86th Training Division WAREX-Regional Medic 2026 showcases Fort McCoy’s ability to support large-scale, multinational readiness training
The exercise combined Warrior Exercise 2026 with Regional Medic 2026, creating a scenario-driven operational environment in which combat support, combat service support and medical organizations trained simultaneously while preparing for large-scale combat operations.
According to the 86th Training Division, the exercise challenged participating units in mission command, tactical decision-making, convoy operations, sustainment, engineer operations, communications, force protection and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response.
Medical units simultaneously established treatment capabilities, conducted casualty triage, provided emergency medical care, coordinated medical evacuation and practiced prolonged field care under simulated combat conditions.
Army Reserve Medical Command reported that the training audience included approximately 6,000 U.S. service members and NATO partner nations during the July 21-Aug. 9 exercise. More than 80 Army Reserve medical Soldiers from multiple Army Reserve Medical Command organizations provided real-world medical support during Regional Medic 26 in conjunction with WAREX 26.
The medical team included Soldiers from the 7458th Medical Operational Readiness Unit, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 7224th Medical Support Unit, North Charleston, S.C.; 7207th Medical Support Unit and 7412th Troop Medical Clinic, Webster, N.Y.; 7229th Medical Support Unit, Nashville, Tenn.; and the 7226th Medical Support Unit and 7359th Veterinary Detachment, Fort Jackson, S.S.
The Regional Medic mission also extended beyond simulated battlefield trauma care. Army Reserve medical personnel conducted real-world assessments and preventive medicine activities, including blood-pressure measurements, physical assessments, ankle and foot examinations, tonsil examinations and functional movement screening.
Capt. Abby Dillard, a physical therapist with the 7458th Medical Operational Readiness Unit, participated in functional movement screening during training Aug. 5. The exercise also provided opportunities for multinational cooperation.
Royal Danish Army Lt. Col. Peter Moldrup of the Danish Home Guard, participating through the Military Reserve Exchange Program, worked with U.S. Army observer-coach/trainers to evaluate the 275th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion from Fort Lee, Virginia. Photos from the 86th Training Division documented Moldrup discussing training plans with U.S. Soldiers and later moving through a training area with U.S. Army Lt. Col. Gregory Ogdahl of the 86th Training Division.
Other coverage also documented a joint after-action review involving Soldiers from the United States, Denmark and Estonia, further demonstrating the exercise’s multinational character and emphasis on interoperability.
Throughout the exercise, Soldiers trained on a wide variety of missions that reflected the interconnected nature of modern combat operations.
The 380th Quartermaster Company conducted scenario-based lanes and a hasty-defense exercise, while opposing-force Soldiers from the 449th Engineer Company supported the training scenario. Military Police Soldiers conducted roadblock and entry-control-point operations, and Soldiers with the 340th Military Police Company conducted mounted patrol training in wooded terrain.
Medical Soldiers also trained outside the traditional medical role. The 451st Medical Detachment conducted a Humvee recovery lane, reinforcing the requirement for medical formations to maintain tactical mobility and warrior skills while operating in contested environments.
Sustainment capabilities were another major component of the exercise. Soldiers with the 250th Quartermaster Company conducted water-treatment operations, including water-quality testing, while other sustainment units trained on scenario-based missions. AAD-C cargo-drop demonstrations also provided an opportunity to demonstrate aerial delivery capabilities in the exercise environment.
Mounted weapons training was conducted as part of WAREX 26, including an M240B mounted machine-gun range. Other training incorporated tactical vehicle operations, convoy movement, communications and force-protection tasks.
The breadth of training was supported by the 86th Training Division’s observer-coach/trainers (OC/Ts). According to the division, OC/Ts evaluated mission-essential tasks, coached leaders and provided immediate feedback intended to improve unit performance and ensure formations meet Army readiness requirements.
Fort McCoy provides the environment for complex training
The scale and diversity of WAREX-Regional Medic 2026 also demonstrated why Fort McCoy remains a major training destination for the Army Reserve and the broader Total Force. Fort McCoy encompasses approximately 60,000 acres, including about 46,000 contiguous acres of live-fire and maneuver land. The installation provides training opportunities ranging from individual and small-unit instruction to brigade-level collective training and supports simultaneous training across multiple environments.
The installation has 31 live-fire ranges, including 17 automated or instrumented ranges, along with 21 artillery firing points, 12 mortar firing points and an 8,000-acre impact area. Collective-training capabilities include multipurpose ranges, a convoy live-fire range, an infantry platoon and squad battle course, multipurpose machine-gun ranges, live-fire shoot houses and a live-fire breach facility.
Fort McCoy’s maneuver environment also includes extensive urban and rural training capabilities. The installation has two fully instrumented urban training sites, a 25-building Combined Arms Collective Training Facility, a 20-building Collective Training Facility and three wireless-instrumented Combat in the Cities facilities containing a combined 309 buildings. The installation also has rural training areas, an unmanned aerial systems strip, a search/site-exploitation facility, tunnel systems, an engineer water-bridging site and instrumented home-station training lanes.
That combination allows formations to move from tactical roads and maneuver areas to live-fire, urban, rural and specialized training environments without having to relocate to another installation.
Fort McCoy’s Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) manages training areas, live-fire ranges and simulation facilities while also operating a full-service training support center with training aids, devices, simulations and simulators. DPTMS also provides airfield operations, aviation refueling and air traffic control, coordinates mobilization and demobilization operations, and operates the installation’s Medical Simulation Training Center.
The installation’s support infrastructure extends beyond ranges. Fort McCoy provides barracks, dining facilities, classrooms, maintenance areas and other cantonment support necessary to accommodate large numbers of Soldiers and units operating simultaneously. During fiscal year 2025, 109,962 troops trained at Fort McCoy, reflecting the installation’s continuing role in supporting high-volume Army Reserve, National Guard and active-component training.
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.”
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 athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” 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.”
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