Press Release
☷Fort Leonard Wood improves environmental quality through multiple initiatives
U.S. Army ( By Press Release office)
Apr 28,2022
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: Fort Leonard Wood trains more than 80 , 000 individuals per year on the 62 , 000 acre reserve in the middle of Missouri . Home to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence , FLW has three , gender - integrated initial military training brigades , and serves as one of four primary reception stations for the Army . The Non - Commissioned Officers’ Academy ( the largest in the Army ) , the U . S . Army Engineer School , the U . S . Army Military Police School and the U . S . Army Chemical , Biological , Radiological and Nuclear School are among the premier training organizations located on the installation . COL Jeffrey Paine , Garrison Commander , presents a quarterly Recycling Excellence Award of $1000 to Mr . Kevin Poinsette of the 554th Engineer Battalion . This award is presented to individuals , teams , military units , or government civilian activities making significant accomplishments in the areas of reusing , reducing , rethinking , repurposing , and recycling ( the 5 R’s ) . Each quarter , the winning activity will be presented with a Recycling Achievement Award at the Appreciation of Excellence Ceremony hosted by the Commanding General . Arcadis Inc . , a US Army contractor drilled soil borings that were sampled for polyfluoroakyl substances ( PFAS ) , a type of chemical found in many stain - proofing products . The chemical family has recently become a concern at all locations where firefighting foams may have been used . This sampling effort is part of an Army initiative to study the presence of PFAS on military installations . Jeremy Chamberlin , hazardous waste manager , checks the label on a container of waste in preparation for a shipment . Fort Leonard Wood operates a 90 - day accumulation area to safely hold hazardous wastes until it can be disposed of properly . Hazardous wastes are highly regulated , and every detail must be just right to maintain compliance and protect the environment . Heather Williams , FLW stormwater manager , is shown sampling surface water . FLW’s industrial stormwater permit requires sampling and recording of field parameters such as pH and dissolved oxygen . To ensure the surface water remains high quality , FLW continuously checks for contaminants both visually and analytically in multiple locations on the installation . Water quality is one of FLW’s most significant environmental aspects . An Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Chairman’s Award was presented to Fort Leonard Wood and their consulting partners in recognition of the Army’s rehabilitation of Countee Hall , the WWII - era African American Officers’ Club at Fort Leonard Wood . Receiving the award are Paul Edmondson , president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; the Honorable Alex A . Beehler , former Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations , Energy and Environment; Aimee K . Jorjani , chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; Sammie Whiting - Ellis , niece of artist Samuel Countee; Lt . Gen . Donna W . Martin , commander of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence at Fort Leonard Wood; Charlie Neel , Fort Leonard Wood Environmental division chief; and Stephanie Nutt , cultural resources program coordinator , Fort Leonard Wood Environmental Division ) . Located in a heavily forested area with rugged hills , deep ravines and geologic features including caves , sinkholes and springs , Fort Leonard Wood has become a leading resource for U . S . Army training and home to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence . While focus on this critical training mission never wavers , the installation has also won praise for comprehensive , effective environmental management and stewardship . Fort Leonard Wood , a 62 , 000 - acre site in rural Missouri , has not received any environmental enforcement actions in the last decade , a remarkable accomplishment given the comprehensive nature of services provided at the installation to 13 , 000 employees; 11 , 000 trainees; 10 , 800 family members; and 60 , 200 Military retirees . As home to the Non - commissioned Officers’ Academy ( the largest in the Army ) , the U . S . Army’s Engineer School , Military Police School and Chemical , Biological , Radiological and Nuclear School , the installation provides 80 , 000 certifications and 245 training courses per year , as well as offerings in 26 occupational specialties . One key to the unit’s environmental success is its conformance with ISO 14001 , the international standard for environmental management . Added to that is their focus on exceptional environmental stewardship . “Cost containment , risk management , innovation , continuous improvement , partnerships and outreach are critical to our success , ” said Charlie Neel , chief of FLW’s environmental division . “Every day , FLW earns its designation as the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence by accomplishing an ever - growing training mission and exceeding environmental goals and objectives , while keeping costs and staffing requirements low . ” One notable example of innovation at FLW is the recent addition of a 2 . 5 - megawatt combined heat and power unit , completed in 2021 . The project uses produced heat that would go to waste , and instead uses it to create hot water that otherwise would require a fossil fuel boiler to produce . And the CHP unit will send 2 . 5 megawatts of electrical energy back to the local electric utility grid , reducing the installation’s usage and costs . A second CHP unit has been approved , to build on the success of the first project . Another sign of success is FLW’s revamping of the above - ground storage tank inspection and repair process – an effort to prevent contamination before it happens in an area that can cause pollution problems . Since the inception of the new process , more than 200 service orders for repairs in the 165 tanks on the installation have been completed , helping to avoid future remediation . The hazardous waste program has also diverted approximately 1 , 100 gallons of hand soap and 55 gallons of hand sanitizer to a hazardous materials collection point – allowing use of the sanitizers instead of disposing of them . The unit also aggressively pursues recycling and reuse programs . The electrical/computer waste recycling program , offered twice a year in conjunction with Earth Day and American Recycles Day , collected more than 38 , 000 pounds of privately - owned consumer electronics and small appliances in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 . This effort prevents harmful substances such as mercury , lead , arsenic and cadmium from entering landfills . On the reuse front , the recycling program also took more than 4 , 000 outdated Skill Level 1 Soldier Manuals and rather than grind them up for cardboard , donated them to Junior ROTC units throughout Missouri to fill a big gap in training material needs .
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