Due to ongoing troop reductions and force restructuring, Fort Riley has joined more than 30 Army installations across the United States in expanding on-post housing eligibility to single and unaccompanied service members.
In its infancy, the new program of expanded eligibility (commonly referred to as “opening the waterfall”) is expected to have minimal participation. The majority of on-post housing is, and will continue to be, occupied by military families.
Under expanded eligibility, service members can choose to use their “with or without dependents” housing allowance to live in on- or off-post housing.
The decision to implement this aspect of the Army policy was made due to immediate home availability and a decrease in the number of active-duty families currently living on post.
“Living on post provides a sense of community and increases housing choices for our soldiers at Fort Riley,” said Col. Andrew Cole, Jr., Fort Riley garrison commander. “Our decision to offer unaccompanied soldiers the option to live on post is the result of budgetary and force structuring challenges facing our military—now and in the future. Our priority remains the same—strong support for our military personnel—married or single.”
Student teams from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and the University of Missouri are among the 38 university student teams to receive Phase I grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) program to pursue projects to develop new, sustainable products and strategies.
Each of the three successful student team grantees from EPA Region 7 for 2015-2016 will receive $15,000 for their proposals:
The team from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan., will focus on “Harvesting the Otherwise Wasted Heat of LED Lights in Green Buildings.”
The team from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., will focus on “Net Zero Energy Air Filtration: Innovative Filter Media Applications for Improved Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency.”
The team from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., will focus on “Water Quality Monitoring at Hydraulic Fracturing Sites Using Molecularly Imprinted Porous Hydrogels.”
“This year’s P3 teams have created innovative research projects that tackle some of our most pressing environmental and public health challenges,” said Dr. Thomas A. Burke, EPA’s Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “These students have the opportunity to bring their exciting new ideas for innovation in sustainability to life, by expanding their learning experience beyond the classroom.”
Funding for the P3 competition is divided into two phases. Teams selected for Phase I awards receive grants of up to $15,000 to fund the development of their projects, which are then showcased at the National Sustainable Design Expo in the spring. Following the Expo, P3 teams compete for Phase II awards of up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and potentially bring them to the marketplace.
By Amanda Kim Stairrett
1st Inf. Div. Public Affairs
FORT RILEY, Kan. – The 1st Infantry Division’s commanding general told his guests Feb. 11 that Fort Riley was a big Astroturf field – a place where their troops could train as they would fight.
Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph C. Cornelison led the “Big Red One’s” first Total Army Conference, a gathering of National Guard and Reserve leaders from six states throughout the Midwest. The goal is strengthening the partnership between active-duty, National Guard and Reserve forces, making them all more operationally effective.
“It’s really up to me as the active component commander here at the 1st Infantry Division to communicate more on what our capabilities are here and what our schedule is here,” Grigsby said, “so we can help integrate and be better teammates to our partners.”
The conference included an extensive tour of Fort Riley training sites and facilities so adjutant generals from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Iowa and Minnesota could get a look at just what was available to them in the Central Flint Hills of Kansas. Kansas National Guard and Reserve forces are no strangers to Fort Riley, and the state’s adjutant, Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, who Grigsby referred to as his “battle buddy” during the TAC, touted the post’s training capabilities throughout the day.
Joining Tafanelli were leaders from Army National Guard’s 35th Infantry Division from Leavenworth, Kansas, and the Army Reserve’s 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command from Wichita, Kansas. Soldiers and leaders from the 35th Inf. Div. spent time at Fort Riley in January as the 1st Inf. Div. headquarters and units across the post conducted an extensive Command Post Exercise. The CPX was one of three training exercises to help prepare
the division for this spring’s Warfighter Exercise, a high-level training opportunity that will prepare the headquarters and subordinate units for upcoming missions. Participants from the 35th Inf. Div. served as observers/controllers, overseeing the scenarios presented to sections within the headquarters to test their readiness.
“We are one Army,” Grigsby said. “We have to train the way we fight and fight the way we train.”
He echoed the message sent down from the Army’s top leaders. U.S. Army Forces Command is, by design, a Total Force command – Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve and the active component, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, FORSCOM commander has said in past reports.
“We are one Army,” Abrams said. “We are one Army working together, shoulder to shoulder, to build and sustain highly trained and disciplined Soldiers and formations in accordance with Army standards. We are experts in our war fighting skills, ready to deploy and win in ground combat against any enemy.”
According to the 1st Inf. Div.’s Campaign Plan 2020, a roadmap for the division and post’s future, the Big Red One is a leader within III Corps in executing the Army Total Force policy. About 22,000 joint,
inter-organizational and multi-national partners from 30 states train at Fort Riley each year. Grigsby said he hoped the conversations started at the TAC would increase that number.
“I hope we get more,” Grigsby said, “because this whole thing about being an observer, coach and trainer – as we go through things, that’s a win-win for everybody.”
Events like the TAC are important, said the Nebraska Air National Guard’s Maj. Gen. Daryl L. Bohac, who serves as the state’s adjutant general. Bohac said Grigsby set the tone when their teams met last fall. The Total Army environment had issues in the past, but the renewed emphasis on partnership “are the difference makers in terms of enduring relationships and goodness for the nation,” he said.
