This Is the Newest Military Base in the United States
On April 11, 2025, President Donald Trump approved the transfer of a section of federal land along the U.S.-Mexican border to the Department of Defense, with the intent of expanding it into an Army base. The administration’s goal is to enable military personnel to detain migrants and other individuals crossing the border. This strategy appears […] The post This Is the Newest Military Base in the United States appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
On April 11, 2025, President Donald Trump approved the transfer of a section of federal land along the U.S.-Mexican border to the Department of Defense, with the intent of expanding it into an Army base. The administration’s goal is to enable military personnel to detain migrants and other individuals crossing the border. This strategy appears designed to circumvent federal laws that restrict the use of U.S. troops for domestic law enforcement within the United States. By incorporating the border area into an Army base, the administration aims to leverage the military’s authority to act within its own installations. This decision is expected to face legal challenges, however, and its implementation remains uncertain.
This action highlights one of the distinct roles of U.S. military bases. While the U.S. maintains around 750 military bases around the world, it also has hundreds within its own borders. However, most of these domestic bases were built before the 1950s, with only 11 established in the last 70 years.
To find the newest American military installations in the United States, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed and independently verified the history of active military installations listed on MilitaryBases.com. We ordered bases by the year they opened, from oldest to newest. We added information on the number of active-duty personnel assigned and other information from the 2022 Demographics Report, compiled by Defense Department contractor Military OneSource. Finally, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed specific unit information from each base on the below list via the base website. Installations with less than 1,000 active duty personnel where that data is classified or those outside the 50 states were not considered. Newly joined bases were also not included.
*This is an updated version of a previously published story to reflect the latest data and news about U.S. military bases in the country and the Trump administration’s plans for the future.
Why This Matters Today
President Trump’s recent plan to turn a part of the U.S.-Mexico border into an Army base is important because new military bases affect more than just military affairs. They significantly reshape nearby communities by changing the economy, influencing job opportunities, and affecting housing availability and local businesses. These bases can also alter the population makeup of an area and put a strain on local resources. By understanding how and where these bases develop, we can better see how they impact regional economies, social structures, culture, and the nation as a whole. Furthermore, the creation of new bases often leads to debates about land use, environmental concerns, and how to balance military needs with the needs of the community.
These are the newest American military installations in the United States:
11. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
- Year Opened: 1952
- Location: Twentynine Palms, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 12,500
- Military branch: Marines
This base was built at the site of a former airbase used to train glider crews and Army pilots during World War II and was later used as a bombing range for the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Marine Corps took over the site in 1952 as a training center. Today, the combined arms training facility trains Marines in communications and electronics.
10. Little Rock Air Force Base
- Year Opened: 1955
- Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas
- Total active-duty personnel: Between 5,000 and 7,200
- Military branch: Air Force
Little Rock AFB is home to not only the largest fleet of C-130s but also numerous wings and groups of the U.S. Air Force, including the 19th Airlift Wing, which can deploy massive transport aircraft throughout the world. The base trains aircrews, including members of the Coast Guard and service members from dozens of foreign nations.
9. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
- Year Opened: 1979
- Location: Camden County, Georgia
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,918
- Military branch: Navy
The NSB Kings Bay is the home port for the U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet’s ballistic missile nuclear subs armed with Trident nuclear missiles. The base is the home port for six Ohio-class Trident submarines, and the USS Florida and USS Georgia guided missile subs. This U.S. naval base has been operating for over five decades.
8. Grand Forks Air Force Base
- Year Opened: 1957
- Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,500
- Military branch: Air Force
The Grand Forks AFB is home to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, which provides operational and infrastructural support for the Global Hawk high-altitude remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. The Global Hawk is still used over Afghanistan in intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance operations following the U.S. pullout of ground forces in August 2021.
7. Minot Air Force Base
- Year Opened: 1957
- Location: Ward County, North Dakota
- Total active-duty personnel: 5,391
- Military branch: Air Force
The Minot AFB is the headquarters of the 5th Bomb Wing Mission and its fleet of B-52H Stratofortress bombers, which can be deployed anywhere in the world to deliver precision nuclear-guided bombs and other types of artillery and munitions. Base units also maintain and operate the Minuteman III ICBMs located in underground launch facilities scattered across the northwest part of the state and other advanced cruise missiles.
6. Naval Air Station Meridian
- Year Opened: 1961
- Location: Meridian, Mississippi
- Total active-duty personnel: 3,000
- Military branch: Navy
Initially opened as an airfield in 1961, the NASM grew to become an official Naval Air Station in 1967. It is one of the U.S. Navy’s air strike fighter pilot training centers and operates a military airport for this purpose. The base also has a counterdrug training center and a support center for naval operations.
5. Naval Air Station Lemoore
- Year Opened: 1961
- Location: Kings County, Fresno County, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 6,123
- Military branch: Navy
NAS Lemoore was initially established to support the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet and supports the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific that maintains combat-ready carrier- or shore-based warplanes in the Pacific Rim. Lemoore was identified as an ideal central California location because it has ideal year-round weather for aircraft deployment and less air traffic.
4. Los Angeles Air Force Base
- Year Opened: 1964
- Location: El Segundo, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 1,435
- Military branch: Space Force
The Los Angeles AFB was first designated as an Air Force air station on the site of a former air research development command center dating back to 1954. It was re-designated as an Air Force base in 1987. The base includes Fort MacArthur, 20 miles south of the main base. The base supports U.S. Space Force operations.
3. Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs
- Year Opened: 1974
- Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
- Total active-duty personnel: 3,000
- Military branch: Navy
NSA Saratoga Springs supports naval command activities in New York’s Capital Region in upstate New York. The base supports the nearby Naval Propulsion Training Unit in Ballston Spa, New York, one of two facilities used to train officers in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear propulsion systems used by submarines and aircraft carriers.
2. Schriever Space Force Base
- Year Opened: 1985
- Location: El Paso County, Colorado
- Total active-duty personnel: 1,853
- Military branch: Space Force
Though the U.S. Space Force was established in 2019 as the eighth and most recent U.S. military branch, the Schriever Space Force Base was always intended to be part of military space programs dating back to the 1970s when the Department of Defense sought to consolidate operations involving military satellites. The name of the base was changed in 2021 to reflect its realigned affiliation from the Air Force to the new Space Force.
1. Naval Station Everett
- Year Opened: 1994
- Location: Everett, Washington
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,576
- Military branch: Navy
Naval Station Everett was selected as an ideal location on the West Coast for homeporting a naval battle group. The base is the home port of seven guided missile destroyers, including the USS John McCain, and two Coast Guard ships patrolling the Northwest coast and tending to navigational buoys. This naval installation is considered the Navy’s most modern facility.
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