Shown above, Sen. Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, joins other legislators, officials and community members of the public at the Community Listening Session in Fort Leonard Wood on Monday, March 2, 2015.

This week, our Senate family took a road trip to join more than 2,000 people at a Community Listening Session in Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County. The session allowed for community members and elected officials to speak out against planned cuts in employment at Fort Leonard Wood. If the proposed cuts go through, it’s possible the base could lose about 5,400 soldier and civilian jobs by the end of the year. Not only would this hurt these families of those who will lose their jobs, but the community would take an economic hit.

Fort Leonard Wood began as a small training post 70 years ago, but it has now grown into a premiere Army Center of Excellence that trains 80 – 90,000 military and civilians each year. It is a great facility for the Army to develop leaders and warriors at a low operating cost.

Our military bases in Missouri not only provide jobs to thousands of our citizens, the industry alone in our state is worth more than $40 billion. Fort Leonard Wood is Missouri’s 5th largest employer, supporting 36,400 direct and indirect jobs. This year, Fort Leonard Wood’s military construction program will inject another $264 million into the local economy.

This is an economic growth engine we cannot afford to lose. As a Legislature, we are committed to fight to keep these jobs in our communities. We need to support these men and women who risk their lives for our country. This week we stood together as elected officials to show our support and urge the federal government to keep these positions and jobs in Missouri.

I always appreciate hearing from you. If you have any questions about the topics discussed above, or any other issues, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Unsubscribe