Overview
Little Rock AFB is the C-130 schoolhouse. The 19th Airlift Wing, under Air Mobility Command's 18th Air Force, is the host and flies the world's largest Hercules fleet; the 314th Airlift Wing is the tactical airlift Center of Excellence, training more than 1,800 students a year from every U.S. service, the Coast Guard, and dozens of allied nations; and the 189th Airlift Wing (Arkansas ANG) and 913th Airlift Group (Reserve) fly and instruct beside them. The base population runs close to 14,000, with roughly 7,000 military members, 1,300 civilians, and 5,500 family members on a 6,000-plus acre installation.
The base sits in Jacksonville, a working town of strip malls and gas stations 15 miles northeast of downtown Little Rock along U.S. 67/167. The climate is humid subtropical: July highs average around 92 degrees with 70 percent humidity, January lows dip to about 31, and the area gets a little over 50 inches of rain a year. Spring is tornado season and winter brings the occasional ice storm. For a TDY traveler that means a car, a weather app, and lodging with a kitchen matter more than anything else.
Weather
July averages a 92-degree high with humidity near 70 percent, and the mean hottest day each summer tops 100. January lows average about 31, annual rain is 50 inches, and snowfall is under 4 inches, though freezing rain shows up most winters.
Best months
October through early November and late March through May, minus the storm days
Tough months
June through August for heat and humidity, March through May for tornadoes and flooding rain, and January for the occasional ice storm that shuts the roads
Getting there
- Fly into Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport (LIT) on the southeast side of Little Rock, about 20 miles and 25 to 30 minutes from the gate via I-440 and U.S. 67/167. Rent a car; there is no practical transit to Jacksonville, and everything from the DFAC to Walmart is a drive.
- The Vandenberg Gate (main gate, off U.S. 67/167 exit 155 onto Vandenberg Boulevard) is open 24/7 and is the only gate that handles visitors. The Arnold Gate on the back side is DoD ID holders only and runs roughly 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.; the commercial vehicle gate is weekday daytime only. Confirm current hours on the 19th Security Forces page before you arrive, since holiday schedules change.
- The Visitor Control Center sits at the Vandenberg Gate. Unsponsored visitors need a REAL ID-compliant license or passport plus a sponsor with base access, and you should call ahead because published hours and phone numbers vary by source. If you arrive after hours, the Razorback Inn desk is staffed around the clock and can help with lodging check-in.
- Traffic is light by big-city standards, but U.S. 67/167 (signed as future I-57) backs up at the Jacksonville exits around 0700 and 1630, and a wreck on the highway can double a 20-minute commute. Give yourself a buffer on report day.
TDY lodging
On base
On-base rates · FY2027
$102 per night · VOQ/VQ
October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027. Confirm your authorized allowance before booking.
Razorback Inn
- Phone
- 501-987-6753
- Front desk
- 24/7
- Check-in / out
- 2 p.m. / 11 a.m.
- Pets
- Limited pet-friendly units
- TLF (families)
- Closed for renovation — call first
- Razorback Inn (Air Force Inns), Bldg 883, 883 Arnold Drive, Little Rock AFB, AR 72099; lodging office 501-987-6753 or 19fss.lodging.reservations@us.af.mil.
- The front desk is open 24/7, check-in is 2 p.m. and check-out 11 a.m., and space-available stays are capped at seven nights without manager approval.
- TLF units (the only rooms that allow children under 12, with limited pet-friendly suites) were closed for renovation as of this writing, so PCS families should call before counting on them.
- If no room is available for your dates, ask for a non-availability number and lodge commercially.
Off-base per diem
- Confirm the current lodging allowance for your duty location and travel dates with the official rate lookup and your travel office.
- No current rate is quoted here.
- Alaska and Hawaii use DoD OCONUS rates.
- A published ceiling is not proof of reimbursement eligibility.
The crashpad option
Base Crashpads has two properties serving Little Rock AFB: Modern Edge, a one-bedroom apartment, and Horizon Heights, a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment, both in Little Rock about 15 to 25 minutes from the Vandenberg Gate. Both are furnished with full kitchens and laundry, priced inside the $110 rate, and come with DTS-ready receipts.
Little Rock AFB crashpadsHousing & BAH
Housing
- On-base family housing is privatized under Hunt Military Communities as Little Rock Family Housing: four neighborhoods and roughly 1,000 two- to four-bedroom homes, with a leasing office at 101 Arkansas Blvd in Jacksonville (501-518-0330 per the base housing site; confirm with the Military Housing Office at in-processing).
- Off base, 2025 rent surveys put a three-bedroom around $1,050 in Jacksonville, $1,200 in Sherwood, and $1,300 in Cabot, and the metro's housing costs run roughly 18 percent below the national average.
