FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) _ Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno
is meeting with soldiers and the media at Fort Riley amid questions
about how deep cuts in Pentagon spending will affect the Kansas
installation.

Fort Riley is the home of 18,000 soldiers and the Army's 1st
Infantry Division.

Odierno is visiting the division on Friday to assess how its
headquarters has been training for an upcoming deployment to
Afghanistan. He is expected to face questions about the future
budget cuts.

The post has seen its soldier population grow by about 50
percent since 2001 as the Army added troops to fight two wars.

Since 2005, the Army has invested more than $1 billion on new
construction to add barracks, training sites and other support
buildings to handle the influx of soldiers and families.