FORT RILEY, KS – The Fort Riley community gathered Nov. 9 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the USO’s RP/6 (formerly Rally Point 6) location to celebrate the completion of the organization’s renovated office space.
With a slogan of “On the path forward, we’ve got your back,” RP/6 is designed to be a one-stop-shop for service members transitioning to civilian life. For the military, a rally point represents a physical place where people can assemble and reorganize to prepare for actions at an objective. The “6” is a term understood as “I’ve got your back.”
“For 75 years, the USO has connected Soldiers to family, home and country beginning with their first day of service,” said Crystal Bryant-Kearns, Fort Riley’s RP/6 site manager. “As with all change, there comes growth, just as we have experienced here at the USO. We now serve Soldiers during their time of service and as they transition from their military career to civilian life.”
RP/6 is part of the USO 360 Transition Alliance, which consists of four different programs—RP/6, Hire Heroes USA, Stronger Families, and the Comfort Crew for Military Kids—that cover the personal and professional issues military families face during transition.
The Fort Riley RP/6 is one of 10 locations at military installations across the United States. Since July, the location here has helped more than 100 clients across 13 states. “Even though some Soldiers who have transitioned are no longer at Fort Riley, we are still by their side,” Bryant-Kearns said. “It has been a great pleasure to witness this program in action. Veterans and transitioning military can reach out to the RP/6 team and find that scout who will point them in the right direction of the resources they need from housing issues to employment, school and even family issues.”
Fort Riley Garrison Commander Col. John Lawrence said RP/6 has an enormous amount of partners—entities like the Soldier For Life Transition Assistance Program, General Electric, Habitat for Humanity and Kansas State University, for example—that can help service members with a variety of issues.
“Partners on and off post, locally and nationally, support RP/6’s eight pillars of employment, education, benefits and resources, family programs, housing, wellness, financial and legal,” he said. “We have the campus right here to help our Soldiers and make it easy for them to get the assistance they need.”
For more information or to become a community partner, call 785-492-5531 or 785-492-5710. Those transitioning from the military can register for RP/6 at www.rp6.org/register.
To read more about the USO RP/6 program and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, pick up a copy of the Nov. 11 edition of Fort Riley’s “1st Infantry Division Post” newspaper or view it online at https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/678/the-1st-infantry-division-post.