- Homes in the $200,000 to $400,000 range make this a popular VA-loan buy for a three-year tour.
BAH 2026 · MHA AR010
| Grade | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-5 | $1,848 | $1,548 |
| O-3 | $1,974 | $1,902 |
- 2026 BAH for MHA AR010 (Little Rock AFB) is approximately $1,848 with dependents and $1,548 without for an E-5, and $1,974 with dependents and $1,902 without for an O-3, per published 2026 tables, a 6.2 percent increase over 2025.
- Confirm on the DTMO BAH calculator.
Cabot
The default choice for families: Cabot Public Schools are the highest rated in the metro, the town is booming with new subdivisions, and you pay for it with a 20-minute-plus drive down 67/167 and three-bedroom rents around $1,300.
Sherwood
Suburban neighborhoods, solid schools, and easy access to both Kiehl Avenue shopping and the highway, which makes it the best commute-to-quality balance for a lot of aircrew.
Jacksonville
Closest to the gate and cheapest, with a strong military presence and an improving Jacksonville North Pulaski district that includes the on-base Arnold Drive Elementary; amenities are thin, so you will still drive to Sherwood for most things.
North Little Rock / Argenta
Walkable Argenta Arts District, the Travelers ballpark, and the River Trail on your doorstep with a straight shot up 67/167; better for singles and dual-military couples than for families chasing schools.
Maumelle
A master-planned lake-and-golf community on the Arkansas River with good schools and a family feel, but you cross the river and fight I-40 traffic to get to base.
Schools & childcare
- Arnold Drive Elementary (PreK-5, a National Blue Ribbon School) sits on base and serves base housing; older kids in base housing zone to the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District, and the Flightline Upper Academy charter (grades 5-8) is an application-based option that fills during PCS season.
- Off base, families choose between Cabot Public Schools (the metro's top-rated district and the reason Cabot is full of Air Force families), Pulaski County Special School District (Sherwood), and Jacksonville North Pulaski. Arkansas runs a Purple Star designation for military-friendly schools; ask the School Liaison which campuses currently hold it.
- The School Liaison Program is in the Military & Family Readiness Center, Walters Community Support Center, Bldg 940, 501-987-2667, and can help with enrollment before you arrive.
- The on-base Child Development Center takes ages 6 weeks to 5 years and routinely has a waitlist; request care on MilitaryChildCare.com the day you get orders, and ask the M&FRC about the free hours of childcare offered to newcomers.
Healthcare
- The 19th Medical Group is an outpatient clinic, not a hospital, at 1090 Arnold Drive; main line 501-987-8811, open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with appointments booked through the MHS GENESIS Patient Portal. It has flight medicine, family health, pediatrics, dental, pharmacy, optometry, and mental health but no emergency room.
- Jacksonville lost its only emergency room when Unity Health Jacksonville closed its ER in April 2026, so emergencies now go to North Little Rock or Sherwood (Baptist Health North Little Rock and CHI St. Vincent North are the closest, roughly 10 to 15 miles down 67/167) or to UAMS and Baptist Health in Little Rock for trauma and specialty care. Call 911 for anything serious.
- TRICARE East region, administered by Humana Military; the 24/7 Nurse Advice Line is 1-800-TRICARE (874-2273) for after-hours questions.
On base
- Commissary
Bldg 790, Sixth Street; closed Mondays, open Tue-Sat 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Exchange
Main BX in Bldg 787 on Sixth Street with a food court; a Walmart Supercenter and Kroger are just outside the gate in Jacksonville for anything it lacks
- Fitness
Fitness & Sports Center, Bldg 827: two stories with an indoor track, cardio and free-weight floors, and courts, open long hours for the flying schedule
- Dining
- Hercules Dining Facility, 834 Sixth Street (501-987-0046); hours shrink on weekends and holidays, so students should keep food in the room.
- Rickenbacker's cafe is in the lodging complex
- MWR
Outdoor Recreation in Bldg 1075 with a FamCamp, boat and camping gear rental, and hunting and fishing access; Strike Zone bowling, a base golf course, and the library round it out
- Newcomers
In-process at the Combat Airlift Welcome Center in the Walters Community Support Center, 940 Arnold Drive; Newcomers Orientation runs twice a month on Wednesdays at the M&FRC
Off duty
River Market and the Clinton Presidential Center
Downtown Little Rock is about 20 miles down 67/167 and I-30. The River Market district has the best restaurant density in the state, and the Clinton Presidential Center, the Old State House, and the riverfront trails are all within a walk of each other.
Official site ↗Photo by Thomas R Machnitzki (thomasmachnitzki.com), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · source
Pinnacle Mountain State Park
The Little Rock skyline hike: a steep, rocky 1.5-mile scramble to a 1,011-foot summit about 35 minutes west of base. Go early in summer; the Base and East Summit trails are exposed and the humidity is brutal by 10 a.m.
