DVIDS – News – Kansas State University Renews Contract With the Big Red One

FORT RILEY, Kansas — Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley welcomed representatives of Kansas State University on July 7, 2023.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John V. Meyer III, the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general, and President Linton signed a renewal of the partnership at Victory Hall after their lunch. Dating back to 2008, the partnership has been mutually beneficial in allowing shared cultural activities, continued learning, wellness, resilience and community building. It is the first and only “whole-of-institution” partnership between a major public research university and warfighting division in America.
Representatives of KSU visited the 1st Inf. Div. Headquarters where they met with U.S. Army Gen. John V. Meyer III, commanding general of the 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley, to speak about strengthening the partnership between the Division and KSU.
Following their meeting, the division commander and KSU representatives boarded a UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter to embark on an aerial tour of the installation.
During the tour, Meyer spoke about the farming community on and around the post where much of the crops are used to feed the commanding general’s mounted color guard horses. The CGMCG performs mounted drill and weapons demonstrations and parades for community events and rodeos, as well as military ceremonies on Fort Riley.
Meyer also spoke about how the Soldiers train so that the division remains a combat-ready fighting force and how a strong community promotes betterment of the lives of soldiers, spouses, families, students, faculty and campus leaders.
Following the aerial tour, the group sat down for lunch where they were able to speak with and learn about Soldiers daily lives on Fort Riley.
The common institutional objectives shared by both members of this partnership are professional development, quality of life and community development. These objectives are achieved by meeting shared human developmental needs through the practice of community-building.