By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Jan. 25, 2024) — A grand-opening celebration for Fort Leonard Wood’s new Spouse Resource Center is scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 30 on the second floor of Bldg. 470, in Room 2222.
“The SRC is open to military spouses of all branches,” said Vanessa Arzabala, a military spouse and guidance counselor at the Truman Army Education and Personnel Testing Center, which will team up with experts from the Transition Assistance Program to operate the SRC. “The goal is to assist spouses with community, education and employment resources, both on and off the installation. We hope we can afford spouses the opportunity to focus on personal and professional growth and development through face to face, virtual and hybrid-type workshops, seminars, classroom training and instruction, as well as other means of information output.”
Arzabala called the SRC a “one-stop shop.”
“The SRC will host various workshops at least once a week that will assist spouses with things, such as education, resumes, self-care and employment, to name a few. The center will also have computers available to them if they are doing research on school, employment or just the surrounding area in general. We want to offer spouses a space, where they can come in and feel welcome and comfortable to ask questions,” Arzabala said.
One of the military spouses looking forward to the SRC opening is Robin Oster, a supervisory program specialist for Child and Youth Services. Oster said every military spouse can “use a little help navigating military life,” especially as information found online can sometimes be out of date or otherwise “unreliable.”
“It will be nice to have a space just for us — where we can walk in here, feel comfortable, ask for help and be pointed in the right direction,” Oster said. “I think this center is going to make a positive impact on life at Fort Leonard Wood, especially for new spouses getting acquainted with military life.”
Arzabala said she has been dreaming of a place like this for years.
“We kept moving every two years, having to start over. Military spouses often face challenges with frequent moves, such as adapting to new communities, building social connections and finding stable employment. The disruption in their careers, children’s education adjustments and the strain on personal relationships can also be significant challenges. So, to ease some of those primary change of station struggles, we want to provide support and resources for community integration to help address these struggles,” Arzabala said.
For more information, contact Arzabala at vanessa.arzabala.civ@army.mil, or call 573.596.3196/6066.
The SRC will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday (closed Fridays and federal holidays and observances).
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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