FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (March 8, 2023) — Fort Leonard Wood garrison leaders hosted their first quarterly town hall of 2023 for garrison employees on March 1 in Lincoln Hall Auditorium.
Col. Anthony Pollio, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood commander, kicked off the town hall by thanking everyone for attending. He and U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Danny Castleberry then recognized some of the garrison’s exceptional employees.
The following individuals received two-star notes from Maj. Gen. James Bonner, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, for various acts of excellence:
Kelly Brownfield, from the USO; Spc. Lourdes Santiago, with the Better Opportunities for Single Service members program; Saleh Hamzane and Greg Nelson, with the Directorate of Public Works; Shena Flick, with the Directorate of Human Resources; Beverly Leggett, with the Logistics Readiness Center; Mike Downs, Tammy Fink, Keith Galbraith, Bobby Glover, Caitlyn Marler, Jonell Martinez, Megan O’Donoghue, Sai Simram, Tamara Smith and Rosana Turner, with the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation; and Dave Robinson, with the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
The following individuals were recognized by Vincent Grewatz, director of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command Directorate of Training, for their work putting together Fort Leonard Wood’s Best Garrison nomination packet:
Tiffany Wood, with the Public Affairs Office; Don Busbice, with the Safety Office; and Mike Vail, with the Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office.
Pollio called it a huge achievement to win out of the 16 ID-T installations across the Army.
“That is all the hard work that you all do every day,” he said.
Pollio and Castleberry then presented length-of-service awards to Richard Laird, for more than 25 years of service; Mike Campbell and Darrin Shiplett, for more than 30 years of service; and Rick Coon and Kevin Curtis, for more than 35 years of service.
In a change to the previous format of the garrison employee town halls, Pollio moved the question-and-answer portion closer to the beginning.
“Based on feedback from previous town halls, we’re adjusting how we do business,” he said. “And then, we’ll continue to make tweaks around the edges to continue to improve the process.”
Topics addressed by Pollio and subject matter experts this quarter included how the rating system is supposed to work within the Defense Performance Management and Appraisal System, or DPMAP; when a fire extinguisher service contract will be completed; and when or if the Bldg. 470 cleaning contract can be modified. One employee also said thank you to everyone who made the East Gate reopening possible.
Walter Mattil, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood deputy commander, addressed the DPMAP question, which centered on whether or not each employee has the potential to receive the highest rating in the system. Mattil said that anyone can receive a “5” rating for exceptional work, and that a supervisor and employee must together shape that employee’s goals each rating period.
Renea Lazzarini, director of DPTMS, addressed the fire extinguisher contract question. Lazzarini said a new contract is currently being worked on.
DPW’s Engineering Division Chief Greg Posten addressed the Bldg. 470 question. The cleaning contract will be amended to increase restroom service to twice a week starting no later than March 20.
After the question-and-answer portion, Farrah Overman, a Workforce Development Specialist here, spoke about upcoming civilian training opportunities.
The next new employee onboarding course is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 28 through 31; a leader development course is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 24 through 28; and a supervisor course is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 23 through 25. All training courses will take place in Countee Hall.
Overman also spoke about a new mentorship program being offered, which allows employees to mentor or be mentored by someone outside of their chain of command if they’d like via a panel of employees who match up mentee needs with mentor strengths.
Call 573.563.4005, or email farrah.l.overman.civ@army.mil for details.
Craig Reeves, with the Garrison Safety Office, provided some spring safety tips, including watching for an increase in pedestrians and different types of vehicles on area roads, including bicycles, motorcycles, farm equipment and horse-drawn buggies.
Reeves also mentioned Missouri has poisonous spiders and snakes, and it’s important to keep them in mind when accessing places such as attics or crawl spaces under homes.
“Just be careful out there, and look for them,” he said.
Reeves also talked about distracted driving.
“Expect it from others, but do not tolerate it from yourself,” Reeves said. “Expect that somebody else is going to be on a cell phone.”
As the weather warms, boating and fishing increases, and Reeves recommended performing a safety section on a boat before taking it out on water — and always wear a life jacket.
Reeves also said not to boat alone, and not to consume alcohol while boating.
When it rains, Reeves said headlights must be on if wipers are on. He also discussed flash flooding and low-water crossings, noting people in Missouri are killed each year attempting to drive through flood water — it usually occurs at night in unfamiliar areas.
“When you’re driving somewhere, and you’re not 100 percent knowledgeable of what’s there, that’s when it’s going to happen,” Reeves said.
O’Donoghue spoke on upcoming FMWR events — more information is available on the FMWR website and on the FMWR Facebook page — and highlighted one of the benefits to being a Defense Department civilian employee here: all FMWR facilities are available for use, including the fitness centers, library, Rec Plex and more.
Pollio said the next garrison employee town hall is tentatively scheduled for June 1.
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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