Army · Basic Combat Training
How to Address a Letter to Fort Leonard Wood Basic Training
Fort Leonard Wood trains soldiers in Basic Combat Training and in several One Station Unit Training tracks. Its address format is a little different from the other Army installations: the unit number becomes part of the street line rather than sitting in the unit line, which is why the builder below asks for it separately.
The address format
Everything in brackets comes from your recruit. The city, state, and ZIP are the same for everyone training here.
Build the Fort Leonard Wood address
Fill in what your recruit told you and copy the finished address. Free, and nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Pre-filled with the usual starting rank for this branch. Change it if theirs is different.
Fill in the fields above to see the finished address.
What families get wrong at Fort Leonard Wood
The unit number goes on the street line
At Fort Leonard Wood the street line takes the form of an avenue plus a unit number. The builder assembles this for you once you enter the unit number, so you do not have to work out where it belongs.
Company and battalion are written together
The unit line combines the company letter, the battalion, and the platoon in a single line. Enter each piece in its own field below and the correct format is assembled for you.
Several kinds of training share the installation
Because Fort Leonard Wood hosts more than one training pipeline, the unit line is what tells the mailroom which one your soldier is in. It carries more weight here than the street does.
Would rather not mail it yourself?
Write your message and we will put it on paper, address it to Fort Leonard Wood in the format above, and mail it for you. Pen on paper. Never a printed font. Letters from $5, cards from $9, no account needed.
Send Mail to Fort Leonard WoodCommon questions
Why does this address have a unit number when others do not?
Each installation formats its mail the way its own mailroom sorts it. Fort Leonard Wood uses a unit number on the street line. The builder places it correctly for you.
Does mail take longer to reach Missouri?
Transit time depends mostly on where you are mailing from, not on the installation. Plan on standard first-class timelines plus a few days for the mailroom to sort and distribute.
Should I put a return address on the envelope?
Always. Unit assignments can change during training, and without a return address a misdirected letter is simply gone instead of coming back to you. This is the single most recommended habit in basic training mail guidance, and it is why a return address is required rather than optional on anything we send.
Can I send a package or put something inside the envelope?
Most basic training installations restrict packages, especially early in the cycle, and many prohibit enclosures like food, electronics, or anything bulky. Letters and flat photos are the safest thing to send. Check your installation's current guidance before mailing anything else.
How long does mail take to arrive?
Transit time depends on where you are mailing from, plus a few days on the installation for the mailroom to sort and distribute to the training unit. Mail is not usually handed out daily, so a letter that seems slow is very often just waiting for the next mail call.
What happens if the unit information changes during training?
It happens regularly. If mail stops getting through, ask for a current address rather than assuming anything was lost. A return address means older letters find their way back to you rather than disappearing.
Other basic training addresses
See the mailing address format for every branch and installationAddress formats here are compiled from published basic training mail guidance and are a strong starting point, not an official directory. Unit assignments change during training. Always check against whatever your recruit has actually sent home. Boot Camp Letters is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the United States Department of Defense or any branch of the armed forces.