JUNCTION CITY -Just prior to the Community Listening Session U.S. Senator Pat Roberts along with other members of the Kansas Congressional delegation briefed the media.

Roberts explained that the decisions that will be made at Fort Riley are personal to him,”The decision to locate the ‘Big Red One’ to Fort Riley was made by Dwight David Eisenhower. There were two men in the room advising him that the base should be in Kansas, obviously Dwight David Eisenhower was from Kansas.”

The two men in the room with President Eisenhower were the late Fred Bramlage of Junction City and Roberts’ father Wes Roberts who was the Republican National Chairman at that particular time.

Again in 2005 there was an opportunity to bring the ‘Big Red One’ Headquarters back to Fort Riley from Germany where it had been headquartered for a number of years.

“During that particular time we buffed up Fort Riley big time. I’d like to take a little credit for that along with a great team effort that we had from Fort Riley and the delegation, it was a team effort.”

In July of 2006 the 1st Infantry Division relocated it’s headquarters back to Fort Riley.

Now with sequestration threatening troop reductions to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley Senator Roberts is going to bat once again for Fort Riley and the ‘Big Red One’.

“We have to fix this sequester, and this sequester was not exactly a bi-partisan effort with regards to coming in there with a meat ax. We don’t need to come in there with a meat ax, we to use it with a scalpel and we need to tell the truth about Fort Riley, so that Fort Riley’s mission can be preserved. Not only for Fort Riley, not only for the state of Kansas, but the United States of America and the Defense of our National Security. That is our first obligation when we go back to Washington. So to me, It’s personal.”

Only 1,200 seats were set up at the Convention Center for the listening session and each one of them were full with standing room only in both the great hall and hallway.