Fort Leonard Wood Community Partnership Leadership Committee Meeting Held with New FLW Garrison Commander
Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri – November 14, 2024 –The quarterly Fort Leonard Wood Community Partnership Leadership Committee (FLWCP LC) meeting and Sustainable Ozarks Partnership Update was held on Thursday, November 14, at the Waynesville High School 9th Grade Center Lecture Hall. The FLWCP LC portion of the meeting was co-chaired by SOP Executive Director Dorsey Newcomb and the new FLW Garrison Commander, Colonel Steven Bartley.
The FLWCP LC was established in early 2016, when FLW Region local governments, the state of Missouri, and other public and private organizations signed a charter agreement to form the Committee.
Today the FLWCP LC continues to provide an on-going platform for leaders to discuss partnership opportunities and collaborations that are beneficial for FLW and the region. The committee is co-chaired by the SOP Executive Director and the FLW Garrison Commander.
Newcomb opened the meeting by welcoming those in attendance and underscoring the importance of partnerships between our communities and FLW. COL Bartely then provided opening remarks and thanked the community for their support of FLW, service members, and their families.
The final quarterly meeting of the calendar year saw approximately 30 stakeholders from around the four-county FLW Region along with our Army partners gather to discuss a variety of ongoing and potential partnership projects between our communities and FLW.
The meeting included a presentation by Benchmark Planning regarding the DOD-funded regional Military Installation Resilience Review that is currently underway. COL Bartley gave an update on FLW construction projects, including housing, the hospital, and barracks. The cities of St. Robert and Waynesville provided an update on the new commercial terminal construction project at the joint use airport.
Other topics included the status of a DOD-funded program called Public Schools on Military Installations that would potentially see a significant investment in upgrading one of the R-VI public schools on FLW. Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSAs) were discussed by FLW representatives, too.
There was a good exchange by the group around an SOP and FLW collaboration addressing child care capacity, availability, and DOD-funded incentives for off-post providers. Other topics included an update on 5G infrastructure investments on FLW, community support for Holiday Block Leave, and the change in commercial jet service from FLW to Dallas and Chicago.
In conjunction with the FLWCP LC meeting Newcomb provided those in attendance with an update on various collective accomplishments from across the region since the last meeting. Newcomb also spent time describing the SOP’s focus areas going forward.
“It was a pleasure to welcome Colonel Bartley to his first Fort Leonard Wood Community Partnership Leadership Committee meeting to discuss a range of partnerships that can help create efficiencies for Fort Leonard Wood and are mutually beneficial to our local governments and communities. We very much value the great partnerships that our communities have with Fort Leonard Wood,” said Newcomb.
The SOP is building on the Fort Leonard Wood Region’s strong past and preparing the region for a healthy, resilient future. We are a nonprofit organization working to bring all of the region’s stakeholders to the table to drive regional development and advocate for new or expanded military and federal missions, all as part of our efforts to strengthen the Fort Leonard Wood Region.