Photo By Melissa Buckley | Lead Security Guard Brock Carpenter, with the Directorate of Emergency Services,...... read more read more
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — Serving as one of the most important elements of the gates’ infrastructure, security officers standing watch over the Fort Leonard Wood community is a mission of ceaseless vigilance guards say they “proudly” perform. A Directorate of Emergency Services gate guard, Security Officer Timothy Kehn, said he felt a calling to serve and protect others when he was a child. “I've always loved to help people, but from the age of 12, I felt called to serve the nation in some way, shape or form. I know this is the best place for me to be and I'm loving it,” Kehn said. Kehn is also known as Sgt. Kehn when he is serving with the U.S. Army National Guard’s Homeland Response Force as a member of the Military Police Corps. While on duty at Fort Leonard Wood, Kehn spends much of his time behind the desk of the Visitor Center assisting visitors, such as family members, delivery and moving truck drivers, and contractors, gain access to post by verifying identification documents, performing background checks and issuing passes. He said being able to work in access control gives him a sense of “pride,” because he knows how it makes him feel when he is the one training with his National Guard unit. “Just the fact that someone else has my back allows me to be able to completely focus on what I signed up to do — the mission,” Kehn said. “It gives me a little extra peace knowing that I don't have to worry about who is on the installation. It's taken care of. They can handle it. They are professionals. They know what they're doing.” He said knowing he is protecting service members, their loved ones and people working on post is one of the reasons he doesn’t mind serving hundreds of people a day while working nights and holidays to keep the installation operating. According to Security Guard Chief Randy Wood, throughout the year Fort Leonard Wood’s gate guards serve more than 5 million people via the four gates and Visitor Center.
The gates and hours of operation are:
According to Wood, multiple factors are contributing to the weekend closure at the West Gate, such as resource constraints, to include staffing. “We have selected new candidates and are working toward hiring them in the next few months,” Wood said.And the government shutdown didn’t affect their schedules because, “we were at work,” he added. Having to work during government shutdowns, extreme weather and holidays is just part of the job, according to Lead Security Guard Brock Carpenter. Carpenter said he will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day guarding Fort Leonard Wood’s gates. “Somebody’s got to do it,” Carpenter said. “I take pride in this job and doing it to the best of my ability — always.” Kehn said he volunteered to work the upcoming holidays in the hopes that another guard would be able to spend it at home. “It's a sacrifice, but it's one that I'm happy to make,” Kehn said. According to Carpenter, there is one thing that makes working odd hours, holidays and in all weather conditions a little easier – the smile on people’s faces as they come through his lane. He also likes the challenge of making someone’s day a little brighter. “We serve thousands of people a day driving on post. Sometimes we interact with people and I can tell they're not necessarily having a good day,” he said. “In just at 10-second interaction, I try to lift their spirits a little and put them in a better mood.” Kehn agreed and said he understands being denied access to the installation can be frustrating and he tries to treat everyone with care — even when they are mad. “We are the first line of defense for our service members and their families, so if you're having trouble getting through the gate, it's not that we have a personal issue with you, it's that we want to make sure those who come on, do it the right way. “There's a lot of patience and love that goes into treating those people with respect, even if they're not necessarily treating us with respect,” Kehn said. “Those that understand we have a job to do and are courteous makes it so much easier and it brings a smile.” For more gate and access information, visit Fort Leonard Wood’s access control page.
| Date Taken: | 12.10.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.11.2025 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 553857 |
| Location: | FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Leonard Wood security guards ‘proud’ to protect community, by Melissa Buckley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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