Numerous Soldiers with the Army Reserve’s 204th Army Band of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, were at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, on March 5 to exchange and turn in thousands of dollars worth of equipment to the Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility (CIF).

The equipment exchange itself wasn’t unique, but it was another opportunity for the facility to test its capability, said CIF Property Book Officer Thomas Lovgren.

“We have exchanges like this regularly with units like this from all over our region,” Lovgren said. “We support a large number of units every year — especially from the Army Reserve — and this was another example of that effort.”

Members of the 204th were at the Fort McCoy CIF for less than two hours to get their equipment exchange completed.

Master Sgt. Karsten Finseth, band detachment noncommissioned officer in charge, described her unit’s experience at the CIF.

“We experienced superb customer service with immediate attention to our needs, including several third-person turn-ins,” Finseth said. “The staff was ready to rock and processed us quickly. The facility was immaculate. The space to navigate the turn-in and issue process also lended to a seamless experience.

“During our two-hour visit, several thousand dollars of materiel was returned and issued efficiently,” Finseth said. “Many thanks to the team at CIF.”

Lovgren said the staff at the CIF appreciates any form of feedback from their customers in order to continuously improve operations.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Andrew Nelson, commander for the 204th Army Band, provided additional feedback, stating the Fort McCoy CIF will go the extra mile to help units meet their needs.

“We went there to turn in both excess and obsolete equipment, and also draw new equipment with occupational camouflage pattern,” Nelson said. “One of our teams had a recruiting mission that day, so those Soldiers were not able to make the trip. But those Soldiers were able to send their old equipment with a Soldier who did go along to complete the turn-in on their behalf.

“Although it is a three-hour drive to Fort McCoy for us, it was well worth the drive and is a huge plus having a CIF within driving distance so that equipment turn-ins and draws can be completed quickly without having to deal with shipping and other things,” Nelson said. “The facility itself is thoughtfully laid out, and the staff were extremely organized and helpful in getting the event scheduled and completing transactions quickly while we were on ground.”

Lovgren said the Fort McCoy CIF is always ready to support their customers.

“Reserve Soldiers account for probably 98 percent of the CIF transactions at this facility,” Lovgren said. “As a matter of fact, the CIF was built with Reserve funding. This is the only CIF that’s been given authorization and that actually takes the time to issue organizational clothing and individual equipment (OCIE) directly to the Reserve Soldiers. That means that a Reserve Soldier can come here for training … and if they want to do a turn in or an issue, they can schedule an appointment, come here, get the OCIE issue to them, or in this case, a direct exchange.

“One of the selling points we like to say to units is … you can come to do you come to Fort McCoy for great training, great training ranges, and more,” Lovgren said. “You can also come to Fort McCoy to get your OCIE issued directly to you as a Soldier, … use it for your training, and then take it back home with you, which you’ll maintain as long as you’re in the Army Reserve.”

The current Fort McCoy Central Issue Facility was originally built at a cost of more than $9 million and began operations at the building on Sept. 14, 2015. Operating out of a 62,548-square-foot facility in building 780, CIF personnel have plenty of space to store equipment and support customers. The facility is part of the Fort McCoy Logistics Readiness Center.

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,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison 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.”