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 Leslie C . Smith and the command sergeant major is Command Sergeant Major Terrence Murphy . History . The installation has historically had a training role under TRADOC ( Training and Doctrine Command ) rather than a FORSCOM ( Forces Command ) role dating back to its origins in World War II as an engineer replacement training post . During the Gulf War , the 5th Engineer Battalion from the fort saw action in the Middle East . After the beginning of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , the 94th Engineer Battalion was restationed from Germany to Fort Leonard Wood , as were the 92nd Military Police Battalion , 193rd Brigade Support Battalion , and 94th Signal Company ( part of the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade ) . The 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade was activated at the fort on 2 October 2008 . Initial Entry Training . The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence offers Basic Combat Training ( BCT ) for most non - combat arms soldiers , and Advanced Individual Training ( AIT ) for MOS ( Military Occupational Specialty ) 88M ( motor transport operator ) and MOS 74D ( Chemical , Biological , Radiological , and Nuclear specialists ) . It also provides non - combat engineer MOS training , OSUT ( One - Station Unit Training ) for combat engineers and bridging engineers ( MOS 12B and 12C ) , and AIT and military police ( 31B & 31E ) . All training is gender integrated as in Fort Jackson , except for combat engineers ( MOS 12B ) , which like all combat arms is closed to women . Newly commissioned Second Lieutenants in the CBRN , Engineer , and Military Police branches attend the Basic Officer Leader Course Phase B at the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence . Continuing education . The Maneuver Support Center of Excellence NCO Academy conducts the Senior and Advanced Leader Courses for the Chemical , Engineer , and Military Police branches , the Advanced Leader Course for Ordnance NCOs in MOS 62B , and the Warrior Leader Course for all Army NCO MOSs . The CBRN , Engineer , and Military Police schools provide Professional Military Education and functional courses for soldiers , Non - commissioned Officers , Warrant Officers , and Commissioned Officers , including but not limited to the Captains Career Course and the Battalion and Brigade Pre - Command Courses . Transportation . Waynesville Regional Airport at Forney Field serves the community with air service . Even though it is on Fort Leonard Wood , it is jointly run by the cities of Waynesville and St . Robert , and is available for civilian use by private pilots and scheduled commercial passenger service . The major east - west route is Interstate 44 ; before that , the main highway was " U . S . Route 66 " , which still exists as a scenic route through the area and passes through Devil ' s Elbow , St . Robert , Waynesville , Buckhorn , and Hazelgreen . Names for U . S . Route 66 vary – at different places , it ' s called Teardrop Road , Highway Z , Old Route 66 , Historic Route 66 , and Route 17 . State - posted signs mark most of the alignment of the road . Major north - south routes include : Major attractions along U . S . Route 66 include the Old Stagecoach Stop in downtown Waynesville , which is now a museum but began as a tavern and boarding house and is the oldest standing structure in the county . It was used as a Civil War hospital for Union troops who were garrisoned above the city in Fort Wayne , which was demolished after the war . The Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Waynesville is near the Old Stagecoach Stop . Three bridges cross the Big Piney River at Devil ' s Elbow — the modern Interstate 44 bridge , the later U . S . Route 66 alignment on Highway Z that was made possible by the Hooker Cut through a steep hillside , and the original U . S . Route 66 alignment on Teardrop Road that includes a historic bridge that ' s in the process of renovation . The Elbow Inn is a biker bar that ' s a frequent stop on the original U . S . Route 66 alignment . Fort Leonard Wood also has its own post utility railway connecting to the national railway system . The rail system is operated by a contractor , Base Services , Inc . , primarily carrying heavy equipment in support of the training center . Consisting of 27 miles of track , 18 of which connect the post with BNSF Railway at Bundy Junction , its operations are conducted from Monday through Friday , 0800 to 1600 . The system uses two EMD GP10 locomotives numbered USA 4606 and USA 4607 and one GP40 - 2 numbered USA 4654 . Previous motive power consisted of USA 2002 and USA 2024 , EMD SW8 locomotives built in 1951 that had been used by Army railway operating battalions in Korea during the war . The post also had two GE 80 - ton centercab locomotives for on - post switching . Most of the main line between the post and Bundy Junction has a grade 1 . 