Andrew Davis (A.D.) Bruce was assigned to organize a new Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center, and he chose Killeen, Texas for the new camp.

About 300 families had to move from their homes to make room for the camp area and the communities of Clear Creek, Elijah, and Antelope were demolished to facilitate construction of the base.

[citation needed] During the late 1960s, Fort Hood trained and deployed a number of units and individuals for duty in Vietnam.

[citation needed] In August 1968, forty-three African American GIs, who objected to being sent to Chicago for riot-control duty during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, were court martialed and jailed by the US Army.

[citation needed] Since the early 1970s, the post has played a major role in the training, testing, and introduction of new equipment, tactics, and organizations.

Fort Hood fielded the M1 Abrams tank, M2/3 Bradley Infantry/Cavalry Fighting Vehicle, the Multiple Launch rocket System (MLRS), and the AH-64 Apache helicopter.

The 1st Cavalry became the first division to field the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Humvee, the Multiple Launch Rocket System and Mobile Subscriber Equipment (MSE) tactical communications.

[citation needed] In August 1990, the post was alerted for deployments to Southwest Asia as part of the joint forces participating in Operation Desert Shield.

Gen. Billy K. Solomon deployed along with a portion of the headquarters in December 1992 to Mogadishu to serve as the nucleus of Joint Task Force Support Command.

The main objective being to enhance Total Force integration, optimize the unique capabilities of each component, and improve the overall readiness of the Army.

[citation needed] Fort Hood was the first installation selected to privatize post housing under the residential communities initiative.

Fort Cavazos has a key role as a training base for mobilizing Reserve and National Guard units to support the Homeland Defense effort.

13th COSCOM eventually provided one hundred million rations, collected human remains with dignity, executed emergency engineering operations, transported, distributed and stored over one billion dollars in humanitarian relief from both non-governmental and federal sources from across the nation.

[8] On 12 June 2007, the body of Lawrence George Sprader, Jr was found at about 8:30 p.m. in a brushy area located within the Central Texas Army post's training ground.

"[10] On 5 November 2009 a gunman, who regarded himself as a mujahid waging "jihad" against the United States, opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood and killed 13 people while wounding 32 others.

[11][12][13] Eyewitnesses to the actual events said: "...Major Hasan wheeled on Sergeant Munley as she rounded the corner of a building and shot her, putting her on the ground.

Mark Todd, a veteran police officer, rounded another corner of the building, found Major Hasan fumbling with his weapon and shot him.

Naser Jason Abdo, an AWOL private, was arrested near Fort Hood, and in a statement by the police chief of Killeen, Texas, the man told investigators that he wanted to attack fellow soldiers at the military post.

[23][24] A sexual assault prevention officer on the base, Sergeant First Class Gregory McQueen, was dishonorably discharged in March 2015, having been convicted of organizing a prostitution ring.

[27] As of October 2015[update], Killeen, Texas, started a land-use study to "identify and mitigate compatibility and encroachment issues that may impact training, operations".

[28] In 2020, a debate around renaming US military bases named after Confederate generals emerged during protests sparked from the murder of George Floyd.

[30] The murder of Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood in April 2020 brought national attention to the base and the broader culture of sexual harassment in the military.

[38] In August, a San Antonio man was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats after threatening to commit a mass shooting at Fort Hood in retaliation for Guillén's killing.

"[41] Army regulation AR-600-20 (24 July 2020) now requires the filing of commander's critical information reports (CCIRs) 8 days after a SHARP (sexual harassment/assault response & prevention) complaint by a victim.

[45] Commanders at the FORSCOM, III Corps, and Fort Hood levels now have specific actions to complete upon a sexual assault review board complaint.

Several dozen were subsequently offered for sale on the internet from a reseller in Corpus Christi, Texas as of 9 July 2021; some devices had already been sold and shipped.

[50][51] The recommendation report was finalized and submitted to Congress on October 1, 2022,[52] giving the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin the authority to rename the post to Fort Cavazos.

[53][54][52] On January 5, 2023, William A. LaPlante, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.

[60] Recently several soldiers supported by Under the Hood have taken public acts of resistance, including Amnesty International prisoner of conscience[61] Travis Bishop.

During peacetime, Fort Hood is a gated post, with the 1st Cavalry Division Museum, the Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area (BLORA), and a number of other facilities that are open to the public.