Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas , on the Kansas River , also known as the Kaw , between Junction City and Manhattan . The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100 , 656 acres ( 407 km² ) in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census - designated places : Camp Funston , Camp Forsyth , Camp Whiteside and Custer Hill . The fort has a daytime population of nearly 25 , 000 . The zip code is 66442 . Namesake . Fort Riley is named in honor of Major General Bennett C . Riley who led the first military escort along the Santa Fe Trail . The fort was established in 1853 as a military post to protect the movement of people and trade over the Oregon , California , and Santa Fe trails . In the years after the Civil War , Fort Riley served as a major United States Cavalry post and school for cavalry tactics and practice . The post was a base for skirmishes with Native Americans after the Civil War ended in 1865 , during which time George Custer was stationed at the fort . United States Cavalry School . In 1887 Fort Riley became the site of the United States Cavalry School . The famous all - black 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments , the soldiers of which were called " Buffalo Soldiers " , were stationed at Fort Riley at various times in the 19th and early 20th centuries . During World War I , the fort was home to 50 , 000 soldiers , and it is sometimes identified as ground zero for the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic , which its soldiers were said to have spread all over the world . Since the end of World War II , various infantry divisions have been assigned there . Most notably , from 1955 - 1996 the post was home to the famed Big Red One . Between 1999 and 2006 , the post was headquarters to the 24th Infantry Division and known as " America ' s Warfighting Center " . In August 2006 , the Big Red One relocated its headquarters to Fort Riley from Leighton Barracks , Germany . Camp Whitside is named in honor of Brigadier General Samuel M . Whitside , who served as commander of Company B , 6th Cavalry Regiment , at Fort Riley , between the years of 1871 and 1874 . History . Origins . The early history of Fort Riley is closely tied to the movement of people and trade along the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails . These routes , a result of then popular United States doctrine of " Manifest Destiny " in the middle of the 19th century , prompted increased American military presence for the protection of American interests in this largely unsettled territory . During the 1850s , a number of military posts were established at strategic points to provide protection along these arteries of emigration and commerce . In the fall of 1852 , a surveying party under the command of Captain Robert Chilton , 1st U . S . Dragoons , selected the junction of the Republican and Smoky Hill River s as a site for one of these forts . This location , approved by the War Department in January 1853 , offered an advantageous location from which to organize , train and equip troops in protecting the overland trails . Surveyors believed the location near the center of the United States and named the site , Camp Center . During the late spring , three companies of the 6th Infantry occupied the camp and began construction of temporary quarters . On June 27 , 1853 , Camp Center became Fort Riley — named in honor of Maj . Gen . Bennett C . Riley who had led the first military escort along the Santa Fe Trail in 1829 . The " fort " took shape around a broad plain that overlooked the Kansas River valley . The fort ' s design followed the standard frontier post configuration : buildings were constructed of the most readily available material - in this case , native limestone . In the spring , troops were dispatched to escort mail trains and protect travel routes across the plains . At the fort , additional buildings were constructed under the supervision of Capt . Edmund Ogden . Anticipating greater utilization of the post , Congress authorized appropriations in the spring of 1855 to provide additional quarters and stables for the Dragoons . Ogden again marshaled resources and arrived from Leavenworth in July with 56 mule teams loaded with materials , craftsmen and laborers . Work had progressed for several weeks when cholera broke out among the workers . The epidemic lasted only a few days but claimed 70 lives , including Ogden ' s . Work gradually resumed and buildings were readied for the arrival in October of the 2nd Dragoons . As the fort began to take shape , an issue soon to dominate the national scene was debated during the brief territorial legislative session which met at Pawnee in the present area of Camp Whitside , named for Col . Warren Whitside . The first territorial legislature met there in July 1855 . Slavery was a fact of life and an issue within the garrison just as it was in the rest of the country . The seeds of sectional discord were emerging that would lead to " Bleeding Kansas " and eventually , civil war . Increased tension and bloodshed between pro and anti - slavery settlers resulted in the use of the Army to " police " the troubled territory . They also continued to guard and patrol the Santa Fe Trail in 1859 and 1860 due to increased Indian threats . The outbreak of hostilities between the North and South in 1861 disrupted garrison life . Regular units returned east to participate in the Civil War while militia units from Kansas and other states used Riley as a base from which to launch campaigns to show the flag and offer a degree of protection to trading caravans using the Santa Fe Trail . In the early stages of the war , the fort was used to confine confederate prisoners . Custer . The conclusion of the Civil War in 1865 witnessed Fort Riley again assuming an importance