Fort McCoy’s SOHAC builds a lasting culture of safety awareness, support

For more than two decades, Fort McCoy’s Safety and Occupational Health Advisory Council (SOHAC) has provided installation leaders, safety professionals, and representatives from tenant organizations with a collaborative forum to strengthen workplace safety, identify hazards, and reinforce a culture of risk management across the installation.

Meeting quarterly, the council serves as the installation's primary venue for discussing safety trends, reviewing mishaps and near misses, sharing lessons learned, and coordinating solutions that improve the safety and health of Soldiers, Army civilians, contractors, and visitors.

Its purpose closely reflects the Arm’'s overall approach to safety. Army Regulation 385-10 states that safety and occupational health programs are intended to be integrated into every aspect of Army operations to protect personnel, preserve equipment and property, reduce accidental losses, and improve overall readiness. The regulation also directs commanders and leaders to incorporate risk management into daily operations while encouraging employees to identify and report workplace hazards before they result in injuries or accidents.

Growing into an installation-wide partnership

When Randy Eddy became Fort McCoy's installation safety manager in May 2005, the council already existed, but it looked much different than it does today.

“There was a council before I got here,” Eddy said in a 2023 interview. “There were probably six or seven people who attended.”

Eddy recognized that safety was a shared responsibility extending well beyond the Installation Safety Office. Over the next 18 years, he worked to expand participation by inviting representatives from garrison directorates, tenant organizations, and other installation stakeholders.

By the time he retired in July 2023, the quarterly meetings routinely attracted 35 to 40 participants from organizations across Fort McCoy, creating a forum where information could be shared openly and concerns addressed collectively.

“It became a place where people could bring issues forward,” Eddy said, adding that safety is everyone’s responsibility, not just the responsibility of the Installation Safety Office.

Turning discussion into action One example Eddy often cited demonstrated the council’s value. During one SOHAC meeting, representatives raised concerns about inadequate street lighting in an area of the installation. Through discussions among council members and installation leadership, the concern was addressed and additional lighting was installed.

“It was a real safety success story,” Eddy said, noting that the council provides a mechanism for organizations to work together to solve problems affecting the entire installation.

Those types of discussions remain a hallmark of SOHAC today, where members routinely exchange ideas, identify emerging hazards, and develop practical solutions that improve workplace conditions across Fort McCoy.

Supporting Army’s safety philosophy

The Army Safety and Occupational Health Management System (ASOHMS) provides the framework for how Army organizations manage safety programs.

According to the U.S. Army Safety Program, ASOHMS moves organizations beyond simple regulatory compliance by emphasizing continuous improvement, leadership involvement, employee participation, hazard identification, investigations, inspections, and proactive risk management. Its purpose is to synchronize safety efforts across Army organizations while enhancing mission capability and readiness.

That philosophy is reflected in how SOHAC operates at Fort McCoy.

Rather than focusing solely on accidents after they occur, council members discuss trends, analyze hazards, share best practices between organizations, and encourage open communication to prevent incidents before they happen.

Army guidance also emphasizes that leaders and supervisors are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces while encouraging personnel to report hazards without fear of reprisal. Effective safety programs rely on identifying risks early and implementing controls before those risks affect the mission.

Continuing a tradition of excellence

Fort McCoy's emphasis on collaboration has contributed to one of the Army's strongest installation safety records. During Eddy's tenure, the installation earned its first Army Safety Excellence Streamer in 2012 and ultimately received seven consecutive safety streamers while supporting one of the Army's busiest Total Force training missions.

Today, Installation Safety Manager Ed De Leon continues that tradition by leading quarterly SOHAC meetings that review safety metrics, examine accident trends, and encourage organizations to share information that can reduce risk across the installation. Recent meetings have emphasized that maintaining a safe workplace depends on continuous communication, engaged leadership, and active participation from everyone who lives, works, and trains at Fort McCoy.

As Fort McCoy continues supporting more than 100,000 military personnel in training nearly every year, the Safety and Occupational Health Advisory Council remains an important part of ensuring that safety is not simply a requirement, but a shared responsibility that strengthens readiness, protects the workforce, and supports mission success.

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 Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” 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.”