5 % grade , and in some places it reaches 3 % . The grade is so steep that only 20 cars can be pulled at a time up or down the mainline . The line has four sidings used for storing rail cars . At one time the line had CTC signals , but today the signals and CTC equipment are long gone . At one time , Fort Leonard Wood featured a busy rail operation . Not only did it receive vehicles and containers by rail , but also boxcars full of goods and equipment , coal for the base power plant , propane for various functions around post , and even diesel fuel for vehicles . Today all that remains are half a dozen tracks with loading ramps on the ends , located in a warehouse area . In addition , there is a small staging yard next to the warehouses , an engine house and a small wye . The engine house was extended so that both locomotives can fit inside . Media . Fort Leonard Wood is in Pulaski County and a high percentage of military personnel live off post in surrounding communities , especially St . Robert and Waynesville but also the farther - out cities of Richland , Crocker , and Dixon , and the unincorporated communities of Laquey , Swedeborg and Devil ' s Elbow , all of which have a lower housing cost than nearer housing in St . Robert and Waynesville . Military personnel assigned to training areas on the south end of the post sometimes choose to live in the unincorporated areas of Big Piney and Palace in Pulaski County , or the northern Texas County communities of Plato and Roby . The area has one daily and three weekly print newspapers , as well as an online internet daily newspaper . The county also has two internet discussion sites , the Pulaski County Web and Pulaski County Insider . KFBD - FM and its AM sister station , KJPW , are the dominant news radio providers in the Pulaski County area , which includes Fort Leonard Wood , Waynesville , and St . Robert . These stations compete with the only other station broadcasting from Pulaski County , KFLW Radio , owned by the Lebanon Daily Record and working locally from the St . Robert offices of the Pulaski County Mirror weekly newspaper . The content of the weekly Fort Leonard Wood Guidon is produced under the auspices of Army Public Affairs at Fort Leonard Wood but printed under contract by the Springfield News - Leader , a Gannett - owned newspaper which produces and sells advertisements in the Fort Leonard Wood Guidon . The Daily Guide , commonly known as the Waynesville Daily Guide but based in St . Robert and serving the entire county , is owned by Gatehouse Media and is the central printing plant for three other Gatehouse newspapers in nearby counties , the daily Lake Sun , based in Camdenton , and Rolla Daily News as well as the weekly St . James Leader - Journal . The weekly Pulaski County Mirror is owned by the Lebanon Daily Record , a family owned newspaper in an adjoining county . The paper is a merger of the Richland Mirror and Pulaski County Democrat in St . Robert , which were separate weekly papers owned by the Lebanon Daily Record until their owner merged them in 2009 . The weekly Dixon Pilot is privately owned by a resident of Dixon . The Pulaski County Daily News internet newspaper is privately owned by a St . Robert resident . The Pulaski County Insider is run by a group of St . Robert and Waynesville residents and maintained and hosted by a Potosi resident . The Pulaski County Web is run and maintained by a Devil ' s Elbow resident and former St . Robert businessman . School Districts . Seven main school districts are fully or partly within the borders of Pulaski County , not counting two small districts which are mostly within other counties and only have only a few dozen residents within Pulaski County . All seven school districts have a high percentage of Fort Leonard Wood military dependents , and over two - thirds of Waynesville students fall into that category . The cities of Waynesville and St . Robert and the Fort Leonard Wood army installation , along with their surrounding rural areas running east to Devil ' s Elbow , are served by the Waynesville R - VI School District which is by far the largest in the county . The cites of Richland , Crocker , and Dixon , along with their surrounding rural areas , are served by the Richland R - IV School Disrrict , the Crocker R - II School District and the Dixon R - I School District . The Richland and Dixon districts both extend into rural parts of adjacent counties . The unincorporated communities of Laquey and Swedeborg are served by the Laquey R - V School District and the Swedeborg R - III School District . Swedeborg is the county ' s last remaining K - 8 district and most of its high school students attend Richland High School though some attend Crocker High School or Waynesville High School ; all others serve students running from kindergarten through high school . The areas south of Fort Leonard Wood , including the unincorporated Pulaski County communities of Big Piney and Palace , is served by the Plato R - V School District , which is based in the northern Texas County village of Plato but also includes parts of Pulaski , Laclede and Wright counties . New Years Eve tornado . On the morning hours of 31 December 2010 , an EF3 tornado had touched down near the army base ' s training and cantonment area ( east side of the base ) . It caused damage to many houses , government buildings , and even an old house built during the World War 2 Era . The most damage was in the North Piney Hills Housing Area . There were only minor injuries . References . " The Enemy Among Us – POWs in Missouri During World War II " – David Fiedler