The division was transferred to the VIII Corps Louisiana maneuver Area on 27 July 1941, being redesignated as the 2nd Infantry Division in August, and remained there until 22 September 1942, whereupon the formation returned to Fort Sam Houston. They then moved to Camp McCoy at Sparta, Wisconsin on 27 November 1942. Four months of intensive training for winter warfare followed. In September 1943 the division received their staging orders, and moved to the Camp Shanks staging area at Orangeburg, New York on 3 October 1943, where they received Port Call orders. On 8 October the division officially sailed from the New York Port of Embarkation, and started arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 17 October. They then moved over to England, where they trained and staged for forward movement to France.