Jefferson City — As a result of more than 2,000 Missourians, including soldiers, private citizens, legislators and state and local leaders attending the listening post offered by the U. S. Army’s Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA) in March, Fort Leonard Wood has been spared the worst of the military personnel cutbacks announced.
The U.S. Army has had to make difficult budgetary decisions, with reductions of nearly 40,000 troops across 27 bases. However, cutbacks at Fort Leonard Wood will result in the loss of 774 uniformed personnel by 2017. While these job losses are still devastating to the families affected by the decision, it is significantly less than most other Army bases across the nation.
“I’d like to thank U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt, Claire McCaskill, and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, as well as all the other elected state and local officials, community leaders and citizens who continue to show their support towards keeping Fort Leonard Wood strong,” Sen. Brown said. “Our military bases are important not only to the security of our state and nation, but to the local economy as well.”
Because of Fort Wood’s leadership, size, optimal location and local support, the base is poised to become one of the top military training bases in the country.
“I will continue to fight to keep Fort Leonard Wood at the top of my priorities list,” said Sen. Brown. “Our military personnel are the backbone of our nation, and having the base here in Missouri is an advantage we need to preserve."
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