Fort McCoy Garrison Soldiers completed training scenarios on the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) II simulator March 15 at Fort McCoy.
Several Soldiers took part in special training at the EST, which is one of many simulations facilities at Fort McCoy, as part of a planned "Foundational Day" training event.
Simulations training is a large part of operations during for unit training as well as for exercises at Fort McCoy, said Training Support Officer Rob Weisbrod with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS). The EST is one that is utilized significantly by troops at Fort McCoy, especially Army Reserve and National Guard Soldiers.
Also, according to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center’s description of an Engagement Skills Trainer, the trainer is designed to simulate live-weapon training events that directly support individual and crew-served weapons qualification, including individual marksmanship, small unit collective and judgmental escalation-of-force exercises in a controlled environment.
Participating in the Foundational Day training were Soldiers with Fort McCoy Garrison Headquarters as well as Soldiers with U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
The training they held at the EST included marksmanship scenarios for both rifle and pistol.
“Soldiers are required to complete training on the Engagement Skills Trainer before actually going out to the range to complete their qualifications there, so this training facility is one of our busiest,” Weisbrod said. “The system is realistic, and it allows Soldiers that opportunity to hone their marksmanship skills.”
Every year more than 11,000 troops train on the Engagement Skills Trainer at Fort McCoy, Weisbrod added.
Earlier in 2024, the same garrison Soldiers completed Foundational Day training by practicing cold-weather training in below-zero temperatures near Fort McCoy's Whitetail Ridge Ski Area.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
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 at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the Digital Garrison 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.”
