More Information on Suspension of Fort McCoy Garrison Commander

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 -- 11:01 AM

(Rich Kremer, Wisconsin Public Radio) The garrison commander of Wisconsin’s only federally operated army base has been suspended, according to a statement from the U.S. Army Reserve Command.

According to Rich Kremer with the Wisconsin Public Radio, the suspension comes after a post surfaced on social media showing pictures of the President and U.S. Secretary of Defense were not displayed on a base leadership board.

In a statement to WPR, 88th Readiness Division Director of Public Affairs Chris Hanson confirmed that Col. Sheyla Baez Ramirez “has been suspended as Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy.”

Hanson said the suspension does not mean Ramirez has been relieved of command. “This suspension is not related to any misconduct,” Hanson said. “We have no further details to provide at this time while this matter is under review.”

Hanson did not respond to a question from WPR about whether the suspension was related to the photos. Ramirez has been Fort McCoy’s garrison commander since July 2024.

She was the first female garrison commander in the base’s 110-plus year history. Before that, she served as a platoon leader for the Army’s 103rd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia and held other commanding roles in military intelligence.

Attempts to contact Ramirez were unsuccessful. On April 14, the DOD Rapid Response social media account posted about what it called the “Ft. McCoy Chain of Command wall controversy.”

The first image in the post shows pictures of the President and Defense Secretary turned around and facing the wall, while pictures of military commanders below are visible.

The second image from DOD Rapid Response shows the photos facing away from the wall. “WE FIXED IT!” said the DOD Rapid Response post. “Also, an investigation has begun to figure out exactly what happened.”

A Facebook post from the U.S. Army Reserve that day said Fort McCoy’s leadership team “were unaware of the vandalism of the Leadership Board” and immediate action was taken to correct it.

“We take matters such as this seriously, and our primary concern is ensuring that all legal and appropriate actions are taken in accordance with our commitment to upholding the highest standards of conduct among our Soldiers and civilian personnel,” said the Army Reserve post.

Several comments on the Facebook post said military leadership should fall in line with the president and defense secretary. Many others made personal attacks against Ramirez. Hanson said the suspension of Ramirez will not impact “our busy training season” at Fort McCoy moving forward.

Since April 1, at least seven military leaders at bases around the U.S. have been removed from their posts for reported “loss of confidence” in their ability to lead, according to reporting by Military.com.

An April 7 article from the website reported on “a growing purge of top-ranking military officials by the current administration.”

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.