FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Fort Leonard Wood’s World War II-era Nutter Field House has played host to many events over the years, from training graduations and town halls to military balls and changes of command.
The multitude of service members and civilians who have taken to the facility’s stage has also taken a toll on the cosmetics of the front of that stage. The damage included broken wood paneling and a scuffed-up ledge among “countless other issues,” said Nutter Field House Facility Manager Larry Keeton, who reached out to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence NCO Academy earlier this year to see if any classes of Engineer Soldiers were looking for a volunteer project.
Answering Keeton’s call was Staff Sgt. Derek Schoppa, a small group leader for the NCO Academy’s Engineer Advanced Leader Course.
“(Keeton) has been in contact with ALC before,” Schoppa said. “Our previous classes have built sheds, and we had put the word out that the sheds were available, so he knew we had construction labor available. He said, ‘Hey, if you have the time, I have other projects I’d like to have done,’ and we were able to fill that gap.”
The work, which took place over two days during the first week of March, included removing the front boards, along with the old nails, and repairing what ended up being nine broken boards, Keeton said.
“Once that mission was accomplished, they took each board and put them through a planer machine, which smooths the boards out,” Keeton said. “The stage was sanded to remove any of the rough wood particles, then the restoration began. The boards were put back on the stage and the staining began. The engineers took only two days to give the stage a fresh new look. There still needs to be a polyurethane coat or two to be added to the ledge, but overall, the project was a huge success. The stage has never looked better.”
In addition to the stage work, the seven ALC students that made up class 02-024 were also able to help with building a ramp for the shed behind Nutter Field House, Schoppa said.
“They broke up into two groups,” he said. “The small group did the ramp, and then the rest of the group did the stage work. And when the ramp was done, they came in and helped finish up.”
Schoppa said he likes to have each class take on a “construction-focused” volunteer project that puts some of the skills the Soldiers have mastered over their initial years in the Army into practice — the Soldiers attend ALC before becoming what are called 12 Hotels, the Army Construction Engineering Supervisor military occupational specialty, and move into squad leader positions in their units.
“You start as either an electrician or a plumber or carpenter or masonry specialist,” Schoppa said. “12 Hotel encompasses all those trades, and this comes down to something we teach. It is largely to have that servant-leader attitude — doing something for others and volunteering your skills to the community.”
The tools the class used were brought over from the NCO Academy shop at Brown Hall, Schoppa said.
“It’s almost a full woodworking shop they have over there, so we can teach these new leaders new skills,” he said, adding the whole class — which graduated March 8 — was very interested in learning. “This last class, especially, never wanted to leave early. They would stay at the shop and work. It was really good to see their determination to learn and get as much under their belts as they can.”
Schoppa, who was on site throughout the project, said it gives him “a great sense of pride” to be able to help mold a group of NCOs.
“Especially knowing that in four or five years, they could be the ones here teaching ALC and coming in and saying, ‘I did this project here at Nutter Field House,’” he said. “It’s great, especially being here at the home of the engineers, where that legacy does live on and being able to affect that kind of lasting influence.”
For Schoppa’s next class, which starts in April, he already has a project in his sights — building replacement picnic tables for Happy Hollow.
“That’s a pretty popular place on post,” he said. “We might as well use those carpentry skills again and do what we can to give training to the Soldiers and give back to the community.”
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