Kansas Fighting for Ft. Riley

(AP) – Military officials are hearing from Kansas lawmakers and residents the reasons against deep troop reductions at Fort Riley.
Residents from neighboring Junction City and Manhattan spoke of the importance of Fort Riley to the region during a town hall meeting Monday at the fort.
Fort Riley officials have said the installation stands to lose as many as 16,000 – more than half of the roughly 25,000 people employed there – who would be dismissed or redeployed as a result of personnel reductions to the Army.
Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran of Kansas spoke in favor of keeping personnel at current levels at the base. Representatives of area schools and businesses also spoke of the negative impact of troop reductions.