Official site ↗Photo by Eric Hunt, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · source
Arkansas River Trail and the Big Dam Bridge
An 88-mile loop of paved trail connecting Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Maumelle over the Big Dam Bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge in the country built for that purpose. Rent a bike at the trailhead in North Little Rock or bring your own.
Official site ↗Photo by Kenneth C. Zirkel, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · source
Argenta and Travelers baseball
North Little Rock's Argenta Arts District has breweries, a Friday farmers market, and Dickey-Stephens Park, where the Double-A Arkansas Travelers play April through September. Tickets are cheap and it is 20 minutes from the gate.
Hot Springs National Park
About 70 miles and an hour and fifteen minutes southwest on I-30 and U.S. 70. Bathhouse Row, the Superior Bathhouse brewery inside a historic bathhouse, and Lake Ouachita make it the standard Saturday road trip.
Official site ↗Greers Ferry Lake and the Little Red River
An hour north near Heber Springs: clear-water swimming and boating on Greers Ferry Lake and world-class trout fishing on the Little Red below the dam. Outdoor Rec on base rents boats, kayaks, and camping gear.
Wikipedia ↗Jacksonville Museum of Military History
Five minutes from the gate on Main Street, with exhibits on the base, the Titan II missile sites that once ringed the area, and the Arkansas Ordnance Plant that built Jacksonville. Worth an hour on a rainy afternoon.
Official site ↗Insider tips
- 01Tornado season is real in central Arkansas from March through May, with a second peak in November. Know where the shelter is in your building or crashpad, keep phone alerts on, and take a warning seriously; the March 2023 tornado tracked through west Little Rock and Jacksonville.
- 02Summer heat is the flying-schedule problem: 95-degree afternoons with high humidity mean early takeoffs, cancelled afternoon sorties, and a lot of waiting. Bring electrolytes and a second uniform for the ramp.
- 03Ice, not snow, shuts the base in winter. A quarter inch of freezing rain turns 67/167 into a parking lot and Arkansas has few plows, so stock a few days of food before a winter storm and expect delayed reporting.
- 04Book the Razorback Inn the day your orders are cut. Student classes overlap and summer PCS season pushes lodging to capacity; if you get a non-availability, get the number in writing before you sign a lease anywhere.
- 05Students on 30-plus day stays: if you are single without dependents and stay on base past 30 consecutive days, you can lose BAH. A furnished apartment off base with a non-availability number usually leaves you ahead financially; run the numbers with finance during in-processing.
- 06The Vandenberg Gate is the only visitor gate. If you are meeting a family member or a delivery, send them to the main gate on Vandenberg Boulevard, not the Arnold Gate.
- 07Jacksonville is a small town. Sherwood's Kiehl Avenue and the McCain Boulevard corridor in North Little Rock are where the grocery stores, gyms, and restaurants actually are, and they are on your way home if you live south of base.
- 08Pack for both seasons if you are here three months. A March class starts in fleece and finishes in 90-degree heat, and a fall class is the reverse.
FAQ
Will DTS reimburse a crashpad instead of the Razorback Inn?
Which gate do I use and is it open at night?
Is there a hospital on base?
Where do families actually live?
Helpful resources
Official
Community & local
List your resource
Run a business, park, church, gym, or service that helps Little Rock AFB travelers and families? Have a correction? Email basecrashpads@gmail.com with the link and a sentence on why it's useful. We review every submission and list the ones that earn it.
Sources & disclaimer
- MilitaryINSTALLATIONS: Little Rock AFB in-depth overview ↗
- 19th FSS (Rockin' at the Rock): Lodging ↗
- Little Rock AFB: 19th Security Forces gate information ↗
- GSA FY2026 per diem rates, Little Rock, Arkansas ↗
- Little Rock AFB Housing: 2026 BAH rates ↗
- TRICARE: 19th Medical Group ↗
- Arkansas Times: Jacksonville hospital ends ER services (April 2026) ↗
- Little Rock AFB: 314th Airlift Wing ↗
- Air Force Housing: Little Rock AFB ↗
- Climate of Little Rock, Arkansas (1991-2020 normals) ↗
- PCS Pay It Forward: Little Rock AFB guide ↗
- Baseops: Little Rock AFB C-130 schoolhouse guide ↗
Photos: US Air Force from USA Master Sgt. Joseph Swafford/621st Contingency Response Wing (Public domain); Photo by Kmerckx at en.wikipedia, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain). Full attribution on the photo credits page.
Rates, hours, and policies change — BAH resets every January and per diem every October. Confirm specifics with the official sources above and your orders. This guide is written by Base Crashpads and is not an official Air Force or DoD resource.