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Fort Leonard Wood breaks ground for new community hospital (AUDIO)

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A groundbreaking ceremony took place Monday afternoon at southern Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood for a new army community hospital that will replace the aging one there.

This is an artist’s projection of the new 235,000 square foot Fort Leonard Wood hospital in southern Missouri. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 22, 2020. The project is expected to be done in 2024 (photo courtesy of Fort Leonard Wood’s public affairs office)

U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R) and Josh Hawley (R) helped to secure about $50 million in funding for the new hospital. Hawley also helped secure $5.9 million to modernize U.S. Air Force aircraft stationed at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base at northwest Missouri’s St. Joseph.

“These are big wins for the state of Missouri, big wins for Rosecrans, big wins for Leonard Wood, there’s wins for Whiteman (Air Force Base in Knob Noster) in there (a defense appropriations bill) and all of our military installations and military service members across the state,” Hawley says.

Construction of the new 235,000 square foot Fort Leonard Wood hospital is expected to be done in the fall of 2024, and the existing hospital will be demolished at that time.

The fort will build a 193,000 square-foot clinic, along with a five-bay ambulance garage, a helipad, a central utility plant, and emergency back-up generators.

The $295 million design-build contract has been awarded to Kansas City-based JE Dunn Construction.

Meantime, Senators Hawley and Blunt have also secured several million dollars in federal funding to support traumatic brain injury research at Fort Leonard Wood. Hawley, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, says that’s crucial.

“The medical facility at Fort Leonard Wood is critical because it serves not only the base but the surrounding community,” says Hawley. “There are doing tremendous work there, a new facility, it’s important that that get fully operational.”

Senator Blunt, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, released a statement via video, congratulating Fort Leonard Wood.

“We’re celebrating the care at the General Fort Leonard Wood Army Hospital, understanding it’s a community hospital as well. It’s among the best in the country. Despite the challenges of a totally outdated structure, the hospital has been ranked #1 in outpatient efficiency by the U.S. Army Medical Command,” Blunt says, in the video.

U.S. Defense Secretary Dr. Mark Esper traveled to Fort Leonard Wood on Thursday, where he met with leaders there and also conducted a re-enlistment ceremony where 53 soldiers recommitted their obligation to defend the U.S. Constitution.

Fort Leonard Wood trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley (R), who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The interview was recorded on June 17, 2020:

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Secretary Esper tells re-enlisting Fort Leonard Wood soldiers they are heroes

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(News director Gary Knehans at Missourinet Waynesville affiliate KJPW contributed to this story)

The U.S. Defense Secretary traveled to southern Missouri’s Waynesville on Thursday to visit Fort Leonard Wood, where he conducted a re-enlistment ceremony where 53 soldiers recommitted their obligation to defend the U-S Constitution.

U.S. Defense Secretary Dr. Mark Esper conducts a re-enlistment ceremony for 53 soldiers at Fort Leonard Wood on June 18, 2020 (photo courtesy of Fort Leonard Wood)

“You’ll once again be rejoining the greatest military in the world,” Secretary Dr. Mark Esper tells the soldiers. “The military that has defended that document (the Constitution), those rights and values, for over 200 years. Today, you continue that proud legacy.”

Secretary Esper told the soldiers that they are heroes in his book, saying “You are part of that elite one percent … that one percent of the American population that raises their hand, swears that oath and commits to do everything they can and everything that might be to protect our great country.”

Fort Leonard Wood trains more than 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Soldiers who re-enlisted say it was an honor to have the Secretary of Defense at the base. Specialist Jesus Roldan with the 5th Engineer Battalion describes it as an honor and a surprise.

“Just for the simple fact of what is going on today with the process that’s currently happening, the pandemic (coronavirus) that’s currently going around … and for him to go out of his way and pretty much re-enlist every single soldier here, it means a lot,” Spc. Roldan says.

Fort Leonard Wood officials say Secretary Esper also met Thursday with Fort Leonard Wood commanding general Major General Donna Martin. He also met with 14 service members from the Army, Marines and the Air Force, to hear their concerns about readiness and racism in the U.S. military.

Esper also observed basic combat training, and had a discussion with base leaders about the issue of COVID-19.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

Bipartisan Missouri legislative effort to restore cuts to Mizzou’s NextGen Precision Health initiative

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While the budget approved last week by the Missouri House cuts funding for the state’s public colleges and universities, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle hope some of those cuts can be restored this summer. And two key lawmakers from different parties are calling on the Senate to restore funding for the UM System’s top priority, which is a major health initiative.

