98th Army Reserve Readiness Training Center activates in special ceremony at Fort McCoy
The activation ceremony took place in Building 50, which now serves as the headquarters of the 98th ARRTC. The ceremony included remarks from senior leaders, an invocation by Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Walter McCall, garrison chaplain for U.S. Army Garrison-Fort McCoy, the reading of the activation order, and the uncasing of the unit’s colors to signify the formal beginning of its mission.
Capt. Wanda Snipes performed the national anthem.
Col. Michael Child, deputy commanding officer of the 102nd Training Division, welcomed attendees and emphasized the importance of institutional training to the readiness of the Total Army.
“Institutional training is one of the enduring advantages,” Child said. “It provides a technical foundation for leader development and professional education that Soldiers carry back to their formations.”
Child said the training conducted through the 98th ARRTC directly supports the Army’s ability to fight and win the nation’s wars by preparing Soldiers and leaders for their responsibilities before their units train collectively, mobilize, or respond to national requirements.
The 98th ARRTC will contribute to readiness across all three Army components through military occupational specialty transition training, professional military education, and staff training.
Its mission includes professional military education courses such as the Basic Leader Course, Advanced Leader Course, and Senior Leader Course, as well as the Battle Staff Course.
The organization also commands the Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Fort McCoy and oversees three Ordnance Training Centers located at Fort McCoy, Fort Devens, and Fort Hood, Texas, along with the Engineer and Chemical Training Center at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Together, these organizations provide training intended to develop technically proficient Soldiers, confident noncommissioned officers, and capable staffs throughout the Army.
“This building, Building 50, is now officially the home of the 98th,” Child said. “It will become an institution of excellence because of the professionals within its ranks.”
Child challenged the center’s first command team, Lt. Col. Brandon Michael Collins and Command Sgt. Maj. Justin Tranberg, to establish high standards, develop their personnel, and build an organization known for professionalism, competence, and disciplined execution.
He also recognized the Soldiers and staff members whose work will support Army readiness through their daily training and leadership.
“Your work strengthens units, develops leaders, improves readiness across the Total Army,” Child said. “More importantly, it helps ensure the Army is prepared to fight and win its nation's wars.”
Collins, commander of the 98th ARRTC, said the organization’s activation represents both a new beginning and a continuation of the experience and traditions built by generations of Soldiers who served in the 98th Division.
“We do not start from scratch,” Collins said. “We stand on the bedrock of established excellence.”
He emphasized that institutional training has been central to the organization’s identity for more than 60 years and pointed to the experience of instructors and drill sergeants who deployed to Iraq to train security forces in a combat environment.
Those experiences, he said, demonstrated that institutional training is not simply an administrative function but an essential part of preparing forces to meet operational demands.
“It’s an expeditionary weapon that should be embraced,” Collins said.
Collins also discussed the significance of the unit’s insignia and the history represented by its colors, connecting the organization’s past with its renewed mission as the 98th ARRTC.
The center carries forward the heritage of the 98th Infantry Division, an organization with roots dating to World War I that later developed an extensive institutional training mission. That legacy provides a foundation for the new training center as it brings together multiple training organizations under a unified command.
The ceremony’s uncasing of the colors formally marked the transition to the 98th ARRTC identity and the beginning of its mission under the new organizational structure.
In his invocation, McCall offered prayers for the new organization, its mission, and its leadership. He asked for wisdom and strength for Collins and the command team as they establish a foundation of excellence and lead the Soldiers and instructors responsible for training the force.
The activation also builds on earlier efforts to bring the organization together. On Aug. 28, 134 personnel participated in a patch ceremony and foot march associated with the formation of the 98th ARRTC. The event brought together members of the headquarters and subordinate training organizations, including personnel participating remotely from other locations.
The Oct. 21 activation represents the next milestone in that process, formally establishing the center and bringing its diverse training responsibilities under the 98th ARRTC command. For Fort McCoy, the activation reinforces the installation’s role in supporting Army readiness through training, leader development, and professional military education.
As the new organization begins its mission, its leaders and personnel will be responsible for maintaining the standards and traditions associated with the 98th Division while preparing Soldiers and leaders for the demands of service across the Total Army.
Child congratulated the command team and members of the organization, expressing confidence in what the 98th ARRTC will accomplish at Fort McCoy and throughout the Army Reserve and Total Army.
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 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.”
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