{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1756", "Alford Receives Assurance Basic Combat Training Is Staying at Fort Leonard Wood", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Mark Alford", "A000379", "alford.house.gov", "alford", "https://alford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "RAYMORE, MO\u2014Congressman Mark Alford today announced that the U.S. Army has confirmed there are no plans to relocate Basic Combat Training from Fort Leonard Wood.\n\nAfter hearing concerns about the future of Fort Leonard Wood\u2019s Basic Combat Training mission, Alford went directly to Army leadership to get answers and make sure Missouri\u2019s voice was heard.\n\nIn a response to Alford\u2019s June 26 letter, the Department of the Army made its position clear: \u201cThe Army has no plans to relocate the Basic Combat Training from Fort Leonard Wood.\u201d\n\nThe Army also confirmed that it expanded Basic Combat Training capacity at Fort Leonard Wood in Fiscal Year 2025 to support the Regular Army\u2019s growing accession mission. The Army expects that mission to increase to 65,000 accessions in FY27 as it works toward an end strength of 476,000 by FY29.\n\n\u201cThis is great news for Fort Leonard Wood, our soldiers, our military families, and the entire region that proudly supports this incredible installation,\u201d said Congressman Mark Alford.\n\n\u201cWhen questions were raised about whether Basic Combat Training could be moved from Fort Leonard Wood, I wasn\u2019t going to sit on the sidelines and wonder what might happen. I went straight to the Army and demanded answers.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd now we have them: Basic Combat Training is not going anywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cFort Leonard Wood has a proud history of training the men and women who defend our country. It is a critical part of our Army\u2019s readiness, and it is a tremendous economic and community asset for Missouri. I am proud to stand with the soldiers, families, veterans, and communities who make Fort Leonard Wood so strong.\u201d\n\nThe Army\u2019s response also noted that the U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command will continue assessing training capacity at Army Training Centers to meet future accession requirements and will keep Congress informed of its analysis.\n\nAlford said he will continue to closely monitor the Army\u2019s plans and advocate for Fort Leonard Wood and the soldiers who train there.\n\n\u201cThis is another victory for Missouri,\u201d Alford said.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ll keep fighting to make sure Fort Leonard Wood remains a premier training installation and that Missouri continues to play a critical role in preparing the next generation of American soldiers.\u201d", 1, "2026-08-20T05:28:41Z", "2026-08-20T05:29:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://alford.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1756"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9347479790449142, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}