Fort Riley officially welcomed its new garrison commander during a Change of Guard ceremony last week.
Col. William B. McKannay officially took over the role as garrison commander on Thursday. Speaking to the media, McKannay says it’s always an honor and privilege to command and lead again. He has been feeling the warm welcomes for a couple of weeks now.
“People here at Fort Riley and the surrounding communities have been extremely welcoming, making us feel at home,” McKannay says. “It’s our first time in Kansas and has really been a great experience so far.”
McKannay says his first impression of the area was that it is a nice place to live. He is originally from the west coast, so the openness of the Flint Hills Region is a reminder of home. He also spent most of his life on ranches and farms. McKannay was previously posted in Pennsylvania and says it is a refresher to be back in the open country.
“My wife and I have have tried to get out and explore some of the surrounding communities and we plan to do that much more to see what really makes the Flint Hills region the way it is,” says McKannay.
McKannay’s predecessor, Lt. Col. Stephen Shrader and his wife welcomed him with open arms and set the conditions for success. One of the first things they told McKannay was that he was going to love living in this area.
“I knew he was genuine because I could see it in his eyes when they told us that this was the first real assignment where they had a difficult time leaving,” says McKannay.
Shrader also told McKannay to go out into the community and build those relationships with the people. McKannay says he cannot wait to meet with members of the community and build upon the relationships Shrader developed.
The second piece of advice given by Shrader was to do everything possible to support the 1st Infantry Division. This means providing the best possible facilities for soldiers to train and live in, and to support their families. McKannay says his goal everyday will be to work on these two pieces of advice.
One of the biggest challenges McKannay will have to face as the new garrison commander is the current pandemic. He says this is a challenging time, but the army is always facing challenges.
“I think that we’re doing a good job here, but right now is a time we have to maintain our vigilance and precautions because we are not out of the woods yet,” says McKannay.
McKannay says they will continue to uphold those precautions in order to maintain readiness and protect all of those who live on Fort Riley.
