[3] MCRD San Diego's main mission is the initial training of enlisted male and female recruits living west of the Mississippi River.

The base and its original buildings are now on the National Register of Historic Places listings in San Diego County, California.

In 1923, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot for the west coast was relocated to the new base in San Diego from Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, California.

[15] On April 22, 2021, 53 of these female recruits became Marines after becoming the first women to complete boot camp training at the San Diego Depot.

The parade deck at MCRD San Diego serves both as a vital part of every recruit's training and as a memorial to the veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the war on terror.

Some politicians have pushed for the closure of MCRD San Diego, primarily because it occupies what is now extremely valuable land adjacent to the city's harbor and airport.

They also noted that the military value of San Diego is lower than Parris Island due in part to encroachment and land constraints.

Closure meets heavy resistance from the Marine Corps, because of the status of the parade deck as a memorial to veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq, as well as the cost of relocation of the Depot.

He also noted that the payback on such a closure would take over 100 years, due to the need for new construction at Parris Island and the need to relocate rather than eliminate personnel from San Diego.