FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – Fort Leonard Wood’s main gate is now open to inbound and outbound traffic.
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Press Releases
Fort Leonard Wood’s North Gate closed
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – Fort Leonard Wood’s main gate is currently closed to inbound and outbound traffic due to the barrier being activated.
Employees, visitors and residents wishing to enter or exit the installation are currently being asked to seek an alternate route.
Updates to the status of the gate will be released as more information becomes available.
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2018 Best Sapper Competition opens at Fort Leonard Wood
Story and photo by Marti Yoshida
Public Affairs Office
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (April 15, 2018) — The 12th annual Best Sapper Competition kicked off Sunday with opening ceremonies held at Training Area 160, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The first order was to introduce the new name of the competition as the Lieutenant General Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition.
“General Flowers is a great engineer, a great Sapper, and truly is the reason all who are Sapper qualified wear the Sapper Tab,” Brig. Gen. Robert Whittle Jr., U.S. Army Engineer School Commandant, said. “You will see him throughout the competition.”
Whittle encouraged the Sapper teams to talk with Flowers, who was the 50th Chief of Engineers when the Sapper Tab was authorized for wear in June 2004.
The Best Sapper teams were introduced during the ceremony.
“We’ve got 40 teams here from all over the world,” Whittle said. “You’ve all been training very hard. You’re all incredibly fit and ready to go, and that’s good because this competition will be grueling. You joined it because you wanted to test your limits. You joined to see if as a buddy team you could motivate each other to do the impossible.”
Now as you look around the room, you can see this competition will be tough, Whittle added.
The 97th Commandant of the Engineer school offered words of advice to the teams as they embark on tough conditions and challenges, like the return of frigid winds and temperatures not getting above 30 degrees.
“Never quit. Take another step. Overcome another objective. Motivate each other and cross the finish line,” Whittle said. “Your families and friends are counting on you. Your chain of command is tracking you. Never quit.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Trevor Walker, U.S. Army Engineer School, regimental command sergeant major, welcomed the teams to Fort Leonard Wood.
“Thank you for coming, stepping up and doing something more than what you have to do,” Walker said.
This year, the competition, which is run by the Sapper Training Company, 169th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade, USAES, had its first Marine team sign up.
“We were extended an invitation from the school,” said Gunnery Sgt. William Shultz, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, who was the 2017 honor graduate of Sapper Leader Course, Class 4. “They offered us the opportunity to come here and do this event.”
“Our expectation is to finish so that in the future we can have more Marines come here,” Shultz, competing as Team 40, added. “We’re grateful to be here. This is a great opportunity and we look forward to it.”
Other teams echoed the goals to finish and win.
The awards ceremony for the competition will be held at 7:30 a.m. April 19 on Fort Leonard Wood’s Gammon Field.
Follow the competition on social media at #BestSapper.
Team photos are available online at https://www.dvidshub.net/news/273134/2018-best-sapper-competition-opens-fort-leonard-wood.
TEAMS Include:
Team 1: 1st Lt. Brendan S McKinley, Staff Sgt. Cody Clinton, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 2: 1st Lt. Tyler Glasz, 1st Lt. Eric Churchill, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 3: Sgt. 1st Class Charles Felker, 1st Lt. Josh McCormick, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 4: Capt. Helmuth Siemer, 2nd Lt. John Sinclair, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 326TH Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 5: 1st Lt. Francis Lee, Staff Sgt. Brandon Hill, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, 29th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 6: 1st Lt. Justin Newman, Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy Williams, Fort Hood, Texas, 20th Engineer Battalion
Team 7: Capt. Jonathan Duran, Capt. Russell Bettencourt, Fort Hood, Texas, 36th Engineer Brigade
Team 8: Capt. Christopher Wagner, Sgt. 1st Class Jason Grieco, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 31st Engineer Battalion
Team 9: Staff Sgt. Maxwell Vanalstyne, 1st Lt. Lori Frye, Grafenwoehr, Germany, Regimental Engineer Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment
