Fort Riley is known as "Home of America's Army" and is located at the confluence of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers. In the 147 years since its establishment, soldiers from Fort Riley have gone forth many times to help develop our country and to preserve the principles upon which the United States was founded. From the pioneer days of our nation's westward expansion, to the beaches of Normandy, to the jungles of Vietnam and to the deserts of Iraq soldiers from Fort Riley have always stood ready to answer the call. When we were needed, we were there.
Major Command: 24TH INFANTRY DIVISION, 1ST BDE/1ST INFANTRY DIVISION (MECH), 3RD BDE/1ST ARMOR DIV and 937TH ENG GROUP
Primary Weapon Systems: Heavy mechanized (M1A1, 155 Howitzer)
Mission: To provide training, readiness, and deployability for three active component combat brigades; mobilize and deploy active and reserve component units; and provide effective support for soldiers and families during peace and war.
Population assigned-served 27,463; Active Duty Officer 1,091; Active Duty Enlisted 9,165; Family Members 12,387; Retirees 5,962; Civilian Work Force 3,312
Fort Riley has become home to one of the Army's two Active Component/Reserve Component (AC/RC) Divisions. Fort Riley, Kansas and Fort Carson, Colorado were selected for these two headquarters, which will assist in training six of the Army National Guard's Enhanced Readiness Brigades. Fort Riley's brigades will be the 218th Separate Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), South Carolina Army National Guard, the 30th Separate Infantry Brigade (Mechanized), North Carolina Army National Guard and the 48th Brigade (Mechanized), Georgia Army National Guard. In addition to the headquarters at Fort Riley, the division will have a forward headquarters at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. The headquarters will be comprised of approximately 200 soldiers and the forward headquarters of approximately 20 soldiers. Activation of the division is planned for October 1999.
Fort Riley is located in the heart of America and has played a key role in American history since 1853, when it was established as a base for Westward expansion, in the Kansas territory. The nearest towns are Junction City, two miles west and Manhattan (home of Kansas State University) 16 miles east.
The establishment of Fort Riley was one of the first steps toward the development of this territory. Fort Riley was originally built to protect settlers coming down the Kansas River heading west and was spared the fate of other frontier forts. It became the cavalry headquarters of the Army and even today hosts the US Army Cavalry Museum.
Fort Riley is a historical old cavalry post with many well preserved buildings and monuments open to sightseers. An active historical society provides regular tours in the spring, summer and fall. The post is located near the Flint Hills, with rolling prairies carved out of the landscape by glaciers eons ago. The national symbol, the bald eagle, winters around the Kansas River, which cuts through Fort Riley.
Fort Riley has medical and dental activities and all the supporting and recreational services found in any modern community.
Fort Riley, the Home of America's Army, enters this year much like it did in 1853, its first year...one highlighted with dynamic change and growth.
With the deployment of the 1st Infantry Division to Europe completes, Fort Riley remains the Army's premier force projection platform.
Nearly $100 million in construction projects are underway on the installation. Some of this construction includes the O'Donnell Heights housing project for officers and their families.
Fort Riley is home to more than 10,269 soldiers. There are 3,052 sets of quarters that house Fort Riley's married soldiers and their family members. The O'Donnell Heights housing project is a great improvement to the Fort's "Quality of Life," with barrack renovation's and upgrades continuing.
When it comes to training, Fort Riley has 100,671 acres, of which 70,926 are contiguous and can handle Battalion Task Force level maneuvers and live fire training. This quantity of space allows the Fort's soldiers to fire every weapon system in a heavy division's inventory. There are two state-of-the-art Multi-purpose Range Complexes on Fort Riley, as well as the largest most capable railhead facility in the Army, which can load a division-sized unit in approximately 5 days.
Fort Riley has the "Top of the Line" Battle Simulation Center (BSC) in the Exercise Simulation Division (ESD). The BSC contains "State of the Art" equipment used to conduct Brigade/Battalion Battle Simulation exercises. A Corps Battle Simulation System (CBS) exercise can be conducted when connected to a CBS site with mainframe support. This ESD does testing of simulation software for the National Simulation Center (NSC). Fort Riley has a long history of working with the NSC on testing new versions of this software, while working with Force XXI on new products for training with simulations.
In 1995, Fort Riley was picked for the first American based "Peacekeeper" operation. Peacekeeper '95 was conducted with Russian troops training with American soldiers for the first time in history on United States soil.
Feel free to locate additional information about Fort Riley on these Web Pages:
Fort Riley: Installation
Installation Overview
Overview
Medical & Dental
Education
Employment
Classifieds
Discounts
Relocation
Community
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