Maj. Gen. James Bonner, who will end his service May 19 as the commanding general of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood, spoke to Rolla area business and government leaders about his appreciation for the relationship between all the communities and the post.
“We're grateful every day to serve with you and thank you very much,” said Bonner, who will move to San Antonio to assume another Army leadership post.
Speaking at the year’s first 2023 quarterly Business at Breakfast event hosted by the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce at the Lions Club Den Tuesday morning, April 18, Bonner said he was there on behalf of approximately 30,000 soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen, retirees, family members and civilian employees at Fort Leonard Wood.
“I want to thank the chamber, along with Phelps for the Fort—and all the individuals and groups that make up each of your organizations,” he said.
Before getting into the main part of his talk, the general honored the Phelps County soldier who was killed recently in a helicopter crash and whose funeral was in St. James Saturday, followed by burial at the Veterans Cemetery in Pulaski County.
“This past weekend, many of us honored the service of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith. In a short 32 years, Rusten led a tremendous life as a beloved son, husband, father, grandson, soldier and leader,” the general said of the St. James High School graduate whose family roots are here in this area. “It was very humbling and comforting to see our lieutenant governor and our community come together to honor his life and support this family in this time of loss. We are grateful to the continued support of our Army, and even during their grief, our thoughts remain with them.”
After that tribute, Bonner noted that he and his wife, Deborah, who was home packing for the upcoming move, count themselves fortunate to have served at Fort Leonard Wood four times.
“Both of our daughters graduated from Waynesville High School, and truly our experiences here have been remarkable,” he said.
The feeling of welcomeness throughout the region makes a difference, he said.
“Like any visitors, any Army leader admires this special relationship we as a military have with our communities. We share a common purpose to support the defense of our nation and take care of our people,” he said, adding “We want every military member to choose Fort Leonard Wood as an assignment of choice and this region as their home. We want whatever military members who come to leave here better.”
He said the Army joins with the communities in desiring for young people in school systems and universities “just to be great citizens (with) a propensity and desire to serve.”
He told the community business and political leaders that Fort Leonard Wood leaders “want to explore ways to leverage our closer potential to fulfill DoD (Department of Defense) requirements and to host visitors, conferences and competitions.”
The post trains "thousands of American sons and daughters” each year, giving them “the values, skills and tools for success in multi-domain operations both around the globe and here in our homeland,” Bonner said. “Fort Leonard Wood also has “the obligation to educate officers and NCOs at different stages in their careers and professionalism and helping them prepare for the next rank and levels of assignment. And we've developed capabilities such as doctrine for structure and future systems.”
The Army is loyal, he stressed, and “We take care of our retirees, families and civilians with phenomenal health care and installations.”
The post itself is one where any soldier should want to serve.
“(It is) second to none, surrounded by the Mark Twain National Forest and neighbor to the Big Piney River,” he said. “It is truly beautiful, and still has untapped potential, such as capacity to support Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force or other laboratories, academics are interagency partners”
And now the post is open and “we would like anyone to come and visit us,” he said.
No mission can “happen without the support from each of you,” he said.
“It's an honor to work closely with our civilians and civic leaders, universities with ROTC and our school systems with Junior ROTC and support organizations such as this right here,” he said to the chamber. “We're extremely proud of our relationship with Missouri S&T through initiatives such as the master's degree programs, and providing our ranges training areas, drill sergeants mentors for the ROTC programs as they grow the Army's next generation of leaders, he said.
The post hospital has “phenomenal relationships with Phelps Health and other local providers,” he said.
There is also connection between the communities and the post with recreational activities, the museum and the golf course.
“We also enjoy being connected to the nation with daily jet service through our joint use airfield,” he said. “Likewise, our team appreciates all Rolla has to offer from academic opportunities for our spouses to phenomenal cultural events at Leach Theater and across the university.”
Rolla’s retail and restaurants are also appreciated by the post personnel and spouses, he said.
“Many of our Department of Defense and contract civilians are proud to call Rolla their home,” Bonner said. “I say this to all of our senior leaders and business leaders. We want to always be good teammates, and good teammates with our civic partners and we appreciate there's truly nothing about this assignment, this mission, this location, or this team that escapes us or that has been taken for granted.
He repeated that it has been a privilege to serve at Fort Leonard Wood four times, and closed by saying, “The transformation from the first time that we came to this area to now is incredible. Fort Leonard Wood’s economic impact has affected our communities and our regions in a very positive way.”
He described Fort Leonard Wood as “one of the finest national treasures.”
The breakfast was sponsored by Missouri S&T.