Team 10: Capt. John Baer, 1st Lt. Sheldon Tausch, Fort Cambell, Kentucky, 39th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 11: 1st Lt. Cameron Day, Cpl. Francis Meighan, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 27th Engineer Battalion
Team 12: 1st Lt. Louis Tobergte, 1st Lt. Andrew Warner, Vicenza, Italy, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 13: Sgt. 1st Class Robert Clark, Capt. Rudy Chelednik, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 21st Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 14: 1st Lt. Tyler Sykes, 1st Lt. Isaac Lewis, Fort Drum, New York, 41st Engineer Battalion
Team 15: Staff Sgt. Michael Belmore, Sgt. Nathan Wright, Fort Stewart, Georgia, 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 16: Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Brandt, 1st Lt. Nathan Rector, Fort Drum, New York, 7th Engineer Battalion
Team 17: 2nd Lt. Terence Hughes, Staff Sgt. Trent Pontes, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 39th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 18: 1st Lt. Alexandra Koch, 1st Lt. John Brewer, Fort Drum, New York 7th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 19: 2nd Lt. Robert Isenhour, 1st Lt. Casey Woudenberg, Fort Knox, Kentucky, 19th Engineer Battalion
Team 20: 1st Lt. Michael Quigg, 1st Lt. Ryan Roumell, Camp Humphreys, Republic of Korea, 11th Engineer Battalion
Team 21: 1st Lt. Paul O’Brien, 2nd Lt. Andrew Soulis, Fort Riley, Kansas, 1st Engineer Battalion
Team 22: 1st Lt. Eric Krueger, 1st Lt. Eric Perez, Fort Carson, Colorado, 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 23: 1st Lt. Thomas Hoyt, Sgt. Gary Coggins, Fort Riley, Kansas, 1st Engineer Battalion
Team 24: 1st Sgt. Jose Velasquez, 1st Sgt. Thomas Struna, Fort Hood, Texas, 91st Engineer Battalion
Team 25: 1st Lt. Ryan Reagin, 4th EN BN, Fort Carson, Colorado; Capt. Michael Ecklund, 1st EN BN, Fort Riley, Kansas
Team 26: 1st Lt. Jacob Wilson, 1st Lt. Bryan Adams, Fort Drum, New York, 41st Engineer Battalion
Team 27: Capt. Gates Benson, 2nd Lt. Thomas Straniere, Fort Leonard Wood, 5th Engineer Battalion
Team 28: 1st Lt. Jonas Amaral, Sgt. Carlos Castro, Fort Bragg, 127th Airborne Engineer Battalion
Team 30: 1st Lt. Clifford Lockwood, Sgt. Lucas Tucker, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 27th Engineer Battalion
Team 31: Staff. Sgt. Caleb Michaud, 2nd Lt. Thomas Rupp, Vicenza, Italy, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 32: Master Sgt. Caleb Smith, 2nd Lt. Joshua Thomlinson-Aaron, Grafenwoehr, Germany, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Regimental Engineer Squadron
Team 33: Capt. Erwin Marciniak, Capt. Mitchell Acosta, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, 554th Engineer Battalion
Team 34: Sgt. Caleb Perry, Sgt. James Shelton, Vicenza, Italy, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 35: Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Tullis, Staff Sgt. Joshua Newbury, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 36: 1st Lt. Daniel Butensky, Sgt. Eliseo Guzman Angulo, Fort Carson, Colorado, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 37: 2nd Lt. Charles Lowth, Sgt. Brandon Strain, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 38: 1st Lt. Anthony McConnell, Sgt. Jacob Hansbrough, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Team 39: 1st Lt. Patrick Richardson, Staff Sgt. Ronald Thomas, Fort Carson, Colorado, 4th Engineer Battalion
Team 40: Gunnery Sgt. William Schultz, Capt. Matthew Paluta, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division
Team 41: 1st Lt. Matthew Stanley, Sgt. Connor Horsley, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion
Fort Leonard Wood Soldiers to compete in 2018 Best Ranger Competition
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (April 12, 2018) — A team from the U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School will represent Fort Leonard Wood April 13-15 in the 2018 Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the grueling competition, which features U.S. Army Rangers. The Best Ranger Competition was started in 1982.
The competition has evolved over the past thirty years from one that was originally created to salute the best two man “buddy” team in the Ranger Department at Fort Benning, to determine the best two-man team from the entire United States Armed Forces.
Competition updates will be provided on social media at #BestRangerCompetition.
NCO Academy welcomes Duncan as new commandant
By Dawn Arden
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (April 6, 2018) — Fort Leonard Wood’s Noncommissioned Officers Academy welcomed Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa Duncan as its newest commandant in a change-of-commandants ceremony held March 29 in Nutter Field House.
