Here are recent headlines about the military in Kansas:Fort Riley ¢ 1st Infantry Division(Jacksonville Times-Union) Redefining success: One of the new realities is expressed in a paper by John Nagl, titled “Institutionalizing Adaptation,” June 2007, by the Center for a New American Security. Nagl commands the 1st Battallion, 34th Armor at Fort Riley, Kan., which trains transition teams for Iraq and Afghanistan. He writes that foreign forces cannot defeat an insurgency; at best, they can create conditions that will allow local forces to win. He suggests that counterinsurgencies that are likely in this century will require a different kind of army. He suggests the creation of a permanent adviser corps of 20,000 that are trained to develop host nation security forces abroad. Nagl writes that the average counterinsurgency campaign lasted nine years in the 20th century; and that the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to last even longer. He foresees embedded adviser teams that remain long after the bulk of the troops come home. “It is past time for the army to institutionalize and professionalize the manning and training of combat advisers in permanent Army force structure,” Nagl writes. It would simplify the chain of command, though a force of 20,000 probably isn’t large enough for Iraq, he says. (John Nagl commentary, from the Center for a New American Security): Institutionalizing Adaptation (PDF): The counterinsurgency campaigns that are likely to continue to be the face of battle in the 21st century will require that we build a very different United States Army than the enormously capable but conventionally focused one we have today. The long-overdue increase in the size of the Army announced by President George W. Bush in December 2006 can play a pivotal role in helping build it. The best way to use the additional soldiers is not simply to create additional Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) as currently planned by the Army. Indeed, demand for such forces is likely to shrink as the American combat role in Iraq diminishes. Instead, the Army should create a permanent standing Advisor Corps of 20,000 Combat Advisors-men and women organized, equipped, educated, and trained to develop host nation security forces abroad.(News-Journal.com) Final respects for local hero: East Texans say goodbye – and thank you – to soldier: Panola County residents lined the highway Monday in sweltering summer heat to pay tribute to one of their own – an East Texas soldier who as a sixth-grader in 1993 studied patriotism, and as a man paid the ultimate cost for his country. … Adair was buried Monday with full military honors. He died June 29 in Iraq from wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 28th Infantry Regiment in Fort Riley, Kan.Kansas National Guard(KAKE.com) Update on Kansas Flooding: The Kansas National Guard currently has 145 soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery deployed to Coffeyville to assist local law enforcement officers with security missions. The soldiers are using communication equipment from Joint Forces Headquarters Kansas and the 190th Air Refueling Wing in Topeka to assist them with these missions.