Free Republic

ROLLA, Mo. – A gunman tried to break into a Missouri Army base Thursday and fired on police who pursued him before crashing a vehicle at a nearby university, which went on lockdown after he was seen entering a campus building, officials said. The Missouri University of Science and Technology campus remained locked down at midday as the search continued for the man, who fired shots near campus but apparently not on school grounds, a school spokeswoman said.

At approximately 8:36 a.m. a male identified as Cody Nathaniel Willcoxon was seen at the entrance gate at Fort Leonard Wood with an AK-47. After being questioned by FLW Military Police the suspect fled the scene, and was pursued by members of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Dept. and St. Robert Police Department in a silver passenger car. The suspect then began to shoot at the pursuing officers, and he headed east on I-44. Spike strips were set up on I-44 which resulted in the suspect exiting at the Rolla 184 Exit. The Suspect then began shooting at Rolla Police Officers...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2009) — Suicides, divorces, drunk driving crashes, financial problems and domestic violence aren’t supposed to be a part of military life, but they’ve become a major problem for the military after nearly eight years of the War on Terror since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In response, Fort Leonard Wood is hosting a “Human Dimension Forum” today in which top military officials, including former Gulf War prisoner of war Rhonda Comum, now a one-star general in charge of mental health-related issues for the Army at the Pentagon, are meeting with local installation leaders and civilian...

GateHouse Media, the owner of 89 daily newspapers including the Waynesville Daily Guide outside Fort Leonard Wood where I worked before I resigned to begin the Pulaski County Daily News, announced its second-quarter results with more millions of dollars in losses. I could say a lot about the decline of the traditional mainline media, but the numbers from their press release speak for themselves. GateHouse's CEO, Mike Reed, wrote this: "Our total revenue on a same-store basis declined 15.2% which was slightly better than the 16.3% decline we saw in the first quarter. We are somewhat encouraged that our classified...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 24, 2009) — Swine flu struck Fort Leonard Wood hard this month, with more confirmed cases on the military installation than in either Kansas City or metro St. Louis. State officials are reporting that there are only 80 cases of H1N1 influenza — the proper medical name for what’s been termed ‘swine flu’ — in the entire state of Missouri. That report includes one case in Pulaski County reported last month at Fort Leonard Wood. However, it apparently doesn’t include a total of 21 cases of the H1N1 influenza on the post that have now...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 21, 2009) — It’s not unusual for the person selected as soldier of the year at Fort Leonard Wood to have a hard-charging attitude and high aspirations for his future, and Sgt. Wesley D. Henderson, 24, is no exception. His military career goals include maxing the Army Physical Fitness Test, attending airborne and air assault school, and retiring as a command sergeant major; his off-duty activities include hunting, weightlifting and watching football. So what’s his MOS? He’s an Army musician in the 399th Army Band, with a bachelors’ degree in music performance as a distinguished...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE TAJI, Iraq (July 14, 2009) — Soldiers from the 4th, 5th, and Headquarters, Iraqi Army Field Engineer Regiments partnered with 50th Multi-Role Bridge Company from Fort Leonard Wood, a part of Joint Task Force Eagle, to train on Mabey and Johnson Bridge emplacement at the Iraqi Army Engineer School from July 3 to 13. The Iraqi Army Engineer School trains 400 to 500 Iraqi Army engineers each rotation. The 50th MRBC, which supports the 555th Engineer Brigade, assists this effort by instructing groups of 20 to 30 IA Engineers during ten-day blocks of classroom and hands-on bridge...

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MO. — As curious as it might sound, in his 11th week of basic training, Army Pvt. Branden Nethken pulled on drab green coveralls and practiced the most convincing Arabic accent a Tennessee boy could muster. His assignment for the morning, at the U.S. Army's first-ever mock detention facility, was to play the role of a disgruntled detainee captured in a war zone. Other soldiers in his company were dressed in combat gear, taking on the role of guards. "They told us to act as if we didn't want to be here," Nethken, 19, said with a...

The third group of National Guard artillerymen is slated to begin retraining as military police at the Army's Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Jan. 12 to support the war on terror. Army Lt. Col. Henry R. Evans, commander of the Army Reserve unit conducting the training, said B and C companies of the Illinois National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery Regiment, will undergo a four-week class in basic military police skills. The soldiers are among the first of about 2,200 Army National Guard soldiers to be retrained as provisional military police to conduct patrols, control crowd...