Army troop cuts modest at Kansas posts; officials relieved

Kansas faces only modest cuts from the Army’s plans to reduce its active-duty troops over the next two years, losing fewer than 700 soldiers.

State officials said Thursday that the result shows Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth remain crucial to the military.

The Army said Fort Riley will lose 615 active-duty troops, or 4 percent of the 15,400 there.

Fort Leavenworth will lose 60 troops out of about 2,500, or 2.4 percent.

Members of Kansas’ congressional delegation and Gov. Sam Brownback said the state fared well.

The Army plans to cut its troop strength 8 percent, to 450,000 from 490,000.

Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran said with the overall cuts, the two posts were not likely to avoid reductions. But he said officials had feared that Fort Riley, home to the Army’s storied 1st Infantry Division, would lose a brigade, or 4,000 soldiers, along with thousands of civilian employees.

“I never thought we would be spared completely,” he said in an interview. “If the Army is going to reduce their forces by 40,000 military men and women, it’s probably unrealistic – it’s unrealistic – to expect there to be nothing at Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth.”

Moran said Kansas officials were able to dispel questions about Fort Riley’s ability to deploy soldiers to overseas missions from the middle of the U.S. A large Kansas National Guard training range near Salina – available for the Army’s use – also was seen as an important asset, he said.

The senator, who has met with Army officials seven times since February, said its officials noted that several thousand people turned out for a town hall meeting in Junction City in February to show their support for keeping Fort Riley’s troop and civilian employee numbers intact.

Moran also noted that the military has invested $1.8 billion at Fort Riley over the past five years, on new housing and schools and a new hospital.

Fort Leavenworth is home to the Army’s officer-training Command and General Staff College, giving it a unique role for the military branch, Moran said.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Army troop cuts modest at Kansas posts; officials relieved."