The $34.9 billion state operating budget approved by the House on Wednesday includes cuts to the state’s public colleges and universities. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, addressed the issue on the floor on Wednesday, telling colleagues that all public two and four-year schools would receive a ten percent reduction over what was appropriated last year, under the budget.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, speaks about the budget on the House floor in Jefferson City on April 29, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“I realize that this causes consternation across the General Assembly, and it’s not an easy thing to do,” Smith says. “But again we’re looking at a tremendously difficult budgetary outlook year.”

Chairman Smith says it’s possible that state lawmakers will be called back for a special session this summer, and says that if additional federal funding comes down, he’d like to see the money restored.

“It will be a conversation that we will need to talk about at that time, if we have some additional federal money to spend, or if we are able to reallocate some general revenue,” says Smith.

The Carthage Republican says the House may be called to return to Jefferson City this summer, for supplemental budgets.

Meantime, State Reps. Sara Walsh, R-Ashland, and Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, are calling on the Senate to restore about $700,000 in cuts to Mizzou’s NextGen Precision Health initiative. The NextGen Precision Health Institute, which is under construction, is expected to train the next generation of scientists who will help Missouri address future health care needs.

The $220 million facility is the UM System’s top capital priority. Mizzou says researchers in areas like medicine and engineering will work in the institute, to advance lifesaving research.

Representative Razer, a Mizzou graduate who is the ranking Democrat on the House Higher Education Committee, announced on the floor Wednesday that someone in his immediate family has just been diagnosed with cancer.

Razer predicts the facility will accelerate medical breakthroughs.

“This is truly a space that can cure cancer. They have the capability of curing cancer at the University of Missouri,” Razer says.

Razer tells the House that the UM System requested $10 million from the state. Governor Mike Parson’s budget recommendation reduced that to $3 million, and as of now, lawmakers have it at $0. Razer wants to see the Senate restore some funding.

Representative Walsh, who chairs the House appropriations subcommittee on transportation, is also a Mizzou graduate. She spoke on the floor after Razer, proposing using $729,000 originally intended for Fort Leonard Wood’s airport. She notes that money will lapse and won’t be needed at Fort Leonard Wood for another year.

“And that is money that I believe is a good purpose for it to be put to use for the precision medicine initiative,” says Walsh, whose district includes part of Columbia.

Walsh announced on the floor that she is working with Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, to partially restore some of the cuts to the NextGen Precision Health initiative and to Boone County Task Force One, which is a Columbia-based search-and-rescue team. She says she supports utilizing state revenues most effectively, to help ease the pain being felt now.

Mizzou says the institute will play a key role in the NextGen Precision Health Initiative, which supports the research activities of the UM System’s four campuses and health system.

University leaders broke ground on the institute last June.

“The NextGen Precision Health Initiative will help bring us bring laboratory research to effective treatments, which will benefit all Missourians as well as the rest of the world,” UM System President Dr. Mun Choi said at the 2019 groundbreaking ceremony.

The institute is being funded through a combination of private and corporate support, state support and contributions from Mizzou and the UM System.

Copyright © 2020 · Missourinet

National Weather Service: two tornadoes hit southwest Missouri county (AUDIO)

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The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield confirms two tornadoes touched down overnight in southwest Missouri’s Christian County, which is south of Springfield. No serious injuries are reported.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Springfield issued a tornado warning for Springfield, Nixa and Strafford on October 21, 2019 (map courtesy of NWS Springfield Twitter)

NWS Springfield meteorologist Doug Kramer tells Missourinet the tornadoes struck in rural areas of Christian County. NWS survey teams remain in the field this afternoon, viewing storm damage.

Kramer says it’s too early to tell if Springfield storm damage was caused by tornadoes or straight line winds.

Springfield City Utilities reports 1,575 customers remain without power this afternoon, and the utility is bringing in additional contract crews to assist in power restoration efforts.

Our Springfield television partner KOLR-10 reports massive tree damage in Springfield, including trees on top of houses.

The NWS issued multiple tornado warnings overnight, including warnings for Springfield, Fort Leonard Wood and Willow Springs. Kramer says there were no deaths of serious injuries in the storms.

“You go from like Lawrence and Barry County all the way into south central Missouri and the eastern Ozarks, there’s quite a bit of damage that occurred with that line of storms last night,” Kramer says.

