Graduation morning at Fort Leonard Wood
🚧 TBD — Confirm whether the Graduation Parade at FLW follows the Forge Ceremony on the same day or occurs the following day (Thursday is the standard BCT graduation day across installations, but FLW's Forge structure may alter this). Verify from FLW garrison.
Where and when
- Location
- TBD — verify from home.army.mil/wood
- Typical start
- 🚧 Time pending — confirm with garrison (Thursday)
- Duration
- About 2 hours
- Dress
- Smart casual; layers recommended (Missouri outdoor ceremony).
The one thing
Be parked by 06:15. The lot (Graduation parade field parking) fills by TBD, earlier than Family Day fills.
The timing chain
- 1Leave the hotel by 6 AM. Missouri Avenue Gate (Main Gate) backs up around 25 minutes on graduation morning, sometimes more.
- 2Park by TBD at Graduation parade field parking. After that, overflow lots add a walk you don’t want in dress shoes.
- 3Bleacher seats fill front-to-back. Center rows give the best Soldier-recognition angle without standing. Specific row counts haven’t been verified for this venue yet — confirm with the garrison or aim for the middle band on arrival.
- 4The ceremony runs about 2 hours. National anthem, pass-in-review (the graduation march), remarks, dismissal. Your Soldier is released to you right after the ceremony. There’s no separate pickup line.
- 5Travel home or to AIT. Some Soldiers travel directly to AIT (their job school) after graduation; others get a brief leave. Guard and Reserve Soldiers may return home on their agreed-upon timeline. Confirm with the orders before booking flights.
Hotel comparison →
Drive time to the gate, plus whether breakfast is open before your 6 AM departure.
Packing list →
Bleacher cushion, sunscreen, a camera with real zoom. The practical list.