FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (June 12, 2026) – Fort Leonard Wood kicked off the morning with a three-mile division-style run on Gammon Field in honor of the U.S. Army’s 251st birthday. A cake-cutting ceremony rounded out the celebration. As part of the tradition, the youngest and oldest Soldiers present, Col. Pierre Pierce and Pvt. Riley Dixon, assisted Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, with the cutting of the cake. The most and least tenured Department of the Army civilians, Nancy Gregory and Stephen Hajdas, assisted MSCoE Command Sgt. Maj. Keyon Cummings with the cutting of the second cake.
Pierce, a dentist with Fort Leonard Wood Dental Health Activity, has 19 years of service; while Dixon, with 1st Engineer Brigade, has 311 days of service. Gregory, secretary of the general staff, has 51 years of continuous service; and Hajdas, a physical therapist with 3rd Chemical Brigade, has 42 days of service.
Photos from the celebration can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortleonardwood/albums/72177720334180224/.
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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 80 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains nearly 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