FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood leaders provided updates on everything from housing to childcare during two town hall meetings June 11 in Baker Theater.
While welcoming attendees to the morning session, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Arzabala said “this is not a one-way discussion, this is a conversation. We are fully committed to making this the installation of choice.”
Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, began the town hall with housing updates.
He said the plan is to build about 53 new homes and renovate some of the South Lieber Heights homes.
“It is going to be a pretty thorough renovation,” Beck said.
Maintenance is an area of focus for unaccompanied enlisted personnel housing.
“We need to get into major system repairs so that we can be in a proactive maintenance perspective,” Beck said.
According to the graphic shown during the town hall, work orders for UEPH repairs should be submitted via the Army Maintenance Activity, and priority service orders, such as emergencies, may be called in to the work order desk at 573.596.0333.
The next topic of discussion was the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital.
“We fought hard to make sure that the Department of Defense and the Army understood the value that GLWACH gives to our training mission, our permanent party, their families and our retirees,” Beck said. “Through the leadership of the GLWACH team, we continue to ensure that everybody understands how important GLWACH is.”
He said the opening date for the new hospital building is set for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
“Hospital staff has started transition planning,” Beck said.
Prescription refills can now be picked up 24/7 at the ScriptCenter behind the GLWACH staff duty near the main entrance.
“It will minimize wait times and if you can only come after the duty day it will give you a way to get your prescription in a timely manner,” Beck said.
He also stressed the importance of making sure to be at appointments.
“If you miss an appointment, you are taking away two slots — the one you missed and the one you will need to reschedule. We have to make sure our teammates can get to their appointments,” Beck said.
Help rescheduling or canceling appointments is available by calling the appointment line at 866.299.4234.
Next on the agenda, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs.
Beck said, “our installation does in incredible job of taking care of our team” and right now Child and Youth Services is looking for childcare providers.
“A lot of our CYS providers are military spouses, and during primary change of station season when the service member moves on, we lose that provider,” Beck said. ‘We are working hard to find providers.”
According to Beck, the installation now has 11 in-home Family Child Care providers.
“I have been in an FCC providers home and it is not a normal home. It is configured especially for childcare. If you want to take a tour of a FCC home just ask, we will get you a tour,” Beck said.
Another MWR topic of discussion was the Ozark Tavern.
“It was a family-style restaurant that closed during COVID,” Beck said. “We are working to open it back up again. This time the MWR team is looking at making it a gaming place where food is served. I would equate it to the bowling alley, without the bowing lanes. We are excited.”
He said there are also plans to expand the Rec Plex and Outdoor Adventure Center.
“We want to make sure you all have something fun to do during your time off,” Beck said. “We are also looking at improving the cabins at the Lake of the Ozarks Recreation Area.”
Education was the final topic of discussion, there are 44 new degree and certification programs available through Education Services.
Arzabala said education capabilities are expanding on Fort Leonard Wood and the Basic Skills Education Program continues to see success.
The BSEP class helps students study for the GT portion, the math and English sections, of the Armed Forces Classification Test.
“Our BSEP is having tremendous success with an average of a 20-point increase per class,” Arzabala said.
The town hall ended with Beck and Arzabala answering several questions from the audience.
To accommodate community members’ schedules, another town hall, discussing the same topics, was held in the afternoon of June 11.
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