Fort Leonard Wood

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Soldiers from the US and nine other countries are meeting this week at Fort Leonard Wood to talk about the evolving threat of improvised explosive devices. Route clearance equipment used by US forces are also on display.

A deadly accident on the Big Piney River has killed a man from New Mexico. Troopers say Rene Martinez-Hernandez was floating on an inflatable chair on the river near Fort Leonard Wood when he fell off and couldn't swim. He was 30 years old.

It's been more than a week since a woman from Dixon has been seen or heard from. Last Thursday, Deborah Cirrincione made a run to Wal-Mart and the gas station near Fort Leonard Wood - then disappeared. Family and law enforcement continue searching the Pulaski County roads along with streams and rivers that were swollen last week.  The 54-year-old was driving a blue, Jeep Wrangler. Deborah's family hopes for news to come just in time to make it a happy Mother's Day. Residents in and around Dixon are asked to look over their property.  Deborah has been fighting brain cancer, and might have suffered a seizure while driving back from Fort Leonard Wood.

An early morning deployment to Afghanistan for soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood. Nearly 80 members of the 515th Engineer Company left from the Springfield Branson National Airport early Sunday morning. The group will be clearing roads of explosive devices.  The 515th will stay in Afghanistan for one year.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- More than 75 soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood are scheduled to return to the Ozarks.  The troops with the 55th Mobility Augmentation Company will arrive in Springfield this weekend. They've spent the past year stationed in Afghanistan, where they cleared roads and supported other Army soldiers in the war-torn region.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. --  A dream will come true for a man from Plato when he enlists into the United States Army on Tuesday after losing more than 110 pounds.  David West, 20, will be sworn into the Army during a ceremony at 10 a.m. When West entered the St. Robert recruiting station nine months ago, he did not meet the basic enlistment criteria due to his weight.  “West lost more than 110 pounds to meet the entrance criteria for...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo  -  Many Americans are gathering with family and sharing a Thanksgivig meal. The Fort Leonard Wood family also shared a holiday meal; but the feast had to be a little bigger to feed a family of 10-thousand. "The food here is good; I'm not going to lie, but it can't beat a home cooked meal; it can't beat it," says Private Anthony Jarvis. He is spending Thanksgiving a little differently this year, "I usually go to my grandma's house, eat with my grandma, my dad, my mom, my aunt and uncle.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A soldier from Fort Leonard Wood has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography.      Federal prosecutors said Thursday that 35-year-old Lawrence Ellrick admitted to using a young girl to make porographic pictures between Jan. 1 and May 31, 2010.      As part of his plea, Ellrick agreed to turn over computers and cameras he used to commit the crime.      Ellrick faces a mandatory minimum sentence of...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood will host a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m., Friday, in the lobby of Dillard Hall, Building 470.  The ceremony is being held to welcome Intercontinental Hotels Group and Lend Lease to the installation and signify a shift to Privatized Army Lodging.   The move to PAL represents a partnership between the Army and private industry to improve the condition and services of on-post lodging facilities and provide for their long-term sustainment.

SPRINGFIELD -- A big welcome home on Sunday afternoon for soldiers returning from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. With American flags blowing in the breeze, the Patriot Guard greeted the men in women in uniform as they disembarked from the plane. The soldiers were assigned to the 988th Military Police Company, 92nd MP Battalion, 4th maneuver Enhancement Brigade. After landing in Springfield the soldiers were headed to Fort Leonard Wood.