We visited Fort Riley in May 2010, at the request of Cherie Cain, who we knew as a School Liaison Officer at Fort Hood. The visit was so successful that Cherie called to see if Trevor would come back in the Fall. It so happened that we were developing the With You All the Way USO Tour schedule at the time, and Fort Riley was a great place to get things started in the States.

Fort Riley was heavily deployed at the time so it was a good time to visit. We gave presentations at Custer Hill Elementary School, Ware Elementary School, The USO Center, and the Junction City Opera House.

USO Tour Dates: October 13th and 14th, 2010.

Number in attendance: Over 1,000 children, parents, and staff.

Location: Fort Riley is located near Manhattan, Kansas, one hour west of Topeka (the state capitol), in the northeastern part of the state.

Number of schools and children: There are 5 elementary schools and one middle school located on post, with over 2,600 students.

Fort Riley Facts:

Fort Riley serves 15,500 active duty service members, 18,000 family members, 20,000 retirees, and 8,300 civilian employees.

The fort is home to the famous 1st Infantry Division (also known as the Big Red One).

Many American soldiers are trained at Fort Riley to prepare them to serve overseas in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom), and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom).

Fort Riley is named in honor of Major General Bennett C. Riley, who led the first military escort along the Santa Fe Trail in 1829.

The Buffalo Soldiers (the 9th and 10th Cavalry) were stationed at Fort Riley several times during their history. Army horseman received special training at the Cavalry School making them “among the finest mounted soldiers in the world.”

Fort Riley has a series of special programs for soldiers and families including: the BOSS Program, SKIES Unlimited Program, and a teen center.

A note on the Fort Riley Tour Stop:

There were two things that stick out about the visit to Fort Riley. One was a small event that the local USO put on. April Blackmon, the USO Center Director, did a great job of putting together an evening for deployed families. Every child there received a With You All the Way Deployment Kit. The kids were so excited and the parents were so appreciative. The event was very meaningful to April as well, as she grew up in a military family and understands the challenges these kids face. Here is what April had to say about the event and growing up as military child.

We were fortunate to have Trevor visit our USO and help distribute the kits to our families while he was here to speak with the schoolchildren. His presentations were wonderful, and the kids/families really enjoyed it. He spreads such a positive message about expressing your feelings and it being okay to be upset with deployments – I think every military child would benefit from hearing his messages.

Personally, as an Army brat, it was difficult growing up in the Army world and dealing with my father’s deployments and especially his injuries… I wish I had someone like Trevor to visit with back then, because I think it would’ve made a big difference… I hope that what Trevor teaches these children helps them tackle emotions head-on and results in positive outcomes for them. And I truly think it will…

I also thought it was good to have someone with him who grew up in the military (Stephanie) to visit with the kids, so that they had someone they could directly relate to.

And it was interesting, after his presentations to the school kids (which were great), they were drawn to children who needed some extra care. I watched as these kids cried and started to vent about their problems – which was good. And I thought it was good that they took the kids contact information and made sure each kid in extra need got a kit of some sort.

The other thing that stood out was a nighttime event that, unfortunately, only a few families were able to attend. Those nighttime events can be tricky because people are busy and sometimes don’t understand the importance of the message they are a about to hear. But regardless if the crowd is 500 or 10, Trevor will give it his best.

There was a mom there with her two kids. They were ages 5 and 7. Their dad was deployed, again, and they had driven quite a long way to come that night. It was very special, the way the mom looked when she talked about some of her struggles and some of the fears her son was having, and that she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure her kids got the support they needed while their dad was gone.  She, and those kids, are truly heroes that deserve to be given a little extra pat on the back.

We hope their dad made it home safely and that they are doing great. It’s visiting with parents like this, who are home with their kids during a deployment, that makes you understand the challenges they face and emphasizes the importance of working to help military families.