Fort Riley is among the U.S. Army installations facing possible troop reductions. Because of sequestration and budget cuts, the Army is planning to downsize personnel by 70,000 over the next 5 years. Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran met with officials at the Pentagon Wednesday to discuss the future of Fort Riley and to plea with Pentagon brass to spare the north central Kansas base from future personnel cuts. Retired Air Force Colonel John Armbrust serves on Senator Moran’s advisory committee. He says initial cuts at Ft. Riley will likely be minimal.
The Army has indicated as many as 16,000 soldiers could be eventually cut at Ft. Riley. Local officials say the base has an annual economic impact of more than $1.5 billion dollars in the Manhattan/ Junction City area.