in providing protection to railroad lines being built across Kansas . Evidence of this occurred in the summer and fall of 1866 when the 7th Cavalry Regiment was mustered - in at Riley and the Union Pacific Railroad reached the fort . Brevet Major General George A . Custer arrived in December to take charge of the new regiment . Soldiers from the Kansas Volunteer regiments , " Jensions Jayhawks " that were wounded in the battle of west port were brought to Fort Riley for recovery . The following spring , Custer and the 7th left Fort Riley to participate in a campaign on the high plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado . The campaign proved inconclusive but resulted in Custer ' s court martial and suspension from the Army for one year — in part — for returning to Fort Riley to see his wife without permission . As the line of settlement extended westward each spring , the fort lost some of its importance . Larger concentrations of troops were stationed at Forts Larned and Hays , where they spent the summer months on patrol and wintered in garrison . Between 1869 and 1871 , a school of light artillery was conducted at Fort Riley by the 4th Artillery Battery . Instruction was of a purely practical nature , and regular classes were not conducted . Critiques were delivered during or following the exercise . This short - lived school closed in March 1871 as the War Department imposed economy measures which included cutting a private ' s monthly pay from $ 12 to $ 9 . During the next decade , various regiments of the infantry and cavalry were garrisoned at Riley . The spring and summer months usually witnessed a skeletal complement at the fort while the remainder of the troops were sent to Forts Hays , Wallace , and Dodge in western Kansas . With the approach of winter , these troops returned to Riley . Regiments serving here during this time included the 5th , 6th , and 9th Cavalry and the 16th Infantry Regiment . The lessening of hostilities with the Indian tribes of the Great Plains resulted in the closing of many frontier forts . Riley escaped this fate when Lt . Gen . Philip Sheridan recommended in his 1884 annual report to Congress to make the fort " Cavalry Headquarters of the Army . " Fort Riley was also used by state militia units for encampments and training exercises . The first such maneuver occurred in the fall of 1902 with subsequent ones held in 1903 , 1904 , 1906 – 1908 and 1911 . These exercises gave added importance to the fort as a training facility and provided reserve units a valuable opportunity for sharpening their tactical skills . Buffalo Soldiers . The 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments — the famed " Buffalo Soldiers " so called by the indigenous peoples for the similarity to the short curly haired buffalo that roamed the plains — have been stationed at Fort Riley several times during their history . Shortly after their formation in 1866 , the 9th Cavalry passed through here en route to permanent stations in the southwest . They returned during the early 1880s and the early part of this century before being permanently assigned as troop cadre for the Cavalry School during the 1920 and 30s . The 10th Cavalry was stationed here in 1868 and 1913 . On the eve of World War II , the 9th and 10th Cavalry became part of the Second Cavalry Division which was briefly stationed here . The following two decades have been described as the golden age of the cavalry . Certainly it was in terms of refining the relationship between horse and rider . Army horsemen and the training they received at the United States Army Cavalry School made them among the finest mounted soldiers in the world and the School ' s reputation ranked with the French and Italian Cavalry Schools . Horse shows , hunts , and polo matches - long popular events on Army post - were a natural outgrowth of cavalry training . The Cavalry School Hunt was officially organized in 1921 and provided a colorful spectacle on Sunday mornings . These activities gave rise to the perception of a special quality of life at Fort Riley that came to be known as the " Life of Riley . " The technological advances demonstrated on the battlefields of Europe and World War I - most notable the tank and machine gun - raised questions in the inter - war years over the future of cavalry . By the late 1920s , the War Department directed development of a tank force by the Army . This was followed by activation of the 7th Cavalry Brigade ( Mech ) at Fort Knox in the fall of 1936 to make - up the 2nd Regiment of this brigade . In October 1938 , the 7th Cavalry Brigade ( Mech ) marched from Fort Knox to Riley and took part in large - scale combine maneuvers of horse and mechanized units . These exercises helped prove the effectiveness of mechanical doctrine . World War I . America ' s entry into World War I resulted in many changes at Fort Riley . Facilities were greatly expanded , and a cantonment named Camp Funston was built five miles ( 8 km ) east of the permanent post during the summer and fall of 1917 . This training site was one of 16 across the country and could accommodate from 30 , 000 to 50 , 000 men . The first division to train at Camp Funston , the 89th , sailed for France in the spring of 1918 . The 10th Division also received training at Funston but the armistice came before the unit was sent overseas . The camp was commanded by Maj . Gen . Leonard Wood . A Military Officers Training Camp was established in the Camp Whitside area to train doctors and other medical personnel . Armistice Day , November 11 , 1918 , beckoned to a world made safe for democracy but also one that heralded a new day for the horse cavalry . The War Department directed service schools be created for all arms of service . As a result , in 1919 , the Mounted Service School , as it was known since 1907 