FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Jan. 26, 2018) – The following Fort Leonard Wood announcements are for the week of Jan. 29 through Feb. 2.

Jan. 27

Missouri S&T military appreciation basket ball games

Missouri University of Science and Technology is scheduled to host military appreciation basket ball games beginning at 1 p.m., Jan. 27, at the Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Building, in Rolla, Mo. The Missouri S&T Miners are slated to host the Rockhurst Hawks. The Lady Miners begin play at 1 p.m. and the Miner Men tip off at 3 p.m. Entry is free for military ID card holders.

Feb. 2

Committee of 50 honoree luncheon

The Committee of 50 is hosting their honoree luncheon honoring an exceptional Fort Leonard Wood service member at 12 p.m., Feb. 2, at the Hampton Inn, located in St. Robert, Mo. At the luncheon the committee will be honoring Staff Sgt. James Sheppard, the 2017 3rd Chemical Brigade Instructor of the Year.

Feb. 3

Job Fair

Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation is hosting a job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Feb. 3, at the Waynesville Career Center located at 400 GW Lane, Waynesville, Mo. The job fair is open to all job seekers. There will be some on the spot interviews and job offers.

Agencies are hiring for the following permanent and summer positions:

• Recreation Aide
• Facility Aide
• Lifeguards
• Food Service Workers
• School Bus Drivers
• AMERICORP
• VISTA

Some positions require applicants to be 16 years old and above, or 15 years old with consent of legal guardian and a work permit. For more information, contact 573.596.0283.

Feb. 14

Candygrams

Feb. 15

New program brings focus on S.T.E.M. education

The Bruce C. Clarke Library hosted a Mad Scientist S.T.E.M. Lab Jan. 18, kicking off a new program designed to boost science, technology, engineering and math concepts among children. The kick off gave community members an idea of what is coming in 2018. “We had a bit of everything during that program to show what types of projects we will be doing in the future. We will only be covering one subject at a time, for example, month one, we could cover magnets; month two, we cover measurements; month three, we build robots, and so on,” said Tyffany Hollenbeck, library technician. Claretta Crawford, library director, said the community has embraced the program. “We had more than 150 people that attended the S.T.E.M. lab event,” Crawford said. The program, open to children and teenagers, featured food, projects, games and crafts — all with a S.T.E.M. theme. “We want to promote the program and get the word out. We want to help children grow and learn, we also want to get the kids interested in new things,” said Amanda Williams, library technician. The regular monthly S.T.E.M. Labs will be held in the Bruce C. Clarke Children’s Room from 5 to 5:30 p.m. every third Thursday of the month. The next program is scheduled for Feb. 15. Programs will be open to all ages and can cater to all learning types and levels. Anyone interested in the program is welcome without signing up in advance. For more information, contact the library at 573.563.4113. Read the full article at https://www.army.mil/article/199601/.

Feb. 24

 The Outdoor Adventure Center and the Natural Resources Branch will hold the annual Kid’s Trout Fishing Derby Feb. 24 at Stone Mill Spring Recreation Area, located on Fort Leonard Wood Route 26, just past the Piney Valley Golf Course. Children ages 15 and younger can participate with supervision of a parent or guardian. Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will continue until noon. Fishing will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. There are no fees or pre-registration requirements to participate, and all fishing permit requirements have been waived for this derby. Participants should bring their own bait, tackle and equipment. For more information, call the Outdoor Adventure Center at 573.596.4223.

Fort Leonard Wood USO to begin spouse programs

The Fort Leonard Wood USO is bringing on a new slate of programs geared toward military spouses during 2018. The organization will begin offering spouse craft socials, USO Coffee Connections and USO Military Spouse Networking events. “All of our USO spouse-related events are geared towards bringing our spouses together and creating a community bond,” said Kelly Brownfield, USO of Missouri, Inc. – Fort Leonard Wood center director. “We hope that the spouses who participate will meet new friends, which can be key within a military community as families move or significant others deploy. By bringing spouses together we hope to give them another network in which they can reach out to for support,” Brownfield said. Read the full story at: https://www.army.mil/article/199602/.

