"We are BLUE DEVILS!" 1917 ~ 2017
The 88th Readiness Division, headquartered on Fort McCoy, Wis., is a two-star command which provides services and Base Operations Support (BASOPS) to more than 46,500 Army Reserve Soldiers, 2,594 Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) Soldiers and 2,524 Civilians serving in 525 units at 277 sites with 579 facilities totaling 10,341,955 square feet of facility space on 18,113 acres of land throughout 19 states in the northwestern U.S. from the Ohio River Valley to the Pacific Coast.
The 88th manages 14 Local Training Area’s across eleven states covering 7,795 acers. Local Training Areas provide Soldiers opportunities to perform in their jobs, train close to home, and make the most out of Battle Assemblies by offering units the use of facilities, grounds and training venues to include convoy operations, organizational maintenance, engineer equipment dig sites, as well as Field Training Exercises.
The most recent addition to our services and support is the 88th Fort McCoy Draw Yard. The Draw Yard is a set of common military equipment (mostly vehicles and generators), available at Fort McCoy for Exercise and Transient Training unit use. The goal is to reduce transportation costs and Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration (RSOI) time for Exercise and Transient Training units during their rotation.
Accomplishing the 88th’s mission is a full-time support force of 42 AGR Soldiers, 1,227 Military Technicians, 105 Department of the Army Civilians plus 42 Troop Program Unit (TPU) Soldiers as well as Contractors assigned throughout the northwest region.
Additionally, the 88th coordinates Army Music support to the 19-state-region with the command and control of four U.S. Army Bands in seven locations.
The history and lineage of the 88th Division began a century ago in August of 1917.
The 88th Division was created following the passage of the Selective Service Act of 1917 and the registration of approximately 10 million men. National Army draftees from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois, became the 88th Division at Camp Dodge, Iowa.