and which had ceased to function during the war , was redesignated as the United States Army Cavalry School . The change was sudden and abrupt . The new school met the need for courses both broader in scope and more general in character . The Cavalry unit at camp Funston was the 2nd cavalry Regiment who provide the training and cavalry tactics to new cavalry officers . The current post headquarders was in the 1920s post hospital . World War II . Gathering war clouds in Europe and Asia during the late 1930s caused some military planners to prepare for possible U . S . involvement . This led to several important developments at Fort Riley . The first was the rebuilding of Camp Funston and the stationing of the 2nd Cavalry Division there in December 1940 . Barracks were built in the area known as Republican Flats and renamed Camp Forsyth . In addition , 32 , 000 acres ( 129 km² ) were added to the post for training purposes . These efforts were brought into sharp focus with America ’ s entry into World War II . Over the next four years , approximately 125 , 000 soldiers were trained at these facilities . Notable trainees included heavyweight boxing champion , Joe Louis , Indy car driver Walt Faulkner , and motion picture stars such as Mickey Rooney . The post also received a presidential visit by Franklin Roosevelt on Easter Sunday 1943 . The 9th Armored Division was organized here in July 1942 and after its deployment , Camp Funston was used as a German prisoner of war camp . Fort Riley had branch POW camps , a large branch Camp Phillips in Salina , and 12 smaller branch camps in Kansas and Missouri : Council Grove , El Dorado , Eskridge , Hutchinson , Lawrence , Neodesha , Ottawa , Peabody , Wadsworth , Grand Pass , Lexington , Liberty . The arrival of victory in Europe and Japan during the spring and summer of 1945 , were joyous occasions . But they also spelled new realities and directions for the Army and Fort Riley . Korean War . In the aftermath of World War II , the fort experienced a period of transition . The Cavalry School ceased operation in November 1946 and the last tactical horse unit inactivated the following March . Replacing the Cavalry School was the Ground General School , which trained newly commissioned officers in basic military subjects . An officer ’ s candidate course was conducted along with training officers and enlisted men in intelligence techniques and methods . 10th Infantry Division 10th Mountain Division Activated 1 July 1948 at Fort Riley , Kansas . The sixteen - week basic military program conducted by this division prepared soldiers for infantry combat and duty with other infantry units . A lot of first three graders from the 2nd cavalry regiment were given promotions to be commissioned officers and stayed on to train new troops . The invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces in June 1950 , once again brought attention to Fort Riley as an important training facility . Over the next few years , recruits from all over the United States came to Fort Riley and received basic training . The 37th Infantry Division , made up of units from the Ohio National Guard , was also stationed here during the conflict . While they were not sent overseas , their presence was a continuing reinforcement of the fort ’ s importance as a training post . Cold War . The uneasy truce that settled on the Korean peninsula after 1953 was indicative of a cold war that had come to characterize relations between the United States and the Soviet Union . This would have an impact on Fort Riley . In 1955 , the fort ’ s utilization changed from training and educational center to that of being the home base for a major infantry division . In that year , the 10th Division rotated to Germany as part of “ Operation Gyroscope ” and was replaced by the 1st Infantry Division . Elements of the Big Red One began arriving in July 1955 and over the next five months the remaining units arrived . They initially occupied barracks located in Camp Funston . The influx of troops and dependents placed new demands on the fort ’ s infrastructure . Work began on Custer Hill where new quarters , barracks and work areas were constructed . A new hospital , named in honor of Major General B . J . D . Irwin , was constructed to provide medical care . In the decade following , 1st Infantry Division units trained to respond to any threat that might arise in Europe or other parts of the world . Construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and Cuban Missile Crisis the following year witnessed heightened alert for soldiers stationed at Fort Riley . An additional 50 , 000 acres ( 200 km² ) were also acquired in 1966 , which enabled the Army to have an adequate training area for the division ’ s two brigades . Vietnam . Increased guerrilla insurgency in South Vietnam during the mid - 1960s , led to the deployment of the 1st Infantry Division to Southeast Asia . The leading element , the 1st Battalion , 18th Infantry , left in July 1965 with the Division Headquarters arriving in South Vietnam in September . During this same year , a provisional basic combat training brigade was organized at Fort Riley and in February 1966 , the 9th Infantry Division was reactivated and followed the 1st Infantry Division into combat . Fort Riley ’ s use as a divisional post was maintained with the arrival of the 24th Infantry Division . The division remained in Germany until September 1968 when it redeployed two brigades to Fort Riley as part of the REFORGER ( Return of Forces to Germany ) program . One brigade was maintained in Germany . Following nearly five years of combat in Vietnam , the 1st Infantry Division returned to Fort Riley in April 1970 and assumed the NATO commitment . The division ’ s 3rd Brigade was stationed in West Germany . During the 1970s and the 1980s , 1st Infantry