Duncan, who returned to Fort Leonard Wood from Hawaii, where she was the Brigade Command Sergeant Major for the 8th Military Police Brigade, took charge of the academy from Command Sgt. Maj. Alma Zeladaparedes, who retired.
“The colors were passed today from one great leader to another, but the mission hasn’t changed,” said Maj. Gen. Kent Savre, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general. “The leaders of the NCOA will continue to develop noncommissioned officers — members of the time-honored corps really, the backbone of the Army — so that our Army is ready to execute whenever and wherever the nation calls.”
During her speech, Duncan thanked Zeladaparedes, saying, “the academy is a well-oiled machine because of your leadership.”
“The challenges of today’s academy are much different than those of the past,” Duncan said. “We’re constantly learning, both cadre and students alike, as the mission, our Army and society are consistently changing. The tools we use to develop our leaders are enhanced with newer technology. The demands we have for the premier cadre are constrained with other requirements across the Army, such as drill sergeants, recruiters, first-time leaders and promotions, but these challenges are worth it.”
She added, “our goal is to send them out sharper and stronger than when they came to us.”
Savre, who presided over the ceremony, said Duncan has his absolute trust in leading the NCOA into the future.
“There is no better leader to take the reins and to keep the momentum moving forward for the Noncommissioned Officers Academy than Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa Duncan,” he said. “She has an impressive resume; she brings a wealth of experience as a senior military police professional and noncommissioned officer — she expertly led troops at every level.”
He also highlighted a few of Zeladaparedes’ many accomplishments during her time as commandant.
“(Zeladaparedes) was relentless in mentoring instructors and leaders, and always continued to fine-tune the framework for high quality, professional military education,” Savre said. “She oversaw the execution of over 300 basic, advanced and senior leader classes while handing out roughly 10,000 graduation certificates. She also emphasized the Training and Doctrine Development and Recognition Program, which resulted in 17 out of 25 master instructors Army-wide coming from our academy.”
Savre stressed the importance of the MSCoE NCOA, saying it is critical to the development of our future leaders.
“Just as the United States Army Noncommissioned Officer Corps has done for over 240 years, it continues to be the standard bearer for discipline, professionalism and relevant training for our nation’s most precious resource — the American Soldier,” Savre said. “Here at our NCO Academy, we leverage the experiences of maneuver support NCOs to develop adaptive and professional warriors and leaders of character with unique engineer, chemical and military police skills that enables success across the very wide range of military operations.”
USAES announces Engineer Week schedule
By Capt. Austin McGahan
The U.S. Army Engineer School will host the 2018 Engineer Regimental Week from April 16-20 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
This year’s theme is “Preparing Today’s Engineers for Tomorrow.”
“This is a chance for Engineers to celebrate our heritage and plan for the future as well,” Brig. Gen. Robert Whittle Jr., U.S. Army Engineer School commandant, said. “Like every branch in the Army, we have to continue to modernize. We have to continue to train our leaders. Engineer Regimental Week is a chance for us to do that.”
“All the while, we’ll be celebrating the achievements of our Sappers during the Best Sapper Competition,” Whittle, the Engineer Regiment’s 97th commandant, said.
Several events are scheduled throughout the week to include the Best Sapper Competition, the Engineer Spouse’s Day, Army Engineer Association Industry Exhibits, a Fallen Sapper Tribute Ceremony, the Senior Engineer Leader Council, the Engineer Regimental Run, and the Engineer Regimental Ball and Awards Ceremony.
Best Sapper Competition
A total of up to 50, two-man teams competing in the 12th annual Best Sapper Competition will begin arriving and in-processing April 14, with the competition kicking off April 16-18.
“50 teams, 50 miles, 50 hours,” is the motto for this year’s three-day competition where competitors will be challenged with events covering the three turrets of the combat engineer: mobility, counter-mobility, and survivability. Tasks include a 15- to 20-mile ruck march, the X-mile run, a non-standard physical fitness test, Sapper Stakes and land navigation. The Best Sapper Competition Awards Ceremony is open to the public and takes place at 7:30 a.m. April 19 on Gammon Field. The public may also attend the opening ceremony for the competition at noon April 15 at Training Area 160.
Engineer Spouse’s Day
The “Engineer Spouses: Clear the Way!” event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 17. During this event, spouses will get to see what it’s like to be an engineer, according to Command Sgt. Maj. Trevor Walker, USAES regimental command sergeant major.
“A lot of the events will be challenging, and some events are fun,” Walker said, adding the event encourages “team building within the spouse network.”
