We The People: Fort Leonard Wood has been training soldiers for more than eight decades in Missouri

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (KY3) - Fort Leonard Wood in south central Missouri is known for training our U. S. Army and specialized military. 85 years ago it opened for the first time to train soldiers and that’s still the mission today.

Anywhere from 75,000 to 80,000 soldiers move through Fort Leonard Wood every year for basic training. They then they go on to serve our nation across the globe.

“We are teaching them the fundamentals of being a solider,” said Major General Christopher Beck, Commanding General, United States Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood.

Basic training lasts for ten weeks, and Beck shares they see a transformation in the soldier during that time.

“We are teaching them what it means to be a warfighter and what it means to be lethal. They learn things like how to go out and live in the woods. How to train with their weapon because many have never fired a weapon before,” said Beck.

It’s not just basic training, the military installation also trains military police, engineers, and specialists at the United States Army CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear defense) School.

“I like to tell people we train one in six Marines here. So we are truly a total Army here and we have Guard and Reserve, but we’re also a joint force,” shared Beck.

Fort Leonard Wood consists of 65,000 acres of unique terrain, bordering the Mark Twain National Forest and leaders view its location as a huge benefit.

“We are the farthest north training facility for basic training in the Army which means we get the four season,” shared Beck. “You couple that with the training and we really have the opportunity to train young men and women on a lot of different things they’ll see when they get out into the Army,” Beck added.

Fort Leonard Wood Cultural Resources Manager Stephanie Nutt said this exact Missouri location in Pulaski County was actually the Army’s second choice at the time.

“Originally it was going to go to Iowa and close to the last minute, they already had construction crews hired and ready to go and they determined they didn’t have enough good water. We were already a location that Army had looked at and they were able to quickly pivot to here,” said Nutt.

In 1940 land acquisition and construction on temporary buildings started. This happened quickly.

“We started land acquisition in late fall 1940, broke ground in December of 1940 and by April of ‘41 we were open for business,” said Nutt.

At the time our country was gearing up for involvement in World War II and it needed space to train.

“Within about six months we went from nothing, rural communities, farm fields to a functioning installation good enough to bring soldiers in and start our training,” added Nutt.

Countee Hall on Fort Leonard Wood is one of its historical landmarks which is used today as classrooms and meeting space.

Countee Hall is named for the late artist and soldier, Staff Sgt. Samuel Countee. A mural of his is preserved inside the building.

The building itself is one of only two WWII-era Black Officers Clubs still standing. This represents a time when the military was segregated.

The stonework around Countee Hall and the chimney for its fireplace were made by German prisoners of war (P.O.W.). They were kept at the P.O.W. camp on Fort Leonard Wood from 1942-1946.

“The camp housed 3,000 individuals and we actually peaked at closer to 5,000, so we operated a few satellite camps around area as well,” said Nutt.

Fort Leonard Wood was still under construction itself at the time, so if you visit you will see sidewalks, bridges, building foundations and more which represent this work.

“It’s our military history,” said Nutt. “A lot of folks don’t look at German prisoners as being part of our military history, but it speaks to what we were doing as a country at that time and what was happening here at Fort Leonard Wood,” she added.

In 1946 Fort Leonard Wood closed.

“The training areas were leased out to a cattle rancher in Oklahoma, so they grazed cattle primarily and they did some Reserve and Guard training here,” said Nutt.

“In 1950 in preparation for entering the Korean War we opened back up again,” said Nutt.

In 1956 For Leonard Wood was declared a permanent military installation.

This brought money and more permanent construction, including the first family housing. This marks the beginning of a more modern Army and what many people think of today.

The Army is always evolving.

“Our military is changing we’re leveraging a very, very challenging time in world, the operating environment is very unique, but we’re learning a lot from real world things we’re seeing through out the world,” said Beck. “It’s helping us a military, helping us as Fort Leonard Wood evolve so we can deliver what our nation needs, what our military needs, and what we’ve got to do for the world,” said Beck.

You can watch our extended interviews about the history of Fort Leonard Wood on our “We the People” streaming show.

It streams every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Thursday at 6:30 p.m. You can watch here, or on Roku, Fire or Apple TV.

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