Technically there are 17,000 soldiers assigned to Fort Riley.

But a Deputy Commanding General for the 1st Infantry Division, COL ( P) Frank Muth, posed a question during his remarks at the Regional Leader’s Retreat. “What happened, what has really been at Fort Riley for the last five years? Only about 13,000, because if you look at the number of brigades that have deployed the average has only been 13,000.”

The reduced number is due to troop deployments.

There are plans to deactivate two brigades in the 1st Infantry Division, including the Fourth Brigade at Fort Riley, and the Third Brigade at Fort Knox. Muth noted the assigned troop strength will go from 17,000 to 15,000.  “But guess what? The deployments have slowed down considerably.”  The deployments to Afghanistan are winning down, and after December of this year Muth noted nothing is planned. “So that means there’s potential where you’re actually going to have a higher number of soldiers here on a regular basis than you’ve actually had in the last five years that we’ve been deployed.”

The Regional Leader’s Retreat was held in Overland Park last Friday and Saturday.