Division soldiers were periodically deployed on REFORGER exercises . Reserve Officer Training Corps summer camps were also held at the fort , which permitted troops to demonstrate and teach their skills to aspiring second lieutenants . The fort also hosted the model U . S . Army Correctional Brigade , housed in Camp Funston , and the 3rd ROTC Region Headquarters until their inactivation in 1992 . The Gulf War . In August 1990 , Iraq invaded its neighbor , Kuwait . The resulting international outcry led to the largest U . S . troop build - up and deployment overseas since the Vietnam War . In the fall of that year , Fort Riley was notified to begin mobilization of troops and equipment for deployment to the Persian Gulf . Between November 1990 and January 1991 , men and equipment were deployed overseas . In addition to the 1st Infantry Division , twenty - seven non - divisional units were deployed and twenty - four reserve components were mobilized . This amounted to 15 , 180 soldiers being sent overseas via 115 aircraft . Over 2 , 000 railcars transported 3 , 000 short tons of equipment which were then shipped to theater on eighteen vessels . Once in theater , these soldiers and equipment were readied for combat . This commenced in late February 1991 and over the course of the ‘ hundred hours ’ combat of Operation Desert Storm , these soldiers carried out their orders and executed their missions that resulted in the crushing of Saddam Hussein ’ s Republican Guards . Later that spring , soldiers returned to Fort Riley . The 1990s and beyond . Following Operation Desert Storm , the 1st Infantry Division returned to Fort Riley . But the winds of change were once again blowing across the Army and affected the post . The Cold War of the past four decades was being replaced by new realities in Eastern Europe with the crumbling of the Iron Curtain . Budget cuts and revised strategic thinking resulted in troop cutbacks . In the spring of 1995 , headquarters of the 1st Infantry Division were transferred from Fort Riley to Germany . 1st Brigade of the Big Red One remained at the post along with 3rd Brigade , 1st Armored Division and the 937th Engineer Group . On June 5 , 1999 , Fort Riley once again became a Division Headquarters with the reactivation of the 24th Infantry Division ( Mech ) . The 24th Infantry Division ( Mech ) is the Headquarters for three enhanced Separate Brigades ( eSBs ) of the Army National Guard . Under the integrated Active Component / Reserve Component concept , the 24th Infantry Division ( Mech ) consists of an active component headquarters at Fort Riley and three enhanced Separate Brigades : 30th Heavy Separate Brigade at Clinton , North Carolina , 218th Heavy Separate Brigade at Columbia , South Carolina , and the 48th Separate Infantry Brigade in Macon , Georgia . These units were on eight - year training cycles that culminate in a National Training Center rotation . They also backfill active duty units for Major Theater War contingencies and provide units for Stabilization Force rotations in Bosnia . Soldiers from Fort Riley continue to be deployed to areas in all corners of the world . From southwest Asia to the Caribbean and the Balkans , Fort Riley soldiers have been engaged in numerous peacekeeping and nation - building missions . They continue to hone their skills by periodic deployments to the National Training Center located at Fort Irwin , California and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk , Louisiana . On 21 April 2003 . 3rd Brigade 1st Armored Division Deployed in suppert of Operation Iraqi Freedom . 3rd Brigade conducted combat operation in and around Baghad , Iraq in support of the 1st Armored Divisions mission to secure and stabilize the city of Baghdad . Over the next 9 years , Fort Riley units supported combat operations both Iraq and Afghanistan . On June 1 , 2006 , Fort Riley began training Military Transition Teams , or MiTTs . These 10 - 15 man teams from across the Army , Navy and Air Force train at Fort Riley ' s Camp Funston for 60 days . Transition Team training is focused training preparing teams to train , mentor and advise Iraqi and Afghan security forces . Training is based on core competencies — combat skills , force protection , team support processes , technical and tactical training , adviser skills , counter insurgency operations and understanding the culture . Return of the 1st Infantry Division . On August 1 , 2006 , the 1st Infantry Division returned to Fort Riley and replaced the 24th Infantry Division as the post ' s main Division . In October 2006 , the 1st Brigade , 1st Infantry Division , assumed command and control of the Military Transition Team training mission . The entire division took the lead on this mission for the military . The mission was moved from Fort Riley to Fort Polk , LA , in the summer of 2009 . Irwin Army Community Hospital . A year after the post was established in 1853 , a temporary hospital was constructed near the present day Post / Cavalry Museum and Patton Hall on the main post . A permanent hospital , which is now the Post / Cavalry Museum , was built in 1855 with a clock tower added in 1890 . The second hospital replaced the 1855 hospital in 1888 and is now Post Headquarters . A third hospital was built in 1941 at Camp Whitside and named Cantonment Hospital , later Station Hospital . The second hospital remained as an annex until 1957 . The current and fourth hospital was dedicated in 1958 . The fourth and current hospital was named after Brigadier General Bernard John Dowling Irwin " The Fighting Doctor " who won the Medal of Honor for distinguished gallantry in action during an engagement with the Chiricahua Indians near Apache Pass Arizona in February 1861 . A new hospital near the current hospital is currently under construction and scheduled to be complete in 2014 .