Spotlight on education: Career Skills Program

The Career Skills Program is part of the Soldier Life Cycle that encourages and prepares Soldiers for civilian employment through apprenticeships, on-the-job training, job shadowing, internships and employment-skills training. Currently, the program stretches across several installations in the continental U.S. and is split up into six different regions. At each program location administrators help connect Soldiers with different companies to establish an internship opportunity.
Here, there are two CSP installation administrators, Walter Harris and Kelli Lindsay. Harris is a retired military police officer with 22 years of service. Lindsay is a veteran and former military police officer with more than six years of service. She is also a military spouse. In addition to the two CSP administrators, Fort Leonard Wood has a state representative CSP coordinator, Gary Jensen. Jensen is a retired veteran who served several different periods of time at Fort Leonard Wood during his 23 years in the Army.

Those eligible for the program must:

• Be within 180 days of discharge or release from military service
• Participate 120 days max under an internship in the program
• Anticipate Honorable or Under Honorable Conditions Discharge
• Must complete Soldier For Life-Transition Assistance Program completely before entering the program

The goal of CSP is to provide service members an opportunity to gain new skills and to give employers a chance to evaluate the service member’s skills and fit with the organization. Ultimately, this will result in a smooth transition from the military to civilian life for the service member.

Free Tax Filing Software Available to Military Members

With the new year bringing a new tax season, Military OneSource has launched its free tax software to support military members and their families in the annual task of filing. The MilTax software is available through the Military OneSource website, and walks military families through a variety of filing scenarios, explained Erika Slaton, program analyst for the Defense Department’s Military OneSource program. “Service members and their families have unique tax filing situations,” she said. “There are frequent moves, deployments, or multistate filings; there are a host of considerations that military members and their families face.” The tax software allows users to submit a federal and up to three state tax returns at no cost Slaton said.

Tax Experts Available in Person, Via Phone

Military members and their families can speak via phone with a Military OneSource tax expert, and in-person tax filing assistance is available on military installations at a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance location.

Eligible for Free Tax Services

The Military OneSource tax resources are available to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and National Guard, as well as Coast Guardsmen serving under Title 10 authority, Slaton said. Other eligible personnel include retired and honorably discharged members up to 180 days past their separation, as well as spouses, dependent children and survivors. Further information on eligibility, people in the United States can call Military OneSource at 800.342.9647 or visit the website, Slaton said. The site also provides calling options for people living overseas. To read the full article by Lisa Ferdinando, DOD New, visit https://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/1418017/free-tax-filing-software-available-to-military-members/.

For more information, contact the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office at 573.563.4145.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Jan. 19, 2018) – The following Fort Leonard Wood announcements are for the week of Jan. 22 through 26.

Feb. 1

Bruce C. Clarke Library staff members are bringing a new kind of book club to the installation in 2018. The Book Brigade is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 1 in the library community room. According to event sponsors, the club will hold meetings on the first Thursday of each month. What makes this book club different from all the others is that patrons can choose the titles for the group discussion. All that is required is readers must pick a book from the designated theme and bring the title to the meeting. The theme for the first meeting is: “a book that never fails to make you smile.” The theme for March 1 is: “a book set in your home state,” and for April it is: “a book from an author you love but have never read.” All ages are welcome to attend, but patrons younger than 12 must be accompanied by a supervising adult. For more information, contact the library at 573.563.4113.

Feb. 10

2018 Father Daughter Sweetheart Dance

The 2018 Father Daughter Sweetheart Dance has been scheduled from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Nutter Field House. Doors will open at 4 p.m. for pictures. Tickets are $20 per person, ages 2 and under are free. Tickets are available at the Leisure Travel Office through Feb. 2. For more information, please call 573.329.4513.

