The Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council
History of the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council
by John G. Schmidt, Litttle Rock AFB Historian
The existence of Little Rock Air Force Base was a dream to a handful of people in the early 19505. However, through patience and perseverance, that dream became a reality when the base opened its gates in 1955. How the dream became a reality is a fascinating story of the ability of the civilian community to work together toward a common goal with the United States Military establishment.
In late 1951 the Little Rock area was first considered for a permanent United States Air Force installation. It had been pointed out that Arkansas was like "the hole in a doughnut" in that it was surrounded by states which were already hosting military installations. Additionally, Arkansas was strategically located near the geographic center of the United States, almost equidistant from U. S. coastlines. This would make such an installation far less vulnerable to an attack by hostile forces. Early civilian support for such an installation was apparent. Arch Campbell, the Pulaski County Judge, and Harry W. Pfeifer, Jr., President of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, sent a letter to Thomas K. Finletter, the Secretary of the Air Force, on January 11, 1952. In that letter they discussed reasons the Little Rock area would be ideal for locating a permanent Air Force facility. When it was determined that the Air Force was interested in the area, Everett Tucker, the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Industrial Manager, was instrumental in laying the ground-work in site selection. Mr. Tucker flew to Washington D. C. and to Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offut AFB, Nebraska, to further the planning for the construction of the base.
The Air Force agreed with the proposal; however, Congress refused to allocate monies for the purchase of properties to house such an installation. Congress reflected the opinion that enough installations were left over from World War II that purchase of new properties was unwarranted. The Air Force suggested, however, that if the local community were to purchase the land and donate it to the Air Force, such an installation could then be built. The leaders of the Little Rock community accepted that challenge and went to work.
After viewing three different sites, the Air Force decided that the area adjacent to Jacksonville, Arkansas, was most suitable for locating an Air Force base. With that decision, the members of the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, specifically, the Defense Installations Committee, began to formulate plans to purchase the needed property. The Defense Installations Committee asked the Pulaski County citizens' Council to organize and conduct fund-raising activities. This council, which later became the Committee of 100, was the forerunner of what is today the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council.
In the incredibly short time of only two months, the Pulaski County Citizens Council raised 1.2 million dollars for the purchase of the necessary land. About two-thirds of the money came from large corporate or business donations. The remaining third was the result of individual donations ranging from a couple of dollars to hundreds of dollars. It was obvious from the start that the project had the whole-hearted backing of the local community. Its efforts were rewarded when, in October of 1955, Little Rock Air Force Base first opened its gates. The community support of the project did not end there; in fact, that was only the beginning.
The first meeting of the Little Rock Air Force Base Community Council was held August 12th, 1955. At that meeting the Council made plans for assimilating into the surrounding communities the anticipated influx of military personnel. At that time, it was estimated that approximately 6,000 military members would be assigned to Little Rock and, with them, an additional 8,000 to 12,000 family members. There would be many problems involved with the sudden influx of people to the community. First, the base would not be capable of housing so many people tor quite some time, if ever. Also, recreational facilities would not be ready until sometime in the future. Yet, adequate housing, as well as recreational activities necessary to the morale of the troops, would have to be found. It was to issues such as these that the Community Council elected to direct their efforts toward resolving.
At their first meeting, the Council organized four committees. They were: 1, housing and commercial, 2, police/health/safety, 3, recreation/religious education/ welfare, and 4, public relations. The Housing and Commercial Committee would be responsible for attempting to meet the housing needs of the incoming airmen and their families, organizing realtors and construction firms to find or build as many rental and sale properties as possible in the nearby area. Also, it would coordinate between the military and the local retailers to insure that the needs of the new families could be met in the stores and commercial outlets in the area. The Police-Health-Safety Committee would be responsible for coordinating law enforcement activities and insuring newcomers were aware of Arkansas laws, especially those regarding vehicle registrations and operation. It would also look into health and safety issues which would result from the increased population. Such issues would be the availability of adequate water and sewage facilities and increased traffic flow. The Recreation Religious-Education-Welfare Committee goals would be ascertaining the educational needs of the incoming families and insuring its availability, determine the religious needs of the newcomers, and try to organize recreational activities for all the new members of their communities. The Public Relations Committee would be responsible for insuring that the programs conducted by and through the Community Council were well publicized so the incoming airmen and their families could take advantage of them. The overall effect of the Community Council would be to ease the incoming airmen into the existing community with as few problems as possible.
