Military

Camp Robinson
Robinson Army Airfield

Camp Joseph T. Robinson, located in North Little Rock, Arkansas, is a 33,000-acre (13,313-hectare) training facility of the Army National Guard. It is one of the largest state-operated training sites in the US. It is headquarters for the Arkansas National Guard and open year round for training. Located on Camp Robinson are the offices of the Adjutant General and the staff of the Arkansas Army National Guard. Camp Robinson also serves as host to the National Guard Professional Education Center and the National Guard Marksmanship Training Unit.

Camp Robinson's 32,000 acres, small arms ranges and artillery firing points provide training facilities for the Arkansas National Guard and numerous other military and law enforcement organizations. The Arkansas Army National Guard trains here as well as the Air National Guard, Army, Navy and Marine Reserves. Soldiers take part in a wide variety of infantry, artillery, and small weapons training exercises at this base. Despite these activities, much of the habitat for birds and other wildlife is relatively undisturbed.

The Arkansas National Guard Museum is located in historic Lloyd England Hall on Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

In 1917, the United States acquired 6,000 acres for use as an encampment known as Camp Pike. In 1937, Camp Pike was renamed Camp Joseph T. Robinson. During World War II, Camp Robinson expanded to 48,188 acres and was used for basic training and to house German Prisoners of War. Camp Robinson was declared surplus after World War II and in August 1950, 32,884 acres were conveyed to the Military Department of the State of Arkansas. The remaining 15,304 acres were disposed of as follows; 571 acres to the city of North Little Rock for an airport, 365 acres conveyed to Central Baptist College, 870 acres conveyed to the city of North Little Rock for a park, and 13,465 acres conveyed to private ownerships. DOD retained 31 acres for a US Army Reserve Center.

Some 4,000 acres make up the Camp Robinson Wildlife Management area.

For safety and scheduling reasons, the US Army Corps of Engineers' Little Rock District delayed the second phase of ordnance investigations on property that was once part of the World War II-era Camp Robinson. Originally, representatives from Parsons Engineering Science, the Corps' contractors, were scheduled to begin the second phase of fieldwork in mid-October, but changes to the schedule would have delayed the mobilization date until November. Since this would put the workers in the field during modern-gun hunting season and could cause temporary relocations of area residents during the holidays, the work is being delayed. Now the contractors will begin their investigations in January 2002. The work will take about 13 weeks, depending upon the weather and other factors.