Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division(WorldNetDaily) DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES: Lt. Col. James Crider is a soft-spoken, direct man who has just become the “property owner” of muhalla 840 “muhalla” meaning a section of land and the number 840 having been assigned to this particular square plot of Baghdad on a high-resolution satellite-image map. The 1st Squadron 4th Cavalry out of Fort Riley, Kan., was a long way from home. I personally knew about Dora, in the Rasheed district of Baghdad, just from reputation. Days before I arrived, five soldiers had been killed in a Bradley, a heavily armored vehicle that was far safer than the average Humvee, which is precisely what the soldiers of the 1-4 Cav used to commute between home, Forward Operating Base Falcon, and work, muhalla 840. … “We get out and talk to as many people as we can. That’s important. I want to know who is living in the neighborhood,” Crider told me. It’s called “Close Encounters” and Crider attributed the name to a smart lieutenant from an Ivy League school who decided to work on a Baghdad street instead of Wall Street. Part politician, part salesman, the lieutenant colonel introduced himself to his constituency. “You notice any change in the neighborhood?” he asked a burly shop-owner, concerned taxi driver or even a college professor. Inevitably, they will say “yes,” and that’s when the politician in Crider had them. “You see, we’re working to make things better here, more security.”Fort Leavenworth(Army Times) SAMS course accepting applications: The School of Advanced Military Studies, Army Command and General Staff College, is accepting applications for the prestigious SAMS course at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. SAMS is a rigorous graduate-level program in the art and science of war, with particular emphasis on war fighting at the tactical and operational levels. Graduates, called Jedi Knights, typically are assigned to key planning positions within war-fighting units.