Kansas received front page treatment around the country recently when President Bush came to Kansas State University to deliver the prestigious Landon Lecture. Besides the students, faculty and honored guests who attended the event, the stands also were filled with 800 Ft. Riley soldiers who came to listen to their Commander in Chief. The President’s speech outlined the critical decisions he has to make in leading the war against terror.

These 800 soldiers were also riding high on the news that the Army’s First Brigade, First Infantry Division, based at Ft. Riley, would not have to deploy to Iraq. In what may be the best present these Ft. Riley soldiers and their families could ever ask for, they learned just two days before Christmas that their deployment, set for the end of December, was cancelled. More than 3,500 soldiers associated with the brigade unexpectedly spent the holidays at home.

As the President outlined at K-State, this good news is evidence of even better news in Iraq. This was the first time since major combat operations began that the troop rotational schedule was altered to allow for the long-term draw down of the U.S. military presence in Iraq. With the success of the Iraqi elections on December 15, and the constant improvement in the numbers and quality of Iraqi security forces, this move represents the increasing responsibility that Iraqi forces are assuming, allowing the United States to achieve our mission of bringing freedom and stability to the Iraqi people.

This announcement comes on the heals of the great news Ft. Riley received last year when we learned of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision to transfer the Big Red One and several other units home to Ft. Riley. Ft. Riley is set to gain several thousand soldiers and their families over the next couple of years. This and other gains made at our state’s military installations as part of BRAC means that the $2 billion economic benefit to the state will continue to grow.

Due to this tremendous growth, Ft. Riley has identified significant construction needs to provide for the housing and well being of soldiers and their families, for construction of administration and storage facilities and new training ranges. With the decision not to deploy the First Brigade, First Infantry Division, these challenges are even more acute. I am working closely with army officials to expedite the more than $1 billion in military construction funds Ft. Riley needs to facilitate this growth and to enable soldiers to do their mission and maintain the post as one of the nation’s premier maneuver and training army facilities.

As a former Marine and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have worked over the last five years to ensure that our soldiers conducting operations away from home in Afghanistan and Iraq have received the best equipment, the best training and the best support possible to see their missions through. I am particularly proud of what these soldiers from Ft. Riley have accomplished during these conflicts. Although this canceled deployment is good news, it also represents a challenge for local communities and our state. I look forward to working with local leaders to address several quality of life issues for soldiers and their families, and helping Ft. Riley live up to its reputation.

The President said, "The way to defeat the enemy is for the political process to marginalize the rejectionists, and for us to train the Iraqi forces so they can find the few that want to dash the hopes of the many, and that's what we're doing." Kansans realize there is no better evidence of this than right here in our own backyard at Ft. Riley.