Kansas makes pitch for ‘agro-defense’ facility

Here are today’s headlines about Kansas military matters:Agro-defense(Kansas City Business Journal) Sebelius pushes to win biodefense facility for state: In her State of the State address Wednesday evening, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said one of Kansas’ top priorities will be attracting a $450 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility. Sebelius said that she will ask the Kansas Bioscience Authority to convene a special task force to work on the issue. On Tuesday, the Kansas Bioscience Authority board voted to spend $250,000 on a lobbyist to help make the state’s pitch for the 500,000-square-foot facility and consultants to help prepare the proposal. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in August that two Kansas sites were among 18 still in the running for the federal biosecurity facility and that final site selection is expected in 2008. One of those sites is near Fort Leavenworth in Leavenworth County, and the other is near the Biosecurity Research Institute and College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University in Manhattan. A Missouri site, near the University of Missouri veterinary school in Columbia, also is being considered. (CattleNetwork.com) Roberts Brings USDA Official To Kansas To See Biosecurity Research Expertise: U.S. Senator Pat Roberts announced that tomorrow his office is hosting an official from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on a tour of the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) in Manhattan to showcase Kansas’ leadership and expertise in the area of biosecurity research. The visit is part of an ongoing effort by Senator Roberts to educate USDA and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on the benefits of housing the new proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Kansas. Currently both the Leavenworth area and Kansas State University are in contention for the facility. The NBAF would replace the aging Plum Island facility, the federal government’s most secure location for animal disease research. Such a center would complement and expand the work of the BRI ,housed in Pat Roberts Hall, a brand new, state-of-the art bio-research facility at Kansas State.Fort Leavenworth(Newark (Ohio) Advocate) Newark soldier’s family weighs merits of Bush’s plan: As her 2-year-old son squirmed in her lap, the wife of an Army sergeant from Newark listened to President Bush’s plan for sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Sgt. Gerry Harrah, or “G,” as his family calls him, is serving his third tour of duty in Iraq, and his wife, Stephanie Harrah, and their son, Tristin, have moved in with Gerry’s mom, Mary Lindsey, while he’s gone. Lindsey and Stephanie Harrah watched the president’s 20-minute address intently. Afterward, the women admitted to mixed feelings about Bush’s plan. … Sgt. Gerry Harrah, 24, is with the Army 705th Military Police Battalion out of Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Gerry, a 2000 graduate of Utica High School, joined the Army in 2001. He re-enlisted in 2003 for another six years. During that time, he has been to Iraq twice, then did an 18-month tour of duty in Korea. He was sent back to Iraq in December for the third time.Fort Riley(Topeka Capital-Journal) Fort Riley troops to deploy earlier: The 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley may go to Iraq earlier than scheduled as part of President’s Bush’s push to place 21,500 more troops in that country. The military’s plan for filling Bush’s order, however, will include only one major combat unit that wasn’t otherwise scheduled to go. The Department of Defense announced Nov. 17 that the 4th Brigade Combat Team, as well as the 1st Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade, the Sustainment Brigade, 24th Transportation Company and 2-2 Heavy Equipment Transportation Detachment, would be deploying to Iraq in 2007, but it didn’t specify time lines. A deployment ceremony for the 4th Brigade Combat Team is scheduled for Jan. 25, and units will begin leaving after that. A 4th Brigade Combat Team spokesman said a time line of when units would be leaving couldn’t be released because of security reasons.(Concord Monitor) N.H. Guardsmen to advise Afghans: Sixteen soldiers with the New Hampshire National Guard will deploy to Afghanistan to advise the Afghan National Army. They are the first of four Guard units expected to deploy this year. .. The group will leave next month for training at Fort Riley, Kan. A departure ceremony will be held Feb. 11 at 1:30 p.m. at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Concord.Kansas National Guard(LJW) Kansans have mixed feelings about increase: The Kansas Army and Air National Guard is prepared to help support the troop surge if called on, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman for the adjutant general’s office. Some 5,600 Army Guard and 2,000 Air Guard troops are available to the state, Watson said, and there are about 600 Guard troops now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, she said. “The biggest concern is if we have to send more equipment oversees and we don’t have enough here to support homeland defense or disaster efforts,” Watson said.(Wichita Eagle) Bush plan for Iraq will affect Kansans, Guard troops: The Kansas National Guard is bound to be affected, said Sharon Watson, spokeswoman with the Kansas Adjutant General’ s Department. “We know if there are more troops needed, the Guard will be impacted because the Guard has been called upon since the war started,” she said. “We just don’t know to what extent.”