Amarillo Air Force Base, originally Amarillo Army Air Field is located in Potter County, Texas, approximately 6 miles East of downtown Amarillo within the easternmost city limits. The City of Amarillo is located on the boundary of Potter and Randall Counties in the High Plains of the Texas Panhandle.

Sewell Point, the area occupied by the Training Center, has a long history of naval presence. During the American Revolution and throughout the nineteenth century, Cape May Sound was used as a harbor of refuge. & In 1917, the Navy established a "section base" in Cape May, to provide training, vessel support and communication facilities for coastal defense.

Farragut Naval Station rose almost overnight on wide-open fields and rolling hills that had once served as a seasonal stop for early Indian and pioneer migrations. In late 1941, the U.S. government snapped up the land from private owners, Kootenai County, and a railway company to establish an inland naval base more than 300 miles away from the western coastline, where the nation feared a Japanese invasion.   It was named after David Farragut - who was instrumental in setting up Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

Fort Ord was established in 1917, originally as Camp Gigling, as a military training base for infantry troops. In 1917, the US Army bought the present day East Garrison and nearby lands on the east side of Fort Ord to use as a maneuver and training ground for field artillery and cavalry troops stationed at the Presidio of Monterey. & Before the Army's use of the property, the area was agricultural, as is much of the surrounding land today. No permanent improvements were made until the late 1930s, when administrative buildings, barracks, mess halls, tent pads, and a sewage treatment plant were constructed. This facility was designated as Camp Ord in 1939 and became Fort Ord in 1940. In 1938, additional agricultural property was purchased for the development of the Main Garrison.