Ready Riley

Ready Riley is the Fort Riley extension of the U.S. Army's on-going disaster preparedness Ready Army plan that enables Soldiers and Families to prepare for unforeseen difficulties. Emergencies affect hundreds of people every year. It's important to be aware of the potential dangers that could affect you and your family at Fort Riley.

When emergencies occur, military and civilian organizations respond, but it takes time to mobilize and they focus on the most critical needs first. Failure to prepare can put yourself, your family and your property in jeopardy. It's up to you. Prepare strong. Ready Riley seeks to inform the Army community of all hazards and to provide targeted preparedness information to Soldiers, their families, civilians and contractors worldwide.

Ready Riley encourages everyone to, "Get a kit. Make a plan. Be informed."

Get a Kit
To prepare your family for an emergency, get one or more emergency kits that include enough supplies to meet your essential needs (food, clothing, shelter, medical aid) for at least three days.

Think reusable and multi-use. A metal bowl can do double duty as a cup and saucepan. A brightly colored poncho can be used as water repellent clothing, a marker, and two together can create a temporary shelter. Keep a kit prepared at home, and consider having kits in your car and at work. These kits will enable you and your family to respond to an emergency more quickly. Your various emergency kits will be useful whether you have to evacuate or shelter-in-place.

Make a Plan
Make and practice a Family emergency plan. Consider the range of potential emergencies and all the places you and your family might be, such as in your home, in your car, outdoors at a park or lake.

Some emergencies require different responses from others, but a family communications procedure will be helpful in any case. Knowing how to keep in touch and find one another will help your family stay safe and cope with the confusion and fear that come when emergencies strike.

Be Informed
Many events can trigger emergency situations with the potential to escalate into disaster. Hazards such as power outages or disease outbreaks can happen anywhere at any time, so you should become familiar with the spectrum of possible dangers and how you will be notified about them. Fort Riley experiences all kinds of weather from snow to heat and rain to thunderstorms and tornadoes. While the potential threats can seem overwhelming, keep in mind that most of what you address in your Family emergency plan or put in your emergency kits will be useful regardless of the hazard. And in many cases, the same protective alternatives apply—evacuate or shelter-in-place.

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