[2] It was named in honor of David Allen Russell, a Civil War general killed at the Battle of Opequon.

Over the years, the base served as home for numerous influential American military leaders such as Carl Spaatz, Black Jack Pershing, Billy Mitchell, Walter Reed, and Mark Clark.

During World War II, Fort Francis E. Warren served as a training facility for the US Army Quartermaster Corps.

On October 1, 1993, the Twentieth Air Force, which controls all of America's ICBM wings, relocated its headquarters to Warren.

The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 15, 1975, while still Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.