation over an approximately three-month period. The work includes removing containers, vehicles, and trailers from installation property. The materials being removed include Alaskan shelters, mobile trailers, modified shipping containers used to recreate village environments, and other equipment associated with training scenarios developed decades ago. Johnson said the equipment served an important purpose when it was originally established, but the Army’s training priorities and operational requirements have evolved.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “So, this is huge for a few reasons,” Johnson said. “This is big because it allows for Fort McCoy personnel to get back to what matters the most, and that is supporting the transient and units that come here to train at Fort McCoy.” He explained that removing the outdated equipment will allow installation personnel to shift their attention away from maintaining and supporting areas with potential environmental and safety hazards and toward providing training environments that better reflect current Army priorities.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “The scope of the removal effort is substantial. Johnson estimated that approximately 20,000 tons of scrap metal will be moved through the operation. He said the company awarded the contract anticipates a return of approximately $4 million to $7 million from the recovered materials. Although those proceeds do not directly return to Fort McCoy, the project provides other significant benefits to the installation and the Army.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “The opportunity cost is allowing our personnel to get back to what matters, and that is supporting the transient units,” Johnson said. “So that’s limited use of our own personnel, that is limited use of our own resources from a material handling equipment perspective, so that we can truly focus on what matters.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “That distinction is important for an installation such as Fort McCoy, which supports thousands of military personnel and numerous training organizations annually. Personnel, equipment, and resources that might otherwise be committed to managing excess property can instead be directed toward supporting incoming units and their training missions.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “Johnson’s work also highlights the important role Army supply specialists play in installation operations. The Army’s 92Y Unit Supply Specialist career field focuses on supply management, inventory control, property accountability, equipment distribution, and logistical support. Supply specialists help ensure military organizations maintain accurate records of their property while making sure equipment is properly stored, used, transferred, or turned in when it is no longer needed.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “Those responsibilities extend well beyond maintaining a warehouse or conducting an inventory. They require coordination with commanders, supply organizations, tenant units, and other installation partners to ensure government property is accounted for and managed responsibly.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “At Fort McCoy, Johnson is applying those principles on a much larger scale by helping identify excess equipment, coordinate its removal, and find appropriate ways to reutilize or recycle materials. Johnson said he is particularly passionate about industrial ecology and the idea that materials should continue to have value even after their original purpose has ended.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “I’m super passionate about industrial ecology,” Johnson said. “So, from cradle to grave, what does that look like when it comes to items being taken to the grave? Who can reuse it or repurpose it for something that we no longer have a use for?” Through the DLA Reutilization, Transfer and Donation Program, the installation can help move materials into other uses rather than simply treating everything as waste. Johnson described the philosophy with a familiar saying: “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “For Johnson, the work at FOB Liberty also carries a personal connection. Approximately four years ago, he came to Fort McCoy as a Soldier with the 3rd Medical Command and had an opportunity to train at the same location he is now helping clear. “I actually had the 3rd (Medical Command) stay out at Liberty in the very sense that I’m tearing down right now,” Johnson said. “So, this is a full circle moment.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “Having experienced the training environment first-hand gives him another perspective on the importance of preparing the installation for future requirements. He emphasized that adaptability is a major part of the Army's ability to remain effective as missions and operational environments change. “One word - adaptability,” Johnson said. “So, in order to adapt to what we’re doing in the current environment, we have to get rid of the stuff that no longer serves a use to us.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “He said the DLA program provides an opportunity to move materials to locations where they can serve a better purpose, supporting the Army’s ability to adjust its resources to changing needs. Although Johnson has been helping coordinate much of the effort, he emphasized that the project would not be possible without considerable assistance from organizations throughout the installation.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “He credited the Supply Support Activity, tenant units across Fort McCoy, the Training Support Center at Fort McCoy, the 98th Army Reserve Readiness Training Center, the Fort McCoy Fire Department, and the Fort McCoy Police Department for their contributions. Those organizations have helped provide personnel, equipment, coordination, and other support necessary to conduct the removal operations safely and efficiently.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “I truly couldn’t do this without what I consider to be my mission partners,” Johnson said. “All these guys have played an integral role in assisting me with this process since it has been a year in the making to ensure that we are doing this safely.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “He also recognized the importance of volunteer support and cooperation among organizations, noting that the scope of the work requires far more than one person. “This is obviously not just a one-man job here,” Johnson said. As the removal work continues, the benefits are expected to extend beyond the immediate cleanup of FOB Liberty, FOB Freedom, and other areas across the installation.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “The effort represents a broader commitment to improving property accountability, reducing excess inventory, making better use of government resources, and ensuring Fort McCoy’s training areas remain relevant to the needs of today’s Army. For Johnson, the goal is straightforward: remove what no longer serves a purpose, responsibly account for what the Army owns, and make room for what comes next.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “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.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “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.”

• Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, November 13: “Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://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.”