Fort Lee Celebrates “A Century of Support to the Nation”
Fort Lee is commemorating 100 years since the establishment of the original Camp Lee. Celebration plans include a community concert at the Fourth at the Fort celebration, a time capsule ceremony, the unveiling of a commemorative print, museum exhibit openings and a documentary premier. We unveiled a fantastic trailer in January for a documentary we are producing in honor of the Centennial year. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/zKDeP4ki1aQ. The culminating celebration is scheduled for the week of July 10 – stay tuned for more details.
New CASA
For those few of you who don’t already know, Mr. Ron White, formerly the military liaison to Congressman J. Randy Forbes, was recently appointed as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Virginia’s Capital Region. If you don’t know much about Mr. White – or the importance of what a “CASA” does – you can read all about him and the position in this recent Fort Lee Traveller article. What I can tell you right now is that we’re thrilled to have this West Point grad back on the team, helping to tell the Army story!
New CSM
On January 17, we bid farewell to Command Sergeant Major Clarence Richardson, who ended his tour as our Garrison CSM – my organization’s senior enlisted leader. At the same time, we welcomed CSM Vittorio DeSouza to the team. Hopefully, you’ll have a chance to meet him soon, as I know he plans to be highly engaged with events and activities in our local communities.
Growing the Army
The Army has announced plans to increase military personnel by 16K in FY17 and 20K in FY18. We do not have firm information regarding the impact to Fort Lee at this time, but do anticipate some effect to our advanced individual training population. We will update you as we receive additional information.
Civilian Military Council
You were recently sent an invitation to the Civilian Military Council meeting we are hosting March 2, here at the Lee Club. I sincerely hope you can make it, as this CMC meeting will be conducted differently than those in the past. Based on feedback from our community partners, we have revamped the format to bring more focus to specific issues of common concern and interest among participants from the military and local communities. This first meeting will be focused on the Commissary benefit and its relation to local communities – the guest speaker will be Mr. Joseph Jeu, Director of Defense Commissary Agency. Your input is always welcome with regard to topics for future CMC meetings.
Military Culinary Arts Competitive Training Event
Our annual culinary event, showcasing the top kitchen talent in the U.S. military, comes to Fort Lee at a new location March 4-9, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the MacLaughlin Fitness Center. This event is open to the public and includes limited opportunities to sample the amazing dishes prepared by our uniformed chefs. You can spend less than $6 and get a meal that might even be better than home cooking. (Just please don’t tell my wife I said that.)
Music in Our Schools
The 392nd Army Band is visiting schools in our region throughout March and April to provide music education and appreciation performances. The program reaches thousands of children every year. If your school districts haven’t already made a request for a “Music in Our Schools” performance, please let them know to contact our Public Affairs Office.
Fort Lee Tax Center
A valuable resource for veterans and families in your communities is the Fort Lee Tax Center, which opens around tax time every year to provide support to our military population, whether they live on or off post. The incredible volunteers working there help to prepare thousands of state and federal tax returns every year for our service members and their families, and I can’t thank them enough. The tax center is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. The last scheduled appointment time is 4 p.m. Walk-ins are accepted but only for form 1040EZ filers. For details, call (804) 734-5732.
2017 Fort Lee Guide and Phone Directory
Our new installation guide and directory is packed with information about Fort Lee, including a special section about our Centennial celebration this year. These guides may prove very useful for visitors and citizens in your communities. We have ample supplies on hand, so please call (804) 734-7451 or e-mail ArmyFortLee.PAO@mail.mil if you would like to obtain copies for your visitor centers/areas or other appropriate locations within your facilities.