Fort Leonard Wood’s VA Military Service Coordinator and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment office has moved into Bldg. 470, Room 1108. Their contact number has remained the same, 573.563.5853.
Press Releases
MPs talk international interoperability training
Brian Hill
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 28, 2019) – British and Canadian military police officials are here this week alongside members of the U.S. Army Military Police School attending an interoperability conference.
The goal of the conference is to build a knowledge base on the capabilities of each coalition partner while fostering closer relations to ensure success in future joint-training opportunities and operations, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Yasuda, USAMPS chief of staff.
“The purpose is to obtain a greater understanding of the MP capability, doctrine and training in order to strengthen relations and shape potential training and interoperability in preparation for future large-scale combat operations,” Yasuda said.
The lead Canadian attendee of the event, Brig. Gen. Simon Trudeau, Canadian Forces provost marshal and commander of Canadian Forces Military Police Group, said he looks forward to additional opportunities for his MPs to train with his counterparts to the south.
“I’m pleased to be here with my team this week to learn more about our capabilities and capacities, but also have a discussion and look for opportunities in the future to train and exercise together,” he said.
British lead attendee, Brig. Vivienne Buck, British Army Royal Military Police provost marshal, also spoke on the opportunities events like this present for partnership.
“It’s an absolute honor to be here with my team,” she said. “We look forward this week to explore more opportunities for working together.”
The conference, scheduled to conclude Friday, provides a chance for key British, Canadian and U.S. military leaders in the MP arena to engage with each other, gain insights into capabilities, but also to identify potential interoperability friction points to develop solutions for enhancing future relations, Yasuda said.
Some of the specific topics covered throughout the week include breaking into detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — commonly referred to as SWOT — for each nation’s MPs, detention and policing operations vignettes, and the development of timelines for future activities between the coalition partners. Included this week is a visit to the Defense Forensics Science Center, near Atlanta, Georgia, for a criminal investigation capability demonstration.
According to Yasuda, the U.S. and British have had an MP officer exchange program since the early 1970s, and in 2013, the U.S. and Canada began to exchange officers as well.
“These exchange programs … are essential so (we) can operate effectively and interchangeably in designated combined operations,” Yasuda said. “Most importantly, these exchanges exist to expand relationships and friendships with our military police allies.”
“Our nations will never go and fight alone … we’ll probably always go together and so that’s how critically important this is,” said Brig. Gen. Brian Bisacre, USAMPS commandant. “The world is getting no less complicated in the future and it will take these types of alliances, this type of work and this type of commonality (to) ensure our success to protect what our nations consider very near and dear — freedom and liberty.”
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission
Springfield Chamber of Commerce, industry leaders to host Fort Leonard Wood Military Police senior officers
Public Affairs Office
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 25, 2019) – Twenty senior officers with Fort Leonard Wood’s Military Police School are scheduled to attend a leadership panel hosted by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Oct. 29, in Springfield.
Following the panel, Soldiers are slated to tour Bass Pro Corporate Headquarters and SMC Packaging. The day will culminate with a reception at the Springfield Cardinals Training Facility.
According to school officials, the purpose of this event is to expose senior officers to the various leadership styles, challenges and experiences of corporate America.
Reporters wishing to speak to those attending, or cover any portion of this event should contact the Public Affairs Office at 573.563.4145 by 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28 for a schedule.
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission
Army evaluates new CBRN- and crisis-response technology
Sam Campbell
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 24, 2019) – The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Homeland Defense/Civil Support Office and Maneuver Support Battle Lab used a simulated earthquake scenario to evaluate new crisis-response technology for the Program Executive Office’s Robotic Enhancement Program last week at Fort Leonard Wood’s Urban Search and Rescue Training Area 235.
As part of the scenario, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck, collapsing a building and leaving role-playing victims notionally trapped in a pile of rubble. The debris was used as a staging ground for deployed search-and-rescue devices.
The experiment was executed with input from U.S. Northern Command, the National Guard Bureau, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and Army Futures Command.
Its goal was to determine the effectiveness of technologies that could provide military and civilian first responders a more accurate, remote look at Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear and other hazardous environments, such as natural disasters.
Officials tested three devices: Blackbird, a drone with both color and infrared cameras; the X3 FINDER, a device which its manufacturer says can detect heartbeats and respiration through 18 inches of concrete; and FARO Focus S 350, a 3D mapping and scanning apparatus, which can be mounted to a robot, such as Boston Dynamic’s “dog.”
