Anniston native leaves legacy at Fort Leonard Wood

By Mrs. Martha Yoshida (Leonard Wood)August 31, 2018

Anniston native leaves legacy at Fort Leonard Wood
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Anniston native leaves legacy at Fort Leonard Wood
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Vince Grewatz, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Training director, Joint Base Langley - Eustis, Virginia, presents Col. Tracy Lanier with the Legion of Merit July 10, at Fort Leonard Wood's historic Nutter Field House, as his wife and high ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Anniston native leaves legacy at Fort Leonard Wood
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Col. Tracy Lanier, outgoing commander of the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Leonard Wood, passes the Garrison flag to Vincent Grewatz, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Training director, Joint Base Langley -- Eustis, Virginia during a change of co... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 11, 2018) -- Col. Tracy Lanier, an Anniston, Alabama, native, recently completed his tenure as U.S. Army Garrison Commander, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and was recognized for his accomplishments during a change-of-command ceremony July 10, at the post's historic Nutter Field House.

As the installation's equivalent of a city mayor, Lanier was responsible for running the full spectrum of base operations, including training, crisis management and mobilization support, service member and family services, public safety, information and contract management, logistics and public works.

Extremely high expectations and a low margin of error are placed upon the garrison commander, said Vincent Grewatz, U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Training director, Joint Base Langley -- Eustis, Virginia, who presided over the ceremony.

Grewatz credited Lanier and his team for successfully managing a population of 45,000 military personnel, civilians, and family members, and supporting more than 900 military graduation ceremonies annually, with an estimated 300,000 visitors to the installation over the last two years.

"He led by example, spearheading cost-effective plans to expand service capabilities, and upheld the infrastructure to support training and activities," Grewatz added. "He planned and executed over $143 million worth of resources, and that is a significant effort with complex business models."

"Fort Leonard Wood is one of the most complex of the Army's installation training bases, and Col. Lanier has done extremely well," Grewatz said.

Lanier, who joined the Army in July 1993, after completing the Army ROTC program at Alabama A&M University, said he enjoys visiting Anniston whenever he can, because it gives him the chance to reflect on the people and the places that shaped his desire to lead and be a part of something bigger than himself.

"My parents taught me the value of hard work, along with the Golden Rule of treating everyone with respect," Lanier explained.

Those values have proven to be invaluable throughout his Army career.

"Garrison Command is the most demanding position I have held, because it requires me to be engaged 100 percent of the time, 24/7," Lanier said. "The quantity and regularity of face-to-face engagements and partnership efforts is necessary to build trust between all our partners on and off our installation. While extremely demanding, this is also the most rewarding position I have held, because of the valuable impact we make every day as a team."

"We accomplished a lot as a team," he said. "During my tenure, we were one of seven installations, out of 75 total, to win the 2017 Army Community Partnership Award, which was presented in the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C. The award was presented for partnerships between our installation and surrounding communities, which resulted in improved readiness, sustainability, cost savings, and efficiencies for Fort Leonard Wood."

Fort Leonard Wood also won the Annual Department of Defense Best Small Fire Department, Best Fire Service Instructor, and Best Fire Inspector, and a host of other major accomplishments, including civilian training and development programs to produce skilled professionals and future civilian leaders within the Department of the Army.

Lanier moves on to the Sustainment Center of Excellence at Fort Lee, Virginia, with his wife, DeShelia, also an Anniston native, and their two children, where he will serve as the Sustainment Battle Lab/Army Futures Command director.

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