Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas , adjacent to the city of Fort Smith , and one mile ( 1 . 6 km ) southeast of Fort Smith Regional Airport . The Arkansas River flows eastward along the northern border of the post and Interstate 40 is five miles ( 8 km ) to the north on the opposite side of the river . Fort Chaffee is primarily used as a training facility by regional National Guard and Army Reserve units and active military units from other installations . Fort Chaffee is now under the control of the Arkansas Army National Guard ; at this time , no active Regular Army units are permanently stationed at the post . History . Fort Chaffee was originally named Camp Chaffee . Camp Chaffee was established in response to the need for more US troops for the imminent involvement in World War II . Construction on Camp Chaffee was started in September 1941 , with troops arriving on the base in December 1941 . In March 1956 , the name of Camp Chaffee was officially changed to Fort Chaffee in recognition of the permanent nature of the base . Fort Chaffee , located just outside of Fort Smith ( Sebastian County ) and Barling ( Sebastian County ) on Arkansas Highway 22 , has served the United States as an army training camp , a prisoner of war camp , and a refugee camp . Currently , 66 , 000 acres are used by the Arkansas National Guard as a training facility , with the Arkansas Air National Guard using the fort ' s Razorback Range for target practice . During World War II , in addition to providing a training facility for US soldiers , Fort Chaffee served as a POW camp , housing 3000 German prisoners of war . The groundbreaking of Camp Chaffee was held on September 20 , 1941 , as part of the Department of War ' s preparations to double the size of the U . S . Army in the face of imminent war . That month , the United States government paid $ 1 . 35 million to acquire 15 , 163 acres from 712 property owners , including families , farms , businesses , churches , schools , and other government agencies . The camp was named after Major General Adna R . Chaffee Jr . , an artillery officer who , in Europe during World War I , determined that the cavalry was outmoded and , unlike other cavalry officers , advocated for the use of tanks . It took only sixteen months to build the entire base . The first soldiers arrived on December 7 , 1941 , the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . The installation was activated on March 27 , 1942 . From 1942 to 1946 , the Sixth , Fourteenth and Sixteenth Armored Divisions trained there . The creation of the camp caused the nearby town of Barling to experience a tremendous boom in housing and businesses . From 1948 to 1957 , Chaffee was the home of the Fifth Armored Division . On March 21 , 1956 , Camp Chaffee was re - designated as Fort Chaffee ; the US Army generally refers to an installation as a fort when it is a more permanent installation than a camp . In 1958 , Chaffee was also home to its most famous occupant , Elvis Presley . As part of his induction into the US Army , Presley received his first military haircut in Building 803 . In 1959 , the " Home of the U . S . Army Training Center , Field Artillery " moved from Fort Chaffee to Fort Sill , Oklahoma , where it remains to this day . Fort Chaffee has twice served as a primary center for housing foreign refugees . First , it held Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees following the end of the wars in Vietnam and Cambodia as from 1975 to 1976 , when Fort Chaffee was a processing center for refugees from Southeast Asia . The facility processed 50 , 809 refugees of the Vietnam War , giving them medical screenings , matching them with sponsors , and arranging for their residence in the United States . On May 6 , 1980 , Fort Chaffee became a Cuban refugee resettlement center after the Cuban government allowed American boats to pick up refugees at the port of Mariel . Three weeks later , a number of refugees rioted at Fort Chaffee and burned two buildings . State troopers and tear gas were used to break up the crowd , and eighty - four Cubans were jailed . Riots among the Cubans were a key factor in Governor Bill Clinton ' s loss of the office in 1980 . In two years , Fort Chaffee processed 25 , 390 Cuban refugees . In 1987 , the Joint Readiness Training Center ( JRTC ) began training soldiers at Chaffee . The JRTC was transferred to Fort Polk , Louisiana , in 1993 and in 1995 , the Base Realignment and Closure Commission ( BRAC ) recommended the closure of Fort Chaffee . The recommendation was approved with the condition that minimum essential ranges , facilities , and training areas were maintained as a Reserve Component Training enclave . On September 28 , 1995 , Fort Chaffee became a subinstallation of Fort Sill . In late 1995 , the federal government declared 7 , 192 of Fort Chaffee ’ s 76 , 075 acres to be surplus and turned the land over to the state . The remaining 66 , 000 acres were turned over to the Arkansas National Guard for use as a training facility A change - of - command ceremony was held on September 27 , 1997 and command of Fort Chaffee was transferred from the U . S . Army to the Arkansas Army National Guard when the U . S . Army garrison was deactivated , with Fort Chaffee subsequently becoming the Chaffee Maneuver Training Center for Light Combat Forces . The Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority was established to begin redeveloping the 6 , 000 acres that were turned over to the state . This was to include demolishing more than 700 buildings and rezoning land . The official redevelopment of the base began shortly after land was turned over , and the redevelopment authority is overseeing a number of residential , commercial , and industrial projects in what is known as Chaffee Crossing . On January 6 , 2005 , ground was broken for the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center , which now sits on 170 acres that was previously a part of Fort Chaffee . With property transfers complete and minimal military staff permanently stationed there , the Chaffee Maneuver Training Center was declared an open post . The gatehouses were abandoned , and most of the fencing was removed . Military Police patrols were discontinued , and emergency services turned over to the city of Barling , the Arkansas State Police , and Highway Patrol Troop H . This lasted until the September 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks on the United States . Then , all US Army installations in the United States were declared a closed post , and the center again took over emergency services . The latest use of Fort Chaffee to house evacuees was when Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana in 2005 . After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 , the empty barracks at Fort Chaffee were converted into temporary housing for more than 10 , 000 refugees from Louisiana , Mississippi , Texas , and other areas affected by the hurricane and its aftermath . Many of the evacuees were sponsored or temporarily housed at Fort Chaffee and have since decided to make Fort Smith their new home . This has brought a slight increase to the city ' s economy . Fires . During the morning hours of January 29 , 2008 , a mixture of high winds and fire ( which local authorities determined later an electrical brush fire ) burned approximately and damaged or destroyed 150 abandoned buildings at Fort Chaffee . Approximately 10 : 00 PM local time on the night of August 3 , 2011 , another fire broke out on the 90 acre former medical complex . This was , according to the National Weather Service , the hottest day in Fort Chaffee history at 115 degrees Fahrenheit . This fire destroyed the hospital complex and nearly 120 buildings in the area . The fire ' s cause was ruled accidental . Other uses of Fort Chaffee . Fort Chaffee has been used as a set for various movies , including the movie " A Soldier ' s Story " in 1984 , " Biloxi Blues " in 1988 , and " The Tuskegee Airmen " in 1995 . In 1958 , Elvis Presley stopped at Fort Chaffee en route to his basic training at Fort Hood , Texas . It was here that the public information officer John J . Mawn told a news conference that Presley would receive the standard " G . I . haircut " and would resemble a " peeled onion " . Mawn , thereafter stationed in Germany , was the technical advisor for Presley ' s film " G . I . Blues " . Arlie Metheny , another information office , also coordinated Presley ' s induction at Fort Chaffee . Supernatural . Fort Chaffee was featured in episode 11 of the 4th season of " Ghost Adventures " on November 19 , 2010 .