On post to visit the 1st Infantry Division and observe Army Materiel Command assets at Fort Riley, Gen. Dennis L. Via, commander, U.S. Army Materiel Command, visited with Soldiers and leaders Aug. 14. While on post, Via stopped at the 407th Army Field Support Battalion headquarters, toured the “Big Red One” Materiel Redistribution Team, or BRO-MRT, and visited with Maj. Gen. Paul E. Funk II, commanding general, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley, as well as other leaders at the division headquarters building.

“I was impressed with what I saw,” Via said about his visit to the BRO-MRT. “Very impressed.”

The 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Inf. Div. Soldiers who operate the free-issue yard, which keeps the Army from purchasing parts already in its inventory, were “really on top of it,” Via added.

Funk agreed, saying the BRO-MRT has “saved us a ton of money.”

During an operations brief, Via met with 1st Inf. Div. leaders to receive an update on the division’s disparate brigades and find out what AMC could do to help the “Big Red One.”

AMC provides materiel readiness with technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection and sustainment across the spectrum of joint military operations, according to information from the command.

“We say if a Soldier drives it, flies it, wears it, shoots it, communicates with it or eats it, AMC provides it,” Via said. “Anything from spare parts to spare ribs.”

After sitting down with the group for an operations brief, Funk showed Via the building’s Joint Operations Center, the large command post that allows the division to control Fort Riley operations from a single location.

“You have a fantastic command here at the Big Red One, I think you know that,” Via told the Soldiers gathered in the JOC, adding the center has to be the envy of everyone who walks through it.

“Continue to do what you’re doing, take care of each other and be proud to continue to serve in this great U.S. Army. I’m proud to serve with you.”