A transportation annex has been added to Fort Leonard Wood's John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex. A ribbon cutting Monday marked the opening of the motor-transport exhibits.
Exhibits depicting Army transportation history beginning in 1904 through present-day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are on display.
The post's annex is an extension of the Army's transportation museum that is located at Joint Base Langley Eustis, Virginia, which is home to the U.S. Army's Transportation School.
"It is important we continue our appreciation of the past, by maintaining and celebrating historical facilities, which record the past performance of the Transportation Regiment," said Col. Heath Roscoe, Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood chief of staff, during the ribbon cutting.
Not just for sights and sounds, the new facility satisfies U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's mandate of four hours of Army Values training to all proponent Advanced Individual Training curricula.
Two of those hours are earmarked for visits to branch museums in order to support the training, education and esprit de corps of Soldiers.
"This proved to be highly problematic for Fort Leonard Wood's 58th Transportation Battalion," said Stuart Saulpaugh, director of Program Management and Integration Directorate, MSCoE.
"Since the transportation museum is physically located at Fort Eustis, motor-transport Soldiers were unable to enjoy unit heritage activities or appreciate the material culture of their branch," Saulpaugh added.
The 58th Trans. Bn., 3rd Chemical Brigade, teaches basic-motor-transport operator skills for the Department of Defense and, according to their website, is the Army's only motor-transport operator AIT training battalion.
Fort Leonard Wood is a place known for its engineers, military police and chemical professionals, according to Roscoe. "However, Fort Leonard Wood also trains every 88M (truck driver) in the Department of Defense," he said.
"This initiative will enable us to celebrate the feats and accomplishments of the Transportation Regiment and the facility will allow us to provide branch history to our new transportation Soldiers as they begin their integration into the Army," Roscoe added.
The John B. Mahaffey Museum Complex also includes the Engineer Museum as well as the Chemical Corps and Military Police museums.
Admission to the museums is free and open to the public. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
Visitors can find the annex directly across from the entrance of the main museum complex located at 495 South Dakota Avenue, which is next to the bowling alley.
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