Defense Secretary Esper Presides Over Fort Leonard Wood Reenlistment Ceremony

A re-enlistment ceremony took place Thursday at Fort Leonard Wood with a special guest, Defense Secretary Mark Esper. Esper administered the oath of re-enlistment.

A soldier who re-enlisted, Specialist Jesus Roldan, said Esper’s appearance at the event had special meaning.

53 Soldiers re-enlisted at the Thursday ceremony.

In addition to the re-enlistment ceremony, Esper met with Major General Donna Martin, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general, and received overviews on the Harper In-processing Screening Clinic and the 10-week, modified Basic Combat Training – referred to as two-plus-eight due to a built-in initial two-week controlled-monitoring phase – which allows the Army’s newest Soldiers to learn all the same skills, but with COVID-19 mitigation protocols in place.
He also observed training at the Physical Endurance Confidence Course. Esper ended his visit with a sensing session with 14 service members from the Army, Marine Corps and Air Force with diverse backgrounds and experiences to hear their concerns regarding a variety of topics including, readiness and racism in the military.