Community Fair attendees stop a booth July 24 at the USO to learn more about resources available to Fort Leonard Wood service members and families.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Newly arriving permanent-party Soldiers and their families are benefiting from the continual growth of Fort Leonard Wood’s community focused in-processing program — Arrive Strong.

Arrive Strong is an orientation program that provides newcomers the opportunity to learn more about the many amenities in and around the Fort Leonard Wood community – while also completing mandatory briefs and is held every other Thursday beginning at 10 a.m. at the USO with future dates including Aug. 21 and Sept. 4.

Marcus Crafton, a social service representative with the Army Community Service program, said he has seen firsthand how families have embraced the program, and many family members are coming back to attend multiple sessions of the community fair portion of Arrive Strong program.

Crafton said for some, a first-time move can be very overwhelming, so he encourages service and family members, “if you don’t know something, or you're just trying to get acquainted with the base, you can always come back.”

As part of the in-processing checklist, the mandatory Arrive Strong briefs, given by Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood leaders, cover several resources, such as recreation opportunities at the Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area, emergency services, firearm registration and housing.

Following the briefs, attendees have the opportunity to visit 15 to 20 booths, each with information from a different resource available in the community.

This year, organizers added an installation tour to the program, called Arrive Stronger. Crafton said the tour is only available to new services members who are moving to Fort Leonard Wood as their first duty station.

The tour includes more detailed information geared toward new Soldiers on the Army Emergency Relief, Truman Education Center with a tuition assistance overview and lunch at the Noncommissioned Officer Academy’s Army Warrior Restaurant for a mentorship and connection brief. Service members also participate in a windshield tour of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation facilities including Daughtery Bowling Center, Outdoor Adventure Center and the Armed Forces Wellness Center.

Kelly Brownfield, the USO’s Western Missouri Regional Operations director, said the program has grown-from a classroom in building 470, with one or two vendors in the hallway, to a biweekly community fair with 18 to 20 resources from the installation and local community.

“We love seeing the reactions on their faces when they see all the community resources, and just how much Fort Leonard Wood has to offer from the USO, to the Waynesville-St. Robert Chamber, to Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation and beyond,” Brownfield said.

For more information about the Arrive Strong and Arrive Stronger events, call ACS at 573.596.0212.