Kramer notes most of the storm damage in southern Missouri is south of Interstate 44.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with NWS Springfield meteorologist Doug Kramer, which was recorded earlier today on October 21, 2019:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri’s Hartzler: 20 veterans a day are committing suicide (AUDIO)

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COLUMBIA, Mo.- A Missouri congresswoman whose sprawling district includes Fort Leonard Wood and Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster traveled to Columbia on Monday to raise awareness about PTSD and veteran suicides.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, speaks to a veteran’s family member at the Columbia Vet Center on July 1, 2019 (Brian Hauswirth photo)

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, toured the Columbia Vet Center on Rangeline. She says 20 veterans a day are committing suicide, calling that unacceptable.

“They’ve served us and when they come back they deserve us to step up and to stand by them and to help them,” Hartzler says.

Hartzler describes the situation as heartbreaking.

“Each one of these individuals is not a statistic. They’re a husband, they’re a father, they’re a son, a daughter,” says Hartzler.

Congresswoman Hartzler, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, says the Veterans Administration (VA) has not spent money appropriated last year by the Congress for veteran suicide prevention.

“We found out that money was not spent and in Congress, we are trying to focus on and make sure people are aware of this,” Hartzler says. “So it was very disheartening and actually angering.”

“Time” reported in December that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that VA officials failed to spend millions of dollars earmarked for veteran suicide prevention efforts in fiscal year 2018, “leading to a measurable decline in outreach activity.”

Hartzler met with veterans and their families during Monday’s tour. She praises the work being done at the Columbia Vet Center, including trauma counseling and transitional assistance. The facility, which works closely with the Harry Truman VA Medical Center in Columbia, also assists veterans who suffered sexual trauma while serving our country.

The Columbia Vet Center says it employs preventive intervention strategies to enhance the quality of life for veterans.

The facility says it “provides access to veterans in a setting that is stress-free”, adding that 86 percent of staff members are veterans.

Click here to listen to U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, brief Brian Hauswirth and other mid-Missouri reporters on July 1, 2019 at the Columbia Vet Center on Rangeline:

Copyright © 2019 · Missourinet

Missouri town continues to honor the legacy of one its fallen heroes

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Family members of Second Lieutenant George Whiteman have been visiting two symbolic sculptures in west-central Missouri’s Sedalia. The artwork is inspired by Airman Whiteman’s ultimate sacrifice and the community’s strong relationship with the military. The 22-year-old Sedalia native was the first airborne pilot killed in Japan’s December 7, 1941 surprise attack on the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor.

Photo courtesy of Whiteman Air Force Base

Whiteman’s niece, Gayle Kent, tells Missourinet the artwork helps to keep Whiteman’s memory alive.

“He just went. ‘I’m going. I’m getting that plane out of here.’ He died doing what he loved to do,” says Kent.

One sculpture represents a P-40 Warhawk plane flown by Whiteman and points toward his childhood home in Sedalia. Another that sits next to it is of a B-2 stealth bomber. Whiteman Air Force Base in the neighboring community of Knob Noster is the home of the B-2 stealth bomber. Together, the sculptures are called “Whiteman: Legacy of Freedom.”

They were constructed by Sedalia artist Don Luper and stand in Katy Park at 24th Street and Park Avenue.

Kent says Sedalia has embraced Whiteman’s service to his country, including an annual service honoring all U.S. soldiers. Other community efforts memorializing Whiteman include the naming of Whiteman Air Force Base after him, a plaque that sits at his childhood home, a “Shadow” sculpture on the State Fair Community College campus and Whiteman’s gravesite in Sedalia’s Memorial Park Cemetery.

Fort Leonard Wood backers express relief at lower reduction total

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The Army has announced Force Structure Realignment 2020, a plan to restructure its forces and cut uniformed and civilian personnel around the country. It includes the elimination of up to 885 positions at Fort Leonard Wood by 2019. That would include the inactivation of an Engineer Battalion Headquarters, three Engineer Construction Companies and the Brigade Support Battalion.

A draft plan in January called for as many as 3,900 positions to be eliminated at Fort Leonard Wood, leading Governor Jay Nixon (D), Senators Claire McCaskill (D) and Roy Blunt (R) and Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (R) all to release statements noting that the plan announced Tuesday could have been worse for Missouri.

Sustainable Ozarks Partnership Executive Director Joe Driskill credits those elected officials as well as State Representative Steve Lynch and State Senator Dan Brown for their roles in raising awareness about the proposed cuts.

He notes no cuts were made among the Fort’s training personnel, which he calls its most important mission for the future.

“Some 80,000 not only soldiers but members of the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and even foreign officers are actually trained at Fort Leonard Wood … both for entry-level training, what most people call ‘basic training,’ plus advanced training in the major specialities that are taught here; military police, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, and also engineering specialities.”

Driskill notes these cuts are not related to sequestration, which could take an additional toll on the Fort.

