Military units from 26 states train at Fort McCoy

FORT MCCOY, Wis. — More than 2,000 soldiers, airmen and civilian first responders have descended on Fort McCoy to train for a full-scale emergency.

The National Guard Bureau’s annual Patriot training exercise assesses the guard members’ ability to respond to multiple emergencies and assist local and state first responders.

Military units from 26 states are participating in the exercise, which is meant to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each agency’s response plan.

Wisconsin Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team and the Wisconsin Disaster Medical Assistance Team are among civilian organizations participating in the training which began Monday and ends Thursday.

It’s the first year the U.S. Army Reserve is involved.