USAREC, Kansas City Battalion

The Kansas City Recruiting Battalion recruits the most qualified men and women in order to sustain and strengthen the greatest Army in the world and to provide quality Soldier, Civilian, and Family Support.

With the outbreak of hostilities during the Civil War, Midwest territories were divided by loyalties to the Union and Rebel armies. Both Northerners trying to escape city life in the East, and Southerners with their slaves had been encouraged to resettle here as politicians from both sides tried to maintain a balance of power in both Missouri and Kansas. So when a “call to arms” was proclaimed by both sides, every available man was “encouraged” to choose up sides and fight for either the Blue or the Gray.

This was the Army’s first attempt to “recruit” eligible men in this area. After the Civil War, the need for a vast army diminished and a majority of the soldiers returned to civilian life.

Similar call-ups occurred during World War I and World War II. Finally, during the Korean conflict in 1950, the U.S. Army Recruiting Main Station (RMS), Kansas City was organized, not only to handle the manpower increases that war demands, but also to help maintain a constant flow of recruits during peacetime.

This recruiting main station served as an examination and induction point for all services. RMS Army recruiters were stationed throughout all of Kansas and the western half of Missouri.

Since then the unit has moved twice, been reorganized and changed names several times, and shifted from one command (in St. Louis, Mo.), to another (Chicago, Ill.), and another (Topeka, Kan.), back to the previous command (Chicago), and to the present command, as part of the U.S. Army 5th Recruiting Brigade, based in San Antonio, Texas.

Welcome to the Kansas City Recruiting Battalion which is located in Northern Kansas City, 15 miles north of downtown Kansas City, 6 miles south of the Kansas City Airport. The battalion is 203 miles northeast of Wichita, KS; 188 miles southeast of Lincoln, Nebraska; and 265 miles west of St. Louis, Missouri. It is located centrally to all seven company headquarters. The Kansas City recruiting area consists of 1,590 Zip Codes and 159 counties in the state of Missouri, the eastern half of Kansas, and part of Southwest Illinois, covering a total of 94,540 square miles. There are 7 recruiting companies, with 51 stations.

Kansas City is known for its great quality of life. The city boasts pro football (Kansas City Chiefs)Patrick Mahomes  and college sports, an International Airport, great tourist attractions and restaurants. Another highlight of the Kansas City Battalion is the Missouri State Fair, which is held in Sedalia in August, Southeast Missouri State Fair and NASCAR Racing in Kansas City, Kansas.

Army Installations within the area include Fort Riley, located in Junction City, Kansas; Fort Leavenworth, located in Leavenworth, Kansas; and Fort Leonard Wood, located near Waynesville, Missouri. Other military installations within the battalion area or located just outside the battalion area include Whiteman AFB, located near Warrensburg, Missouri; Scott AFB, located east of St Louis, Missouri; and Fort Campbell, located 136 miles south of the Marion, Illinois Recruiting Station.

Kansas City is a large metropolitan area and is known as the “City of Fountains.” The area (3,800 square miles) encompasses three counties in Missouri: Jackson, Cass and Clay Counties, and three counties in Kansas: Leavenworth, Johnson and Wyandotte. There are 38 lakes in the area and over 200 parks. There are 121 Colleges and 741 High Schools within Missouri and Kansas.