“We are hoping that the Congress and the President can get together around a modest level of further cuts that don’t impact Fort Leonard Wood and don’t impact the readiness of our Army and other military forces.”

For a transcript of the announcement by Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odiero, click here.

Military Preparedness and Enhancement Commission meets

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The commission was joined by legislators, retired military folks and a host of interests from areas surrounding Whitman Airforce Base and Fort Leonard Wood such as school officials, chambers of commerce members, Realtors and others.

Reports were given by the USS Missouri Submarine Commissioning Committee, National Guard and Military Base liasons. Additionally, Pat Kerr with the Veterans Commission talked about how vital it is that veterans and military families are educated about the benefits available to them.

Kerr says with 541,000 veterans in Missouri with their families, that means more than 3 million people are affected by military news. She urged everyone to frequently check the VA Web site for changes in benefits.

Concerns were brought up about K through 12 education rules that affect incoming military transfers. Roger Dorson with the Department of Education says those who must live on base — if they want their children to go to school in a different district — have to pay tuition. Dorson says the concerns can probably be addressed with a change in bylaws.

Retired Col. Dennis Sandbothe talked about the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, spearheaded by Congressman Ike Skelton. He compares the program to ROTC and says Missouri used to have the program but it went away because of a lack of state funding. He says it takes at-risk youth and puts them into a good environment.

There have been four USS Missouri ships throughout history … the fifth is being built in Connecticut.

Sam Bushman with the USS Missouri Submarine Commissioning Committee says the commission date keeps getting pushed up and now the group has about a year to raise $300,000.

Bushman says there are some things the Navy cannot pay for — one is the highly ceremonial and traditional commissioning of a vessel. He says the committee’s fundraising provides amenities on vessels such as home theaters and libraries, and pays for the celebrations surrounding a new ship’s commissioning.

Jessica Machetta reports [Download/listen MP3]

Army Engineer says military is making progress in Iraq

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A top Army engineer back home from Iraq says the United States is making progress there, though he says "it’s still very fragile".

Colonel Dan Grey serves as Chief of Staff, US Army Maneuver Support Center and Fort Leonard Wood. Grey briefed reporters at Fort Wood on his experience in Iraq. He said a change of strategy turned a faltering mission into a successful one.

"It was all about securing the population where they sleep," Grey told reporters.

Prior to that, according to Grey, US military couldn’t get intelligence from everyday Iraqis, because al-Qaeda threatened to wipe out the entire family of anyone who snitched on them. Americans and coalition forces would be successful in chasing al-Qaeda from a city and then leave for another. The terrorists would simply return after the military left, intimidated the populace and re-establish themselves. The military now will secure a city and leave personnel behind for protection as it moves on to another. Iraqi security forces also are gaining their footing and providing security, according to Grey.

Secure in the military presence with a growing confidence in their own government, Iraqis began to turn. They began to provide the intelligence needed to inflict real harm on al-Qaeda, and the military began rooting them out of key Iraqi cities. Violence fell. The number of deaths dropped.

"It’s a very good news story," Grey said, "Now, I will tell you, it’s still very fragile. I’m not telling you we won the war, because it’s very far from it."

Grey returned from Iraq in February. In Iraq, Grey served as the Engineer Director of the Multi-National Corps. Engineers were vital to the new strategy. They would establish a joint security station used by Coalition and Iraqi military or an outpost for Coalition forces that would move the military from large bases into the population. Grey said that dictated the pace. He compared it to General Douglas MacArthur’s successful island hoping campaign in World War II.

Grey emphasized the fragile nature of progress in Iraq, "There’s a keen sensitivity that we haven’t won this yet, but it is going in the right direction. We need to continue doing what we’re doing, but be cautious about it."

Grey says the tactic in Iraq has changed from winning the hearts and minds of Iraqis to getting the Iraqis to trust each other and build their own government. Eighteen American soldiers died in May, the lowest total of the war. In comparison, 126 soldiers died in May of last year.

Download/link Brent Martin reports (1:15 MP3)

Party Cove Off Limits to Fort Leonard Wood Soldiers

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The commander at Fort Leonard Wood has put the Party Cove at the Lake of the Ozarks off-limits to soldiers. Major General Bill McCoy doesn’t want any Fort Wood personnel visiting the place or taking part in any of the activities there.

McCoy’s order cites health and safety issues. A Fort Wood soldier broke his neck when he jumped off a houseboat two weeks ago. Earlier this summer, a soldier and a civilian employee drowned in separate incidents.

Fort Leonard Wood has its own recreational area at another part of the Lake.