On Friday the Chief of Staff of the Army General Raymond Odierno, visited Fort Riley to witness the end of the Unified Endeavor exercise. General Odierno will preside over the final review and will certify whether or not the 1st Infantry Division is ready to deploy.
The exercise was the largest on post since the return of 1st Infantry Division from Germany in 2006. General Odierno believes it was a success, and credits community as a valuable component to reaching the goals of the exercise.
General Odierno also commented on the upcoming troop draw downs, and said with the cuts to troop strength there will also be a corresponding reduction in civilian jobs within the military. General Odierno says nothing has been decided yet, and the process of identifying troop draw downs will take installation improvements and infrastructure as a component of their deliberations.
