Fort Leonard Wood (military Base)

Fort Leonard Wood (military Base)

Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Wood, former Chief of Staff, in January 1941. Originally intended to train infantry troops, in 1941 it became an engineer training post with the creation of the Engineer Replacement Training Center. During World War II Italian and German POWs were interned at the fort. In 1984, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process, most of the US Army Engineer School's operations were consolidated at Fort Leonard Wood. Before that, officer training was conducted at Fort Belvoir Virginia.

In 1999, again as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process, Fort McClellan, Alabama was closed, and the US Army Chemical Corps and Military Police Corps schools were transferred to Fort Leonard Wood, which was concurrently redesignated the US Army Maneuver Support Center.

In 2009, the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center was redesignated the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence (MSCoE); the "center of excellence" designation was placed on almost all US Army training institutions.

The current commanding general is Major General Mark W. Yenter and the command sergeant major is Command Sergeant Major Terrence Murphy. General Yenter is the father of Lindsay Yenter, who appeared on the 17th season of The Bachelor