The US Army's 1st Infantry Division, known as the Big Red One, is located at Ft. Riley in Junction City. The Army's Command and General Staff College is housed at Ft. Leavenworth; McConnell Air Force Base is located in Wichita. A total of 16,659 military personnel were stationed in Kansas in 1997. In 2001, $930 million in defense contracts was awarded to state firms, up from $762 million in 1995–96 and down from $2.4 billion in 1983–84.
There were 267,452 veterans of US military service in Kansas as of 2000, of whom 54,431 served in World War II; 31,692 in the Korean conflict; 79,493 during the Vietnam era; and 33,051 during 1990–2000 (including the Persian Gulf War). During fiscal year 2002, $538 million was spent on veterans' benefits.
In 2000, the Kansas Highway Patrol employed 457 full-time sworn officers.