Spouses will get to participate in activities such as paintball, manual breaching, mine detection, rappelling, and more. Military spouses of all services are welcome to attend. Cost is $25 and includes lunch and a T-shirt. Spouses may RSVP to Capt. Maxwell, 35th Engineer Battalion, by calling 573.596.7701 or by registering online at: http://www.wood.army.mil/usaes/library/documents/2018SpouseEventRegistration
.pdf.
Army Engineer Association Industry Exhibition
The Army Engineer Association will be sponsoring industry exhibits from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 17-18 at Nutter Field House. The event showcases the latest engineering technology, and more than 60 agencies are slated to participate in this year’s indoor and outdoor displays.
Fallen Sapper Tribute Ceremony
The lives and service of fallen Engineers will be memorialized with the Fallen Sapper Tribute Ceremony, which is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 19 at Sapper Memorial Grove. The tribute will include words from leaders across the regiment, a rendering of honors and a wreath-laying ceremony in Sapper Memorial Grove. This event is open to the public.
Senior Engineer Leader Council
Brig. Gen. Robert Whittle Jr., U.S. Army Engineer School commandant, is scheduled to address the regiment at 9 a.m. April 19 in the Main Post Chapel. Whittle will kick off the Senior Engineer Leader Council, or SELC, which meets April 19-20. The two-day SELC summit is a key component of the week where the regiment looks at ways to ready and modernize the force by sharing information, documenting lessons learned, and comparing best practices. Additionally, SELC serves as an opportunity for the leaders of the Engineer Regiment to build consensus on critical issues.
Engineer Regimental Run
The morning of April 20 starts with the Engineer Regimental Run from 5:30 to 6:30 a.m. Units will form up on Gammon Field.
“More than 6,000 people will be out there for the run, including the Marines, Navy, Air Force, Noncommissioned Officers Academy, those associated with the Engineers, and spouses,” Walker said.
Keynote speakers
Guest speaker Col. Lars Zetterstrom, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District commander, is scheduled to provide a National Response Framework speech highlighting lessons learned during Hurricane Harvey from 1 to 2 p.m. April 20 at the Main Post Chapel.
54th Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of USACE, Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, will provide a keynote address from 2 to 3 p.m. April 20 at the Main Post Chapel. As the Chief of Engineers, Semonite advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army’s topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. As the USACE Commanding General, he is responsible for more than 32,000 civilian employees and 700 military personnel who provide project management, construction support and engineering expertise in more than 110 countries around the world.
Engineer Regimental Ball and Awards Ceremony
The week concludes with the Engineer Regimental Ball and Awards Ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m. April 20 in Nutter Field House. Doors open at 6 p.m. During the ball, the selected winners for the De Fleury, Itschner, Sturgis Medal, Van Autreve, Outstanding Platoon Leader, Outstanding Warrant Officer, Outstanding Non-Commissioned Officer, and Honorary Regimental Command Team, will be recognized. Tickets for the ball are sold out.
For more information about Engineer Regimental Week, visit http://www.wood.army.mil/usaes/ENFORCE.HTML.
Editor’s note: McGahan is with the U.S. Army Engineer School Deputy Chief of Staff Plans division.
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Engineer Regimental Week events
April 15
Opening Ceremonies for the 12th annual Best Sapper Competition, noon April 15, at Training Area 160. Open to the Public.
April 16
Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition Dedication Ceremony, 1 p.m. April 16, in the Engineer Regimental Room. Open to the public.
April 17
Engineer Spouses Day, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. April 17. Open to all military spouses.
April 17-18
Army Engineer Association Industry Display, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 17-18, Nutter Field House
April 19
2018 Best Sapper Competition awards ceremony, 7:30 a.m. April 19, Gammon Field. Open to the public.
Regimental Address, 9 a.m. April 19, Main Post Chapel
Fallen Sapper Tribute Ceremony, 6 p.m. April 19, Sapper Memorial Grove. Open to the public.
April 20
Engineer Regimental Run, 5:30 a.m. April 20, Gammon Field
SELC Guest Speakers at the Main Post Chapel:
Col. Lars Zetterstrom, lessons learned during Hurricane Harvey, 1 to 2 p.m. April 20, Main Post Chapel
54th Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, 2 to 3 p.m. April 20, Main Post Chapel.
Engineer Regimental Ball & Awards Ceremony, 6 p.m. April 20, Nutter Field House