“79% of our troops that come in to the military, come from military families…service has become a family tradition, a family business,” said Patrick J. Murphy, Under Secretary of the Army.

Murphy spent the day on Fort Riley emphasizing the Soldier for Life initiative.

When Murphy entered the civilian world, he said there were no programs to assist in transitioning out of the army.  Now, the Soldier for Life program helps veterans and retirees when they decide to leave service.

“Twelve to eighteen months before they leave, they want to make sure that our soldiers are transition ready, that they have a resume…it saves the American taxpayers money, because if our soldiers don’t have jobs when they leave the army, we have to pay them unemployment,” said Murphy.

Murphy said that in the last five years the Department of Defense has spent $4.6 billion paying unemployment, but the Soldier for Life  program is cutting a lot of that expense.

“When you look at even this past year for the first six months of our fiscal year, we saved tens of millions of dollars for our army because we have been very focused in making soldier for life a top priority,” said Murphy.

Veterans are more likely to serve active roles in the community, like little league coaches, pastors, and small business owners, and are more likely to be successful than non-Veterans according to Murphy.

“What really is important is the fact that you say you are a soldier for life, you are a leader of character for a lifetime of service; so whether you do three years or thirty years, you need to make sure that the expectation is that you will continue to serve,” said Murphy.

One area of the Flint Hills region that Murphy commended on their care for soldiers and veterans was Manhattan.

“The partnership with the Military Innovation Center at Kansas State and the partnership with the Big Red One is second to none in this nation – this really is the benchmark for how to take care of soldiers and their families so that transition can be as smooth as possible,” said Murphy.

Murphy added that both indirectly and directly, soldiers and veterans in the region make up for approximately $3 billion in the economy, making the relationships and positive partnerships with the local military that much more significant.

“We have about 155,000 American soldiers, veterans who live in the [Fort Riley] metro area, and those soldiers and their families are civic assets for our nation; they want to give back, they love our country, they leave our army with the love of country stamped on their heart, they want to keep continuing to give back and that’s what we’re seeing in places like Manhattan, KS which is pretty terrific,” said Murphy.

During his visit to Fort Riley, Murphy was able to view some live fire training exercises as well as take part in a ceremony for a soldier being awarded the Soldier’s Medal for active heroism while not in uniform.

A third generation Veteran, Murphy wanted to truly connect with the soldiers and leaders on Fort Riley and listen to their needs and concerns – his faith in the 1st Infantry Division is strong.

“This November they will have about 8900 of our soldiers who are deployed overseas; they are the tip of the sphere of our nation to keep our families safe here at home and they have great leadership, both NCOs and officers,” said Murphy.

No additional deployments have been announced for Fort Riley.

Murphy spent time today connecting with soldiers transitioning out of the army.