“This is about improving readiness and protecting Soldiers,” said Gregg Thompson, MSCoE deputy to the commanding general. “We want our people — our No. 1 priority — to have the capability to assess hazardous environments without exposure to the hazards.”
Soldiers from the 95th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team out of northern California, Army National Guard, and Missouri CBRN and Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package participated in the experiment, working with vendors from FARO Technologies Inc., SpecOps Group Inc. and Nightingale Security to see if the featured devices offered a reliable way to detect incapacitated victims while simultaneously protecting first responders.
In crisis response, CSTs support civil authorities and incident commanders — sometimes civilian officials, such as fire and police chiefs — who task the teams with knowing what kind of situation first responders can expect.
Time-to-action, reliability of intel and safe-site assessment are critical components to missions, like rescuing victims from hazardous situations, said Maj. Andrew Hanson, 95th CST commander.
“How quickly can I start making an assessment at a catastrophic incident, like this earthquake scenario? And how can I assess the scene from a safe distance?” he said. “I have to know, if I do send in these technologies … is that assessment that I’m getting back of a high enough quality to advise an incident commander of what’s going on in terms of victims and hazards?”
“That’s why this experimentation and testing (are) important,” Hanson said.
William Turner, a deployment engineer with Nightingale Security, which produces Blackbird, said the drone can assist ground teams in rapid communication, with thousands of military, law enforcement and first responder personnel being able to watch the drone’s feed simultaneously.
“It’s point to multipoint, so you can view these (video) streams from anywhere in the world on as many systems as you want,” he said. “You could have thousands of viewers at once all across the world.”
Michael Buckley, SpecOps Group Inc. director of training, said the 14-pound X3 FINDER is mobile, mountable and weather-resistant, capable of assisting emergency response crews in locating victims of hurricane flooding and damage.
The FARO Focus S 350 can scan and relay 3D models of structures back to commanders even in “complete darkness,” said Scott Gershowitz, FARO account manager.
“For the commanders in the rear that aren’t out there at the site, at the scene, they can get a visual 3D representation, to scale, of exactly what their troops are dealing with,” he said.
Gershowitz added that the scanner has other applications for military and civilian responders such as post-blast analysis, crash reconstruction and accurate incident documentation for future learning opportunities.
Each of these devices relayed results back to Soldiers and U.S. Army North subject matter experts for near-real-time analysis at a command-and-control post.
“It is exciting to see the possibilities with unmanned systems and robotics, particularly seeing the potential applications across the board from WMD-CSTs to the whole of the CBRN Response Enterprise,” Thompson said.
He commended the joint experiment on Fort Leonard Wood.
“The team here continues to do great things to support the Army’s contributions to Homeland Defense and defense support to civil authorities,” he said. “I am proud of this collaborative effort.
“Fort Leonard Wood is an ideal platform for all types of Army experimentation, and the perfect venue for this experiment and others like it, allowing experts direct access to and contact with the personnel who write the requirements, develop the training, and field the materiel. This is an endeavor in effectiveness and efficiency.”
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps and Air Force detachments on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission
Library to host inaugural Warrior-Con Nov. 2
Public Affairs Office
FORT LEONARD WOOD. Mo. (Oct. 21, 2019) — Fort Leonard Wood’s Bruce C. Clarke Library will host its inaugural Warrior-Con from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 2.
Admission is free, and the event is open to the public.
Visitors can meet and purchase items from local and area authors, comic-book writers, artists and dealers, and visit with members of gaming and cosplay groups. Participants can also attend workshops and panels hosted by the gaming and cosplay groups.
Activities include two themed “escape rooms” that teams can try to solve by completing multiple puzzles and other tasks. Visitors can also take advantage of photo ops with professional cosplayers, and kids can enjoy “Geeky Story Times” in the Children’s Library.
Outside the library, Quidditch games will be held for kids in two age divisions: 6 years old and older, and 5 years old and under. Visitors can also purchase items from food vendors and relax in tents.
Visitors are encouraged to show up in costume as their favorite fictional characters.
Lanyards and pins will be given out to the first 475 patrons to arrive.
Parking is available around the library, although the main parking lot will be closed off.
All library services will be closed on the day of the event.
For more information, call the library at 573.563.8154 or visit https://leonardwood.armymwr.com/calendar/event/warrior-con/3545670/44142.
