APRIL 21, 2025 – Seventy-one cadets and nearly a dozen staff members with Army ROTC units at seven universities in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan trained at Fort McCoy on April 11 in field training lanes to build their skills.
“The cadets were participating in a combined field training exercise,” said Maj. Michael Centola, associate professor of military science and executive officer for the Badger ROTC Battalion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Schools came together to train on small unit tactics, troop leading procedures, and land navigation.
“This was the last large-scale training exercise for the third-year cadets prior to their formal assessment at Fort Knox (Ky.) later this summer,” Centola said.
Cadet Grace Sandretti with the University of Wisconsin-Madison ROTC Program, who is a senior cadet, served as an opposing forces person to help train the junior cadets during the field training. She described how important this effort was.
“The field training exercise (FTX) is a great opportunity for cadets to make mistakes,” Sandretti said. “I find that in this environment we’re able to talk about any mistakes that are made and talk through the missions. That creates a really great space for cadets to learn.
The FTX is a great learning environment, and we’re all working towards the same goals to get the (third-year cadets) ready for cadet summer training,” Sandretti said.
She also discussed completing this training at Fort McCoy.
“I think it’s a great,” Sandretti said. “We’ve been really lucky to have this space and this opportunity to use Fort McCoy. It’s a great training environment. It’s a great training space. It’s beautiful out here, and it’s given me the chance to practice tactics in an actual wooded environment and setting. The past four years has been a treat to be able to come here.”
Cadet Mason Brill-Meerdink with the Marquette University ROTC Program at Milwaukee was one of the third-year cadets doing the training.
Brill-Meerdink said he was glad to be a part of the training, too.
“Today we were in the beautiful Fort McCoy conducting … lanes in preparation for cadet summer training, known as CST for all our cadets,” he said. “This is a crucial time in our buildup of as (third-year cadets), especially before cadet summer training. This is the time where we get to hear from cadre, from (fourth-year cadets) who have walked the walk, and just to learn what it is to to be a platoon leader.”
Brill-Meerdink also said the instructors completing the training were very helpful in teaching the cadets.
“These instructors are immensely helpful,” he said. “They provide a plethora of knowledge. They are incredible resources, and I am blessed and thankful to have such amazing cadre who really invest their time and resources into us cadets. It shows, and I’m extremely grateful for it.”
This kind of training also shows how well the different ROTC battalions can work together as well.
“Interoperability is something that is extremely important in ROTC when it comes to other schools working together,” Brill-Meerdink said. “That is a skill you need for life, not just in the Army, not just in the Navy, or the Air Force. It is a skill you need for life. Teamwork, team building, understanding what it is to work with people, is the key to success.”
Cadet Jacob Adamski with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point ROTC Program, who is also a former enlisted Marine and now a third-year cadet, discussed some of the training regimen.
“Basically, we were taking turns in leadership positions during platoon operations,” Adamski said. “So, attacks, ambushes, raids, and more. This is basically a dry run of what we’ll do in Fort Knox, which is our one of our final evaluations before we commission.”
Adamski said he especially appreciates the field training as well as the useful teachings of the cadre doing the training.
“This is probably the most useful application of my time in the cadet program so far easily,” Adamski said. “It just puts you in operations in general. I think if I tried to pick at it by reading a book, it’d be impossible. I credit everything that I’ve learned to our cadre at our school and the cadre here from UW-Madison, and I thank them for teaching me.”
Army ROTC cadets and their units train at Fort McCoy regularly every year.
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,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy,” on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/fortmccoywi, and on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@fortmccoy.
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.”
Story by Scott Sturkol
Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office