Greetings from Washington D.C. The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce leads a group each year for the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army. We are here this week through Wednesday.
The Association of the United States Army is a nonprofit educational and professional development association serving America’s Army and supporters of a strong national defense. AUSA provides a voice for the Army, supports the Soldier, and honors those who have served to advance the security of the nation.
I had the opportunity to attend last year for the first time and found it to be incredibly informative on the direction of the Army. That allows us to plan better with our Military Relations Committee on priorities for the support of Fort Riley and preserving and hopefully growing the mission.
We appreciate the 13 individuals from Manhattan that will be attending to support our community’s efforts. Additionally, we will be partnering on a few events with the delegation from Junction City.
As part of the conference, we are able to meet with staff members from our federal delegation to discuss our priorities. We will be talking about infrastructure needs at Fort Riley including:
- Funding for rail improvements on post
- Upgrading and construction of new barracks
- Range modernization
- Road improvements in Ogden
Additionally, we will be discussing other issues that we believe will improve the quality of life of Fort Riley soldiers including the effects of multiple deployments and childcare.
I’m very proud of our organization’s support of the military. If you are interested in getting more involved with our Military Relations Committee, contact Christian Bishop in our office.