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.

Fort Leonard Wood, Mo  -  One year ago tomorrow; an E-F-3 tornado tore through more than 150 homes at Fort Leonard Wood. Construction of 160 new homes started in September and should be completed next summer. "If you can picture duplex style buildings out here; families running around; happy as could be," says Jason Hughes with Balfour Beatty Construction. He can already picture the completion of 160 new units at Fort Leonard Wood. "And you can see here; a finished pad," says Hughes.

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. - 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.

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...

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.  

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO - The Fort Leonard Wood Military Police identified the driver of a 2005 Dodge Neon who was pronounced dead at the scene of an accident that occurred on Fort Leonard Wood yesterday as Christine Boone, 49, of Bucyrus, Mo. The passenger of the Dodge Neon is still listed in critical condition, according to Fort Leonard Wood Military Police. A two vehicle accident involving a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck and a 2005 Dodge Neon occurred on Fort Leonard Wood yesterday at about 3:21 p.m. Fort Leonard Wood emergency services personnel arrived on the scene within minutes after the accident occurred.

FT. LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- One person has been killed and another critically hurt in a crash involving a Fort Leonard Wood military vehicle. It happened late Tuesday afternoon on the Army post when a small car collided with a vehicle known as a a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The driver of the car was killed; a passenger was air lifted to the University of Missouri hospital in Columbia. Two soldiers in the truck were not hurt. Fort Wood's Military Police and the Army's Criminal Investigation Command are investigating.

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - A gas leak occurred here today at about 1 p.m. in the post Child Development Center located on Replacement Avenue. The CDC director smelled gas in the facility, pulled the fire alarm and followed standard evacuation procedures. All CDC personnel and children were evacuated to the School Age Services building, and all parents were notified, said Emily Nunn, Program Operations specialist for Fort Leonard Wood Child, Youth & School Services. The Fort Leonard Wood Fire Department arrived to the CDC at about 1:05 p.m. and found a gas leak in the furnace.

Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. - Fort Leonard Wood will host the 32nd Annual Retiree Appreciation Days on Sept. 9 and 10. The purpose of the annual celebration is to provide social and informational events for members of the retired military community and their families.   The celebration starts at 8 a.m., Sept. 9, with a golf tournament and lunch at the Piney Valley Golf Course; followed by a tour of the installation which departs from Nutter Field House at 12:30 p.m.; and a Retirement Ceremony, honoring the Retiree of the Year, at 3 p.m. at the Lincoln Hall Auditorium.

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.

At 11:30 Friday morning, the body of Private First Class Matthew England from Ozark County, Missouri, returned home. Iowa Avenue at Fort Leonard Wood was lined with soliders and cilivians paying tribute to PFC England.  If they weren't holding a flag, they were dressed in fatigues.    A long row down a road - saying good-bye to someone they never knew. "It's just a small token of respect for our soldiers who put their life on the line for our independence," Brian Raymond who came to watch the motorcade said.

More soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood are being deployed to Afghanistan.  Members of the 509th Engineer Company, 5th Engineer Battalion, 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade will be clearing roads for US forces.  This will be the comany's fourth overseas deployment since 2003.  A deployment ceremony will be held from 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm Thursday night at Springfield-Branson National Airport.

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.

ST. ROBERT, Mo. -- New 4th District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler , a Republican, stopped at American Legion Post 331 on Tuesday to hold what she calls a military listening post.  Hartzler took time to listen to questions and concerns raised by veterans in attendance. Dwight Nutting is a Vietnam War veteran and a longtime resident of the Fort Leonard Wood area. "Basically, I retired here.  My last tour of duty was at Fort Leonard Wood," said Nutting. He came to see Hartzler because he's concerned with veterans' issues, and it's not just for himself but also for his comrades.  "I'm a volunteer, a van driver for the Disabled American Veterans," Nutting said.