Brigade, battalion leaders take command team overview tour of Fort Riley

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- New members of Fort Riley's brigade and battalion level command teams, primary staff and their spouses gathered at Riley's Conference Center the morning of Nov. 4 for a day of touring the post facilities and learning about the services available to Soldiers and their families.

The morning started with a post welcome by Brig. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley acting senior commander, who invited the group to read over plans for the post and across the Army and make suggestions regarding changes or innovations. While many in the group are returning to Fort Riley for a second, third or fourth time, others are brand new to post. The main message of Frank's introduction focused on the need to learn information that will be shared by unit leadership.

Frank's welcome was followed by Robert Smith, director of the U.S. Cavalry Museum. Amid jokes about how much history can be given within a 15-minute time span, Smith began a slide show of the 1st Inf. Div.'s modest history. His presentation included the history of Fort Riley, because the two histories have been intertwined since the division's beginnings. The history lesson was followed by a fiscal presentation by Col. John D. Lawrence, Fort Riley garrison commander.

"Fort Riley is like a town and I am its mayor," he said.

When he spoke about the closeness of the community on post, Lawrence explained for each member on his staff, there is an exact counter-part in the civilian government. When it came to explaining where his Chaplain Corps belonged, he said their position in his chain of command is unique to the Army command structure. He did explain; however, every community has their church, but there is a separation of church and state, so they are not involved in the city government.

"Fort Riley is the most close-knit community I have been assigned to," said Lt. Col. Eric Melloh, battalion commander for the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div.

He recently transferred from Fort Eustis, Virginia, to the 2nd Bn., 70th Armor Regt., 2nd ABCT, 1st Inf. Div.

Lawrence's presentation informed spouses about the community they are living in, showing statistics on budgets and commodity consumption. He also showed the group how under his management of the budget, Fort Riley is currently under budget and ahead on ensuring every effort is made to retain Department of Defense civilian personnel on post by offering alternatives to job cuts. Fort Riley accounts for more than 47 percent of the revenue in the Flint Hills region.

"The Fort Riley Command Team Overview Tour negates the previous system of sharing post resources," said Kelley Paskow with the Garrison Plans, Analysis and Integration Office.

In the past, new commanders made phone calls to post resources to learn about the programs offered through directorates, such as Army Community Service and Child, Youth and School Services. Instead, in the last two years, commanders have made tours to post facilities to learn about new training programs, the upcoming changes in the directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation and what facilities, such as the recycling center, offer to improve conditions on post.

The tour included a stop at the recycling center, where Herb Abel, chief of the Environmental Division of the Directorate of Public Works, informed the group about the services offered. One program Abel spoke about is the incentive program that benefits both the individual Soldier and the Soldier's unit. This incentive program interested many of the spouses because money was being given back to both the command and the service member, in addition to being invested in the community.

The next stop on the tour was the Outdoor Recreation facility on Camp Funston. As a part of the presentation, plans for a new facility on Custer Hill Golf Course were presented and participants were able to look at some of the equipment stored at the outdoor recreation facility. This stop allowed the command teams to begin brainstorming ideas for unit-oriented fun and for equipment for personal trips.

"We want to help Soldiers make great memories during the limited free time they have," said Angela Lentz, Outdoor Recreation manager, Directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation.

The Victory Center, building 7285 Normandy Drive was the last stop on the tour before lunch. Here, the group received information on the wellness services offered to active-duty Soldiers and their dependents, in addition to dietary and nutrition counseling. As a supplement to the information about the services offered at the facility, Cheryl Greathouse, CYSS administrator, and Cheryl Erickson ACS director, came in to speak about information the spouses and commanders needed for Family Readiness Groups.

This information ranged from services offered to families before, during and after deployment, as well as information for services provided by ACS. Information about points of contact for several types of resources, to include financial counseling, was given and broken down by unit.

The tour continued for unit commanders after the lunch hour and included visits to the training facilities to learn about the latest technology being used to train Soldiers. These innovations include new programs and software such as the virtual reality simulator.