Feb. 15

S.T.E.A.M. Lab comes to the Bruce C. Clarke Library

Former FLW Soldier Emily Sweeney will compete in 2018 Olympics

When Emily Sweeney dons the USA colors at PyeongChang next month, she knows she will represent more than herself. She will also represent the World Class Athletes Program, the National Guard and the U.S. Army. Sweeney, who currently ranks eighth in the International Luge Federation women’s singles, will join fellow WCAP athletes Matt Mortensen in men’s doubles and singles competitor Taylor Morris. At 24, the Olympics will wrap Sweeney’s 14th year in the sport, and she plans to bring home a medal for her team. “Going to the Olympics isn’t enough for me,” Sweeney said “I want to go to the Olympics and do something. So it’s not over — the work isn’t over.” Emily said her grandfather instilled in her a sense of pride for her country and also inspired her to join the Army National Guard. Joining the military sparked a change in Emily. She often took a leadership role during basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. She did the same during her advanced individual training there, where she learned to be a military policeman. She even graduated with honors from the Army’s military police school. Once in the Army, Emily also opted to join the World Class Athlete Program. “I thought it was a great avenue of opportunity,” Emily said of her decision to join the Army. “I knew I wanted to continue being an athlete, but I didn’t want to only be an athlete. I wanted something else to pursue beyond my athletic career.” Read the full story at https://www.army.mil/article/198916/luge_athlete_sgt_emily_sweeney_perseveres_through_heartache_injury_to_compete_in_2018_Olympics.

Meet Your Army

Meet Your Army is an outreach initiative that sends Army leaders to American communities where the Army has little or no presence. Every year, more and more Americans lose connection with their Army. For this reason, the Army must do more to explain to the American public who the Army is, what the Army does, and what the Army stands for. The Meet Your Army initiative brings the Army and Soldiers to communities throughout the United States, where both civilians and local press can interact with them and learn more about who defends their nation. Over the last 40 years, as the Army has transitioned to an all-volunteer force, the percentage of Americans who personally know a Soldier has dwindled. Focus groups reveal that Americans generally respect the military without really understanding their Army or feeling a deep emotional connection to it. The goals for Meet Your Army are to educate, excite, and inspire the American public about their Army. Meet Your Army engagements lay a foundation to build and strengthen relationships with Americans, leading to greater understanding and public support for the Army and the Soldiers who serve. To learn more about the Meet Your Army initiative visit https://www.army.mil/standto/2017-01-19.

Seven Soldiers will compete in bobsled, luge in 2018 Winter Olympics

Seven Soldiers will be among the other athletes representing the United States Feb. 9-25, in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Returning in bobsled will be 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Sgt. Justin Olsen from San Antonio, Texas; 2014 Olympic Bronze Medalist Cpt. Chris Fogt from Alpine, Utah; and 2010 and 2014 Olympic team member Sgt. Nick Cunningham from Monterey, California, who are all part of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command’s World Class Athlete Program. Olsen and Cunningham are members of the New York National Guard. They will be joined by Sgt. First Class Nathan Weber, who is not part of WCAP. Sgt. Emily Sweeney from Suffield, Connecticut, and Sgt. Taylor Morris from South Jordan, Utah, will complete in singles luge, along with Sgt. Matthew Mortensen from Huntington Station, New York, who is competing in the doubles luge event. They are also Soldier-athletes in WCAP who have made the U.S. Olympic Team. The Soldiers’ participation in the Olympics is a testament to their enduring resilience and the Army’s commitment to teamwork, determination and perseverance, and the nation encourages the world to follow and share their progress in social media using #SoldierOlympians. Opening Ceremonies for these Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 9, and luge events run Feb. 10-15. Bobsled competitions are scheduled to run Feb. 18-24, all to be broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company through NBC News and NBC Sports.

For more information, contact the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office at 573.563.4145.