Army PEC: Army Professional Education Center at Camp Robinson Arkansas

In today’s post we will discuss PEC Army.  This is the abbreviation for the Army Professional Education Center located at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  During my six years in the Maryland Army National Guard I traveled to this installation at least five or six times.   I always enjoyed my time there.  Compared to most National Guard bases/installations this one is upgraded and user friendly.  It’s almost like a small resort.

Whenever I traveled there, I always felt like I was going on a short vacation.  The weather was great, the accommodations were nice and the local area is beautiful.  Best of all, there are plenty of things to do including golf, fishing, a gym, shopping mall, library, chapel and bar (on base) in addition to the local attractions off base.  Although most people will not get access to a rental car, there are plenty of shuttles and taxis to transport you on and off base.

Quick Facts about Army PEC

• It is the Laverne E. Weber National Guard Bureau Professional Education Center
• The mission statement is to “be the National Guard’s premier, accredited training institute.”
• Most of the classes at PEC are designed to educate the “full-time” Army National Guard Soldiers, NCOs and Officers
• Some of the biggest classes they teach are the ARNG Recruiter Class and the GED Plus Program for new Recruits  
• It’s been a full service training facility since 1974
• They offer more than 100 different classes offered each year
• Camp Robinson is located on 75 acres, has 25 buildings and approximately 425 full-time personnel
• Each year, the facility trains about 20,000 soldiers
• The facility also offers a large variety of distant learning courses
• Each year, the facility hosts numerous DoD, Army, ARNG and other conferences

Army PEC Classes

The Professional Education Center (PEC Army) teaches somewhere between 100-200 different classes each year.  If you visit their website, you can get a detailed list.  There are different training centers for each of the classes.  At the time of this writing, the training centers include:

1. Strength Maintenance Training Center: This center teaches the Battalion Career Counselor, Recruiting and Retention, Officer Strength Manager Course and much more.
2. Resource Management Training Center: This center teaches Basic Accounting, Fiscal Law, USPFO related courses and more.
3. Organizational Readiness Training Center: They teach Basic Project Management, the Leadership Development Course, Facilitator Course, etc.
4. Non Proponent: These are the maintenance related course, such as M1, M2 and M88 courses.
5. Installations, Logistics and Environmental Training Center: Here you have the Support Operations, Food Service, Facilities Management, Property Book Accounting, ULLS and more.  This center appears to have the most amount of courses.
6. Information technology Training Center: This is where you can learn about Oracle, UNIX, programming and web related courses.
7. Human Resources and Readiness Training Center: It offers the Training Officer/NCO, Unit Training NCO, Retirement Counselor, Brigade S1 and many other courses.
8. GSC Training Center: It offers the GI Bill, Tuition Assistance, Education Officer and a few other courses.

As you can see, there are lots of classes covering a large variety of subjects.  They also have a large distance learning program where you can enroll in web-based programs and learn from home.

Army PEC Food & Entertainment

There is one dining facility on base, frequently referred to as Concorde Hall.  The food there is pretty good.  When I was there it was staffed by contractors.  They have a “fast food” lane and a “regular meal” lane.  You have lots of choices so you can eat something healthy if you want.  The prices are well within the per-diem range.  It is open 3 meals per day, 7 days per week.

For recreation you can go fishing or golfing.  There is also a chapel and shopping mall.  When I visited, they even had a bar (in the shopping mall).  Most of the places on base are within walking distance.  There are also running trails, a nice gym, and a library.  If I could encourage you to do one thing, I would tell you to GET OUT OF YOUR ROOM and check the place out.  There’s plenty to see.  And if you are adventurous, there are plenty of nice places in the local community too.

Living Accommodations at Camp Robinson

In most cases, students would stay in one of the three residence halls which are Patriot Hall, Independence Hall and Liberty Hall.  Most of the rooms are single rooms.  They have Internet access (in some rooms, or in the common areas).  They are clean and well kept.  Best of all, they are close to the classrooms so you can walk to class each morning.

In some rare cases (especially during conferences) the billets might be full.  In that event, you might need to get a hotel room instead of staying on base.  The base has shuttles to take you in town and also has a list of hotels that offer rooms at the per-diem rate.  In most cases, the trip from the hotel to PEC is about a 10 minute drive.  Normally, you can call and have the shuttle come pick you up too and take you to and from class each day.

Final Thoughts about PEC Army

In summary, the Army PEC (Professional Education Center) at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock, Arkansas is a world-class training installation.  They offer a wide range of courses for Army National Guard AGR and M-Day Soldiers, as well as Government Civilians.    The accommodations are nice, the training is wonderful and the local area is beautiful.

If you’ve ever spent any time at PEC, I would love to hear your story.  Please tell us when you went, what classes you attended and what your experience was like.  Just leave a comment to share your thoughts. Also, if you have any questions about attending PEC, just ask below and I will do my best to provide an answer.

Sincerely,








Chuck Holmes
Former Army Major (resigned)
Publisher, Part-Time-Commander.com
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com

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