MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior leaders of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, visited Kansas State University recently to learn more about the opportunities and resources the university had to offer “Dragon” brigade soldiers and their families.
During the meeting, Art DeGroat, the director of military affairs at KSU, along with seven other representatives of the university, spoke to Col. Joseph D. Wawro and Command Sgt. Maj. Wylie Hutchison, the Dragon brigade commander and top non-commissioned officer, and other senior leaders of the brigade about the various ways the unit and university could work together to create an even stronger partnership.
“The opportunity to reach out to the programs (the university) has to offer allows us to build resiliency in our force,” Wawro said during the meeting.
“We have the formal mission to reach out to the military,” said DeGroat, who has been committed to expanding the partnership between KSU and the military since 2005.
After the presentations, senior leaders of the brigade were taken on a walking tour of the K-State Student Union and a guided bus tour of the university’s campus where they got to see and become familiar with the different amenities KSU has to offer.
“We want our students to know Ssoldiers and have a relevant experience with the military,” DeGroat said during the meeting.
The brigade looks forward to building upon its partnership with KSU and plans to conduct future events with the university to help strengthen soldiers’ and families’ social and physical resilience.
“It was an eye-opening afternoon,” Wawro concluded.