In 1928, the federal government purchased 640 acres (260 ha) near Yuma at the recommendation of Colonel Benjamin F. Fly.

In the mid-1950s, ADC was equipped almost solely with rocket-firing F-86D Sabre and F-89C Scorpion interceptors, and Headquarters USAF decided they should have their own training base.

Most of the TDY personnel were quartered in tents near the flight line, at least until April 1954 when the first permanent barracks buildings were finished and air conditioned.

Vincent was the subject of a TIME magazine article titled "Up Youth",[2] which covered the meteoric promotions of the U.S. Army and USAF.

Vincent died of a heart attack in 1955 at the age of 40 while serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Air Defense Command (ADC) at Ent AFB, Colorado.

[3] In addition to the fighter units, Vincent AFB was used by Air Defense Command as a general surveillance radar station.

In addition to the main facility, Vincent AFB operated several AN/FPS-14 Gap Filler sites: Fleet Air Gunnery Unit Pacific was moved before 1 July 1958 to MCAAS YUMA from NAS El Centro, California.

[4][5][6][7] Vincent AFB was transferred to the U.S. Navy on 1 Jan 1959, and the tenant radar site was renamed Yuma Air Force Station.

[8][9] The 4750th Air Defense Wing was inactivated at Vincent AFB on 15 June 1959 and control of the base was passed over to the United States Navy.

The base was renamed Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (Vincent Field) on 20 July 1962.

MCAS Yuma is currently the busiest air station in the Marine Corps, offering excellent year-round flying conditions and thousands of acres of open terrain for air-to-ground weapons ranges (including the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range and the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range- West), and associated restricted airspace for military flight operations.

During the 1960s, 70s, and early 1980s, MCAS Yuma was home to VMFAT-101, the Marine Corps' Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) for the F-4 Phantom II, training USMC, U.S. Navy, and NATO/Allied flight crews and maintenance personnel in the F-4B, F-4J, F-4N, and F-4S.

MCAS Yuma is currently programmed to become the Marine Corps' initial operating base for the F-35B STOVL variant of the F-35 Lightning II, the first of which arrived on 16 November 2012.