The idea of a Community Council was not a new one, but on the scale of which the Little Rock AFB Community Council was activated, it was a major advancement. The Little Rock Community Council was the first to employ a full time, paid coordinator for running the Council and providing liaison between the Council and the base. The first such coordinator was Mr. E. B. Ward. The Air Force closely watched this Council to see what effect, if any, it would have. Before long the Air Force agreed that the program developed by the Little Rock Community Council was the best it had ever seen and it soon became the model by which all other such councils were patterned. In a situation where airmen were being assigned to a base which had not yet been completed, where housing was nonexistent and there were no outlets for relaxation, the morale of those airmen was outstanding thanks to the efforts of the Council. Many problems which could have occurred did not because the possibility of those problems was perceived by the Council and remedied before they could occur. The Council directs its energies to just such problem-solving activities today.
Since its beginning in 1955, the Council has made many important contributions to Little Rock AFB. In 1968 the Council was instrumental in convincing the Pulaski County Special School District to construct an elementary school on the base. The school was needed to alleviate overcrowding in existing schools and to avoid the necessity of busing elementary school children living on the base. In 1975 the Council succeeded in getting legislation adopted which would allow military personnel assigned to Little Rock AFB to attend Arkansas universities at resident tuition rates.
Educational considerations were not all the Council was involved with over the years. In 1976, two programs were formed through the guidance of the Community Council. The first was an Area Disaster Preparedness Plan which encompassed ways and means of protecting all area citizens from catastrophe in the event of a natural disaster as well as combining and organizing available resources to recover quickly from such a disaster. The second program was the Ambulance Reciprocity Agreement. Under that agreement, the base hospital could respond to emergency calls off-base in the event a Jacksonville ambulance was unavailable. Those were just two of the ways the community Council directed and guided the efforts of both the military community and the civilian community to the advantage of both and further integrated the two societies into one.
The Community Council involves itself at the national level by being constantly aware of what the Federal Government is doing in the area of defense. They are in constant contact with the Arkansas senators and Representatives to Congress as well as the Governor. Many of the elected leaders from Arkansas have been guest speakers at the Council's quarterly meetings. Council members have also met with the Secretary of the Air Force on different occasions; constantly insuring that they are abreast of current trends in military planning.
As Little Rock Air Force Base moves forward it can do so knowing that, thanks to the efforts of the community Council, its journey will be smooth and pleasant. Although names of Council members change and the mission of the base may change, the spirit and desires of the Council formed fifty plus years ago remains the same.
Recent Times
In recent times, the Council has concerned itself with the Base Realignment and Closure Commissions’ (BRAC) decisions, by staying close to Arkansas’ congressional delegation and the Major Command (MAJCOM) commanders for both the 19th and the 314th Airlift wings. Through their efforts, the base’s future looks bright.
The Council has provided monetary support to the Jacksonville Museum of Military History starting in 2005, totaling $10,000.
In Feb 2006, the Council voted to establish a Non Federal Organization (NFO) as sub-committee of the Community Council to raise funds for air shows and rodeo competitions. Under the leadership of Chris Robertson, that committee now routinely raises thousands of dollars to support those events.
On 1 October 2008, the 19th Airlift Wing took control of Little Rock AFB under the Air Mobility Command and became its host wing, making the 314th Airlift wing a tenant unit under the AETC command.
Little Rock Air Force Base members and their community council won the 2009 Abilene Trophy.
The Abilene Trophy is the Air Mobility Command's community support award and is presented annually to a civilian community for outstanding support to an AMC base. The winner is determined by a selection group from the Abilene Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee in Texas with final approval from AMC officials.
Examples of the community's support for the base in 2009 include:
- Groundbreaking on a new Joint Education Center, a higher-learning institution open to both military members and civilians alike on base property, but just outside the fence. The city of Jacksonville voted to support it with $5 million of their own.
- Airpower Arkansas raised funds for the base's 2010 airshow, collecting more than $50,000 from local businesses and individuals.
- Community members donated more than $22,000 in support of the Little Rock AFB Rodeo teams. In addition to financial support, many community members attended the pre-departure breakfast and the post-rodeo celebrations, and a few community members even accompanied the Little Rock AFB rodeo teams to the competition.
- Civic leaders sponsored base events including the Air Force Ball, the annual awards ceremony and the Black Knight Heritage Dinner providing deep ticket price discounts for Airmen. These leaders also served meals to Airmen at the base dining facility on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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