Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Kansas National Guard(Kansas City Info Zine) Sebelius Calls on Washington to Assist Deployed Guard Soldiers: One-hundred and twelve Kansas National Guard soldiers have been ordered to stay in Iraq for up to an additional four months, and Governor Kathleen Sebelius is calling on Washington to provide these soldiers with the same resources as active-duty personnel who have had deployments extended. Sebelius sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Friday requesting that members of the Kansas National Guard’s B Battery, 1-161st Field Artillery receive additional compensation as a result of their extended tour. “I believe that you must make an appropriate acknowledgement of this additional sacrifice,” Sebelius wrote, citing the example set by an active-duty unit whose members received hardship pay when they were kept in Iraq for an extended period.(LJW) Guard revamp puts battalion’s colors on hold: It was a solemn service in Ottawa, one fit to memorialize the passing of an Army unit that traced its lineage back to World War I. The 1st Battalion of the 127th Field Artillery Regiment was inactivated and its colors were cased Sunday in a ceremony that several members of the unit described as “a death in the family.” “This day, for me, is filled with emotion, as I’m sure it is for all who are here today,” retired Lt. Col. Mike McAuley said in remarks to the crowd. McAuley is a former commander of the battalion. The inactivation of the Kansas National Guard unit, which had headquarters in Lawrence and Ottawa and other units throughout the state, came as a result of a reorganization of National Guard forces.Fort Riley(Tri-Valley Herald, California) Local division prepares for Iraq deployment: In his 20th year as an Army soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Rolando Gonzalez is headed to war for the first time. And as his division goes to Iraq for one year to train the country’s military and police, Gonzalez couldn’t be more thrilled – or uneasy. “There’s mixed emotions,” said the 38-year-old Hayward man. “I’m excited, I’m a little nervous, but this will be a good experience. We’ll be training Iraqis to get them more independent so they can stabilize their country.” Gonzalez was one of 300 soldiers who participated in a formal sendoff ceremony at Camp Parks on Saturday, providing a last chance to say goodbye to families before shipping out today to Fort Riley, Kan. After three months of training there, members of the 104th U.S. Army Division will leave for a one-year tour in Iraq as a part of “Task Force Desert Wolf.”(Jamaica Gleaner)Another Jamaican dies in Iraq: he United States war on terror has claimed another Jamaican. Army sergeant Gregroy Wright, 28, father of a three-year-old girl, was killed on January 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. Wright had immigrated to Boston from Jamaica in 1997 when he was 19 years old. By age 21 he had enlisted in the Army National Guard. In 2004, he went on active duty with the army. The United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services said Wright was posthumously awarded full citizenship before his burial last Friday. Wright was assigned to the 1st Engineering Battalion, 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division based out of Fort Riley in Kansas.