“We are excited by this,” Bohac said.
“The Army has been making significant inroads into making sure we are acting as one team. That’s good for the citizens of this nation and what we are supposed to be about, which is the defense of this nation.”
The visiting senior leaders, along with members of Grigsby’s staff and Fort Riley garrison officials, sat down at the end of the day to talk about upcoming training and ways to collaborate.
Grigsby stressed a favored theme spoken often by senior Army leaders: it’s all about building readiness.
“It’s the No. 1,” Grigsby said. “There is no No. 2. We are all about
building readiness – all of us, working together as one.”
For Bohac’s Army forces in Nebraska, relationships established at Fort Riley mean access to training – both physical ranges and the virtual environment he and others got a firsthand look at Feb. 11.
“It just means better realistic training for them,” Bohac said. “One of my expectations leveled to all my commanders is, ‘You will deliver demanding, rigorous training every opportunity we can.’ So being a partner here at Fort Riley and with the 1st ID is going to help us do that.”
Grigsby had one message for his National Guard and Reserve partners: “Fort Riley is the best place to train, live, deploy from and come home to. And they want some of it, to be back here with us. It’s their post, it’s not mine. It’s the taxpayers’. It’s all about all this together, so, come on, we’ll make it happen.”
FORT RILEY, Kan. – More than 200 Soldiers with the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade are set to return soon from a nine-month deployment to
Kuwait.
While deployed, the brigade’s Soldiers were responsible for planning, oversight and resources for troops in five countries and 13 locations. The brigade supported Operation Inherent Resolve and provided sustainment
support to U.S. Central Command across its area of responsibility.
The unit departed Fort Riley in June 2015. All members of the “Durable”
brigade are expected to be home by the end of March.
Geary County Commissioners have approved a pair of door replacements in the hallways at the County Office Building.
Commission Chairman Florence Whitebread explained that they have had some near accidents when a couple of the doors open,”because there’s no glass in the door, and you can’t see anybody coming down the hall, and no body knows you’re going to open the door, and we’ve had a couple of really close near misses.”
The commission approved the request to replace two existing doors with ones that have glass in them.
In other County Commission news the commission also approved the appointment of Phyllis Boller to the County Free Fair Board, and they have asked the Chamber of Commerce to reconsider the Legislative Forum scheduled March 5th. That is the same day as the Republican and Democratic Caucuses in Kansas.
A proposal on a possible economic development incentive was outlined to the Land Bank Board of Trustees ( City Commission ) Tuesday night in Junction City.
City Manager Allen Dinkel noted the idea came from economic development director Greg Miller. “He is trying to put a proposal together for a potential business. At this point it is very early in the game. ”
Dinkel added they may not be offer to some of the incentives as in the past, but one of Miller’s ideas would perhaps include an offer to a company. “If you come here we’ll give you x ( number ) amount of lots that you can then work with your employees to bring employees here.”
No final action has been taken at this point, but there was a positive reception to the idea and willing to have it explored further. The City has numerous vacant lots in the Land Bank that already have infrastructure in place. Many details would still remain to be worked out on the proposal.
House Bill 2450 proposes increasing the speed limits on separated multi-lane highways in Kansas designated by the Kansas Department of Transportation, from 75 mph to 80 mph.
State Representative Lonnie Clark
The bill is currently sitting in a legislative committee, a decision of whether it goes to the full house could be made sometime next week.
Lonnie Clark, 65th District Representative says he was approached by the Representative in support of the bill who explained the theory behind it is,”is that the trucks all drive 80 anyways.”
Clark isn’t sure how the bill will go if it is put before the full house, but he hasn’t talked to very many people in favor of the bill.
“To me I think it’s a useless bill. From all intent and purpose, you raise the speed limit to 80, everybody’s going to drive 85. Right now it’s 75 and most people drive 80,” says Clark. “I don’t see the point in it, unless you want to turn it into an autobahn, and I think that’s going to create more accidents, increased insurance rates, and probably deaths.”
Clark went on to make it clear that he will not vote for the bill if it is ever introduced.
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Kansas Highway Patrol have both provided written testimony opposing the bill. Both groups expressed concerns about highway safety if the speed limit were to increase.
Junction City, KS – February 16, 2016 – The Junction City Little Theater will hold auditions for Mary Poppins on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28 from 6-8 pm in the C.L. Hoover Opera House Rehearsal Hall, located at 135 W. Seventh Street in Junction City. Casting calls are for a young girl; a young boy; and women and men of all ages. There are over 25 roles to fill. Tap experience is nice, but not required. You do not need to attend both nights.
Everyone’s favorite “practically perfect” nanny takes the JCLT stage this spring. Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the Disney film, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins blends magic and common sense to help the troubled Banks family and teach young and old how to value each other again. Mary Poppins will be directed by Ellie Dillon, with musical direction by Mary Louise Stahl.
Mary Poppins will be on stage April 28, 29, 30, and May 1, 2016.
For ticket reservations, call the box office at 238-3906, or reserve seats online at www.jclt.info.
Due to ongoing troop reductions and force restructuring, Fort Riley has joined more than 30 Army installations across the United States in expanding on-post housing eligibility to single and unaccompanied service members.
