Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division(WCBS) Soldier from Queens killed A 24-year-old Army soldier from Queens was killed when an improvised bomb went off near his unit in Iraq, the Defense Department said. Spc. Brian Ritzberg died in Balad on Monday while conducting operations in Kirkuk. He was assigned to the 977th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion of the 1st Infantry Division, stationed in Fort Riley, Kan. Ritzberg was the 89th Fort Riley soldier killed in combat since 2003.(KETV) Nelson Satisfied With Military Training: Sen. Ben Nelson said he’s more comfortable with the training Nebraska troops are receiving after a trip to Fort Riley, Kan., on Tuesday. Nelson visited 10 Nebraska soldiers during his tour of Fort Riley. As the chairman of the subcommittee on personnel for the Senate Armed Services Committee, Nelson said he was there to check on training and equipment. He also talked about extended deployments and whether military families were getting enough support. “We’re worried about retention and recruitment, and if we recruit single people and retain families, we have to be sure we’re doing that work,” Nelson said.Fort Leavenworth(Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) State group helps in troops’ deaths: Being There-Reaching Out is different from American Gold Star Mothers and Gold Star Wives in that it’s open to anyone who was close to a person who lost his or her life in a combat zone far from Wisconsin. Of the 80 or so people expected at this month’s gathering in Madison, five are fiancees. As more names are added to the list of Wisconsin’s military deaths, families that lost a loved one early in the war are now, in turn, helping those coping with recent losses. The group helped Penny Splinter’s son, Mitchell, go to a Packers game, something Christopher Splinter had wanted to do for his boy. Group members went to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., when a room at the military base was dedicated to Christopher Splinter, and they were at The Highground veterans memorial near Neillsville, Wis., when a memorial stone was placed for him. “Everyone has been very heartfelt,” Penny Splinter said.(Marine Corps Times) No decision on moving Gitmo prisoners to U.S.: A list of 17 domestic military bases at which suspected terrorists might be housed if a U.S. military prison in Cuba closes, which was released Friday by a senior House Republican, is not based on any recommendations from Democrats. The actual list came not from Democrats, some of whom have in fact talked about closing the U.S. Navy prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but from a Defense Department report that mentioned excess prison capacity at some stateside installations as part of the 2005 base closure and realignment process, said Loren Dealy, the House Armed Services Committee press secretary. The list included Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Camp Pendleton, Calif.; Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.; Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Naval Station Norfolk, Va., Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C.,; Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Submarine Base Bangor, Wash.; Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla.; Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.; and Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. While some Democrats have talked about closing Guantanamo Bay’s detention center, where hundreds of foreign prisoners from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are held, Dealy said no decisions have been made and no proposed legislation is in the works.Kansas National Guard(Topeka Capital-Journal) New general first of her kind Kansas Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Deborah Rose made history Tuesday in the fittingly ornate Senate chamber. Kansas Adjutant General Tod Bunting and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius pinned a star on a shoulder of Rose’s blue Kansas Guard uniform in the ceremony marking her elevation in rank from colonel to brigadier general. She is the first woman in Kansas Guard history to attain the rank of general. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and Adjutant General Tod Bunting each pin a star on Deborah S. Rose Tuesday on the Senate floor to signify her promotion to brigadier general. Rose is the first woman to attain the rank in the Kansas National Guard. “I guess I never got the memo that women weren’t supposed to accomplish this rank,” Rose said. “I certainly believe that there has to be a first. I believe that the most important thing is the second, the third and the fourth.”