By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 16, 2026) – In a dual milestone, Fort Leonard Wood’s warrant officer cohort celebrated the 108th anniversary of the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Corps and conducted a transition of leadership for the U.S. Army Engineer Regiment’s warrant officer position.
July 8, 2026, the U.S. Army Engineer School held a change-of-responsibility ceremony in Lincoln Hall Auditorium, where Chief Warrant Officer 5 Willie Gadsden Jr. relinquished responsibility to Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jason Davis.
The host for the ceremony, Col. Timothy Hudson, USAES commandant, said it has been an “honor” to serve with Gadsden.
“You were a constant professional, a bearer of high standards and a person of action,” Hudson said. “Your impact has reached far beyond the installation – out across the Army.”
Gadsden said when he accepted the responsibilities of the regimental chief warrant officer he pledged to “provide determined and disciplined initiative while empowering the force and fostering professional growth.”
“Together we fulfilled these objectives,” Gadsden said. “Serving alongside the finest Soldiers, leaders and civilians in our Army has been the greatest honor of my life.”
Gadsden’s next assignment will be at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where he will serve as the Warrant Officer Master Course director.
Hudson welcomed Davis and said he is looking forward to continuing to work with Davis in his newly expanded role. Prior to accepting responsibility as USAES’s regimental warrant officer, Davis served as the senior geospatial integrator with the Geospatial Enterprise Office.
Hudson said through his time with the GEO, Davis already knows how to “drive change,” and he is confident of Davis’s ability to excel as the seventh U.S. Army Engineer Regiment’s chief warrant officer.
“We are confident you will provide the same level of wisdom and guidance as you lead and set the example for all the warrant officers in the regiment,” Hudson said.
Davis said Hudson’s confidence means a “great deal” and he will work, “every day to justify it through action, stewardship and commitment to the regiment.”
More photos from the change-of-responsibly ceremony are available to view in this Fort Leonard Wood photo album.
The next day, warrant officers from across the installation gathered in Hoge Hall to celebrate the 108th U.S. Army Warrant Officer Corps birthday with a traditional cake cutting ceremony.
In keeping with military tradition, the Warrant Officer Corps birthday cake was cut by Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, alongside the installation’s most senior and junior warrant officers. Joining him were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Willie Gadsden, Warrant Officer Master Course director, with 20 years of service, and Warrant Officer Matthew Jenkins, a Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Course manager with just 39 days of service.
More photos from the July 9, 2026, cake cutting ceremony may be viewed in this Fort Leonard Wood photo album.
-30-
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