I am going to Fort Riley (1-5 as a 13B). What should I expect for work/family life?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 11:49:17 -0500

I am from the Midwest and I am a family man( I just go to work and go home and hang with the family) and the only thing I have heard has been there's nothing to do. I'm ok with that. I have been to fort Lewis and fort bragg and I don't like the big cities and all the ppl to much. Going to something smaller would be nice. But the one thing Not posted is how is work and will I have time with my fam.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2018 7:36 PM

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 19:36:19 -0500

Fort Riley wasn’t all that bad. It got a bad reputation from being a frat party on the weekends for the single soldiers because of the college town Manhattan Kansas.

There is plenty to do for you and your family on down time. Not sure how much time you will be spending in the field but be prepared I heard they are doing that more often. I also heard that some of the Big Red 1 has deployed. So again it’s just word of mouth.

Junction City has changed a lot has a much better reputation now too from what I have heard. There are several lakes and lots of things that you can do to enjoy family time.

Again good luck and thank you for your service.

Response by SPC Anthony Schepis made Jan 21 at 2018 1:27 AM

SPC Anthony Schepis — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 01:27:40 -0500

My time with 1st ID was bad but it might be different for you. Many senior NCOs did not like Ft Riley but then again it might be different for you. 1st ID seems to do their own thing and many people complained about the units including myself. Field time is the same as everywhere else I guess, whatever stuff you have to do before deployment every 19 months. I would say we went to the field about five weeks worth plus 30 days NTC in that 19 month period. Average work day ended at 16:30 for me.

Response by SGT Beth Day made Jan 21 at 2018 12:52 PM

SGT Beth Day — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 12:52:06 -0500

I can't respond to the work part -- but I can respond to the "life" part.
Fort Riley can be one of the best kept secrets of the Army. I admit I was dragged here from Germany kicking and screaming, yet decades later, here I am.
First, Fort Riley has greatly improved over the years. The amount of things just ON post are amazing! But off post isn't bad either.
First, Junction City has grown up and there is lots of housing available. In fact, some say TOO much (but that's another story). Manhattan to the east is indeed a college town, but it's also a very educated one as we are becoming the major hub of animal science biotech in the world.
If you are looking for smaller, family type towns, Chapman is just to the west of Fort Riley 15-20 minutes and Wamego (where I live) to the east, about 30-35 minutes. Both have a significant number of Fort Riley folk.
Depending upon what type of family activities you enjoy, there is great hunting, fishing and boating in the area with two very large reservoirs. If you are into music and theatre, K-State has wonderful productions and you can also go to great shows in Abilene and Wamego. Wamego also has the Oz museum, if you like the Wizard of Oz. We also have the best 4th of July in the state (if not beyond!).
If sports is your family thing, we have the Big 12! KState football is some of the best, between K-State and KU we have good basketball as well. In Kansas City (about 2 hours) are the Chiefs and Royals. To the south in Oklahoma City -- the NBA.
Hope that helps!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 21 at 2018 1:55 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 13:55:30 -0500

I had my first kid at fort Riley than I got married, lol

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 21 at 2018 1:56 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 13:56:18 -0500

Let me know if Rusty’s last chance is still in aggieville

Response by SSG Jim Lentz made Jan 22 at 2018 8:41 AM

SSG Jim Lentz — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 08:41:01 -0500

One advantage that I haven't seen posted is the fact that your spouse has the chance to go to college on post for free. I have been gone for 9 years, but when I was there, dependents could go to Barton County CC for free.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 23 at 2018 9:50 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 09:50:28 -0500

They’ve had a bad run recently. One suicide within the past 5 months if I remember correctly.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 24 at 2018 1:17 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 13:17:56 -0500

I’m in the Riley area now but assigned elsewhere. This is the second time we’ve been here and it’s one of the better places we have lived. I actually served in 1-5 for about 4 months before being pulled to Brigade Staff, and at the time, it was a fantastic unit. OPTEMPO is very high. Both brigades alternate deployment years and Division deploys as a TF headquarters about every other year so the time in the field was more than any other unit in which I served. Everyone in the Division does an exercise January and into February and your unit will go at least for two weeks out of every quarter. If gearing up for deployment, you will do an NTC rotation and you will sit in the field doing a lot of gunnery since crews are constantly switching right up to the deployment. The first time we were here I arrived in November before a deployment year and I was constantly in the field. I even had a leave cancelled once and I was even called to return to work in the middle of a deployment leave. (When I PCSed from Riley at that time I had so much use/lose on the books I took a two month PCS leave.) So being a family man start preparing your family for a lot of time you may be absent and some disruption as you get called in on a Saturday to download a CONEX or something.

There’s a lot for the family here. Great restaurants in Aggieville, sports for the kids, and Topeka and Wichita are short drives for day trips. KC is also within range for longer day trips or weekend stays.

Response by 1SG Larry Taggart made Jan 26 at 2018 10:02 PM

1SG Larry Taggart — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 22:02:24 -0500

The optempo here at Ft Riley has been quite high the last few years regardless of your unit. I've been here for the last 15yrs except for a trip to Korea and Iraq. I decided to stay once I retired. It is a great place to raise a family. You have Manhattan on one side of the base which has Kansas State University there "Go Cats" and Junction city on the other side. Which is a Small Town of about 18k people. Topeka the State Capitol is 60 miles to the east. I-70 runs right by the Base. It is not that bad of a location

Response by SPC Kevin McGrath made Jul 3 at 2018 7:51 AM

SPC Kevin McGrath — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 07:51:14 -0400

It has been a very long time since I was stationed at Ft Riley, 36 years to be precise. I was in SVC 1/5 in Ammo PLAT as a truck driver.

It was definitely a slower pace of life. Milford Lake sticks out as the one big recreation area.

I hope your transition has gone well and you are settled in by now. Good Luck and thanks for your continued Service.