FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS — The Army turned 250 years old on June 14, 2025, and the birthday was celebrated across Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, June 13 with a day of activities.
Festivities included opening remarks by Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Commanding General Lt. Gen. Milford Beagle Jr., an Army birthday proclamation by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a cake-cutting ceremony, a golf scramble, and team competitions.
Lt. Col. David Olson, representing the oldest soldier, and Pvt. Antonio Lopez, representing the youngest soldier, helped cut the Army’s birthday cake.
Olson, Mission Command Training Program observer coach trainer/public affairs officer, joined the Army when he was 17 years old when his parents had to cosign for him to join. He said he initially did not intend to pursue a long career in the military.
“I was not planning to make the Army a career,” Olson said, “however, once I started in the Army, I soon found it to be a rewarding occupation. I was working with good, quality people who were working toward a common goal – defending our nation. The occupation was full of adventure, and Uncle Sam deployed me all over the globe.”
Throughout his 43 years of service, Olson has seen several changes to the Army.
“My favorite part of the Army birthday celebrations is using that date as a benchmark. The benchmark showed me how the Army has changed over the years. For example, in 1982 the Army still had Jeeps. In 1984, the Army gained Humvees. In 1986, the Army began transitioning to AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, replacing the AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters on which I worked,” he recalled.
Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation hosted 29 four-person teams to celebrate the Army birthday with a golf scramble at Trails West Golf Course. Top honors went to the team of Wade Hatzinger, Tyler Morrison, John Nelson and Chris Williams, who came in first place with a total gross of 56.
Winners of other team events that took place throughout the day were announced that afternoon at the Fort Leavenworth Dining Facility. Team events included a physical fitness competition, dodgeball tournament, a quiz bowl and Punt, Pass, and Kick and 40-yard dash event.
The first-place medals for the physical fitness competition, which was comprised of events centered around the number 250 and was hosted by Combined Arms Center - Training, was awarded to MCTP participants.
The dodgeball tournament, conducted at Doniphan Field, named Maneuver Center of Excellence Team 2 as the winning team.
Team Army University Press won the Army History Quiz Bowl, hosted by Army University. This is the first year a quiz bowl has been included in the Army birthday celebration competitions.
“The (Combined Arms Center) thought of it, and they thought because of us being the intellectual center of the Army, that showing off what our units can do intellectually was going to be a great way to do that,” said Sarah Hauck, Army University public affairs officer. “So, our office reached out to our Department of Military History, and they graciously wrote us 150 questions because they are the experts on this. We really wanted to be sure that we showcased the Army's history appropriately.”
Hauck said there was a great deal of participation, with a total of eight teams competing.
“There were almost 30 people that wanted to participate, which is really great, so we had seven total rounds of competition, and it went really well. Everyone was cheering for their teams, and kind of challenging the questions,” Hauck said. “We had a really great representation of the entire installation, and just the really, really smart and dedicated individuals who are here on Fort Leavenworth to better the Army, especially through education, so it was a really interesting event. We were really proud to be able to put it on.”
The Punt, Pass, Kick events, hosted by Army Corrections Brigade, had three different winners for four separate competitions, with a tie in one of the events. Four-year-old Harbor Mock won the Punt, Pass and Kick event for the 11 and younger category. Harbor Mock went on to tie with Jayden Filliator in the 40-yard dash for the 11 and younger category. In the 16 and older category, Jayden Shafer won both the Punt, Pass and Kick event and the 40-yard dash.
Through all the celebrations, the message remained focused on celebrating the Army, its advancements and its mission.
“The most important part of celebrating the Army birthday is to remind the American public what the Army does for them,” Olson said. “Our mission is to be ready and, when called to, fight and win our nation's wars. So, we are placing our collective lives on the line to ensure that our nation remains free. We must be vigilant and ready at all times. We must always be ready to fight tonight. Therefore, there are many things we must continue to do to make sure that we are ready to go. The mission does not stop.”
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