FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 12, 2018) — Fort Leonard Wood is slated to celebrate the 100th anniversary of warrant officers providing technical expertise to the U.S. Army, with several events across the installation July 19 and 20.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joel Fitz, U.S. Army Military Police School regimental chief warrant officer, invites everyone to come out and help celebrate while learning more about the history of warrant officers.
He said the only thing that has really changed through the years is the size of the cohort.
“The Warrant Officer Cohort, as it’s called now, has significantly grown in size in the 100 years since its inception,” he said. “Not much has changed in the expectations of warrant officers; we have always been the source of technical expertise within the branches we serve and have always been advisors to commanders and Army senior leaders. The challenge is keeping current with the technological advances that are being made, so we can provide quality teaching, training and mentorship to others.”
Celebratory events kick off July 19 with a run beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Gammon Field, followed by a Warrant Officer Professional Development session from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence’s Lincoln Hall Auditorium with the cohort’s past and present being addressed.
For those interested in becoming a warrant officer, the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Recruiting Team will conduct briefings on the necessary qualifications and application procedures in Room 104 of the Digital Training Facility. Briefings are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. July 19.
A lunch with a cake-cutting ceremony is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. July 19 at the Pershing Community Center. Reservations are encouraged, and the cost of this event is $14.50.
Lunch will be followed by a panel discussion on the cohort’s future from 2 to 4 p.m. in Lincoln Hall Auditorium.
Everyone is encouraged to attend the celebration scheduled to finish the day from 4:30 to 8 p.m. at the Pershing Community Center, where there will be food and music.
Rounding out the two-day celebration of events is a golf scramble sponsored by the ShowMe Chapter Warrant Officer Association with a shotgun start at noon July 20 at the Piney Valley Golf Course. For more information on the scramble, email the Show Me Chapter woashowme@gmail.com, call 573.596.8203 or call PVGC at 573.329.4770.