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps and Air Force detachments on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission
Missourian receives prestigious Army award
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Oct. 17, 2019) – The Judge Advocate General’s Corps recently recognized Gary Chura, Fort Leonard Wood Office of the Staff Judge Advocate chief of client services, as one of five recipients of their first Regimental Award.
Chura was presented with his award at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School on the campus of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.
“It’s very humbling,” Chura, a resident of Rolla, Missouri, said. “I really feel like I’m being carried along by the efforts of a great team.”
His nomination centered around a new initiative here, aimed at better serving and marshaling resources to represent victims of domestic violence in the Army community.
“That has been very well received by not only our clients but other people within the JAG corps as an extension of trying to serve more people in a better way within the legal assistance office,” Chura, a resident of Rolla, Missouri, said.
His efforts included meeting with the Pulaski County prosecutor’s office and several local victim advocacy groups in an effort to increase support.
“I have 24 years as a Missouri attorney, so I’ve gotten my feet wet in family court before I became a judge advocate,” he said.
However, Chura is adamant that he did not earn his award alone. His desire to do more for his clients was bolstered by the initial efforts of Capt. Jonathan Mathis, Special Victims Counsel here.
“I was thinking about my role here and about a victim population that was under assisted,” Mathis said. “When I was at (Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington), a good friend of mine, who was a civilian attorney on the Air Force side of the base had been doing a lot of domestic violence outreach and so I reached out to him…I talked to Gary about it and we just started running from there about how we could have some more outreach as legal assistance attorneys — not necessarily the Special Victims Counsel program — and reach out and really start getting involved in that process and assisting people who could really use the help.”
From there, Chura said it was just a matter of pooling their experience and resources.
“I worked the part of linking with local bar — judiciary in St. Louis, Waynesville, Rolla — as to how to represent victims of domestic violence while Jon, using his military justice experience, knew how the (family advocacy) programs work, and Army community services, and really marshalled those resources,” Chura said.
“Gary has the civilian expertise,” Mathis added. “I’ve been doing this in the Army for a while, and so what I brought was the understanding of the military system. I had a lot of knowledge of the resources available and where the friction points existed on that side of the aisle, and so I brought that in. We had this marriage of military and civilian expertise and we were really able to then start spreading our arms and bringing in a bigger section of the population.”
The result of this initiative is a new ability to provide in-court representation for domestic violence victims who would otherwise have to pay for and travel outside the local area for representation.
“Before, we could advise them on how the process works from the side,” Chura said. “Now we take a greater role in helping them actually draft the documents that are going to be necessary for them to be able to obtain an order of protection. We know the steps and we can actually go to court for them and act as their counsel. That’s probably the biggest thing we can do is say ‘yes, I am your attorney in this matter and assume that in-court role.’”
Chura said the time-consuming nature of legal representation is one of the major reasons this type of assistance hasn’t been offered much in the past.
“It’s a pretty high-level duty, and when you’re in, you’re in for the long haul,” he said. “It’s just not a normal aspect of legal assistance, although some offices are expanding and we’re one of them.”
Chura is also a Reservist judge advocate with the 8th Legal Operations Detachment, and that’s another way he’s been able to help increase legal services here.
“We have a good active component, reserve component relationship,” he said. “We’ve been more regularly drilling here…opening up the legal assistance office for Saturday services. It also enables us to refer clients with whom we would have a conflict of interest — for instance, two parties to a divorce — we can only really see one of them under our ethical responsibilities. We can refer (the other party) to the 8th LOD to get them counsel so we don’t completely have to turn them away. We really stepped up that relationship and enabled better service.”
Just as they partnered their abilities to provide additional legal assistance, Chura and Mathis each believe the next step in tackling domestic violence is more education and outreach in the community.
“We really want to do our best to reach people who might not know that their suffering is abuse, because domestic violence is way more than just the physical violence — it’s the control, it’s the emotional abuse, it’s the financial abuse, it’s all of those things together,” Mathis said. “And so what we really want to be able to do is reach out and communicate to the people who are experiencing it, that there’s a safe place they can come and learn about the process, learn about the resources they have, and learn that they don’t have to keep suffering, so we’re trying to partner with community events to really start passing out information so that people who otherwise wouldn’t hear about it, hopefully will.”
“We’re just trying to help the Army family, including retirees, family members, everybody as much as we can,” Chura added. “Our philosophy is: let’s figure out where the needs are. It’s about growing our ability to help.”
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About Fort Leonard Wood
Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 75 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.
Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.
Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps and Air Force detachments on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.
More information about Fort Leonard Wood is at: https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/about/mission