A public listening session at Fort Riley could occur sometime after the first of the year as a part of the Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment (SPEA).

The SPEA is being conducted by the Department of Defense as they look to cut troop size from 490,000 to 420,000 in the upcoming years.

John Seitz, Junction City Military Affairs Director said that he believes the listening session will occur sometime after the first of the year.

“They’re still planning for it, the dates have moved around a little bit. The first date I heard was the 12th of December, and the next date I heard was that it would be in early January sometime,” says Seitz. “Of course the weather in Kansas can change all of that because you never know what the weather is going to be.”

The listening session will be similar to one held two years ago at Fort Riley. The only difference Seitz noted was that this time a General Officer may come to conduct it opposed to two Lieutenant Colonels.