From 1942 through July 1944, during World War II, the airfield at Twentynine Palms was utilized by the U.S. Army Air Force for primary flight training.

Pendleton's Marines looked to the abandoned Condor Field, a World War II Army and Navy glider base located in the vicinity of what is now mainside.

The base was designated on February 6, 1953, as Marine Corps Training Center, Twentynine Palms.

Manned by Marines from Camp Pendleton, its primary mission was to prepare the new base for the arrival of permanent personnel.

In 1976, under the command of Brigadier General Ernest R. Reid Jr., work began to add an expeditionary airfield to the base's growing infrastructure.

Following completion of the expeditionary airfield, its name was changed to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Training Center on October 1, 1978, and changed yet once more to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) on February 16, 1979.

In the words of base historian, Colonel Verle E. Ludwig, "Twentynine Palms was to be a permanent 'combined-arms exercise college' for all of the Marine Corps."

This designation accompanied a change in policy that placed MAGTF Training Command under the auspices of Training and Education Command, Headquarters Marine Corps, MCCDC, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

The expeditionary airfield and surrounding spartan accommodations for visiting units was named "Camp Wilson".

Live fire exercises, artillery, tank, and close air support training are used for training, in addition to the sprawling "Combat Town," a 274-acre (1,110,000 m2) fabricated Middle Eastern village, complete with a mosque, native role-players, an "IED Alley," and other immersive touches.

The terrain is consistent, with steeply sloped mountains and flat valleys running northwest–southeast, with elevations ranging from 1,800 to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level.

The training area is also characterized with ancient lava flows, as well as dry lake beds and arroyos (or wadis) that fill quickly during rain, presenting the danger of powerful floods and washouts that can move armored vehicles.

Many abandoned mines dot the terrain, as well as unexploded ordnance and shrapnel, making unauthorized travel in the training areas dangerous.