The host unit at Mountain Home has been the 366th Fighter Wing (366 FW) of the Air Combat Command (ACC), nicknamed the Gunfighters, since 1972.

The base's primary mission is to provide combat airpower and support for worldwide contingency operations.

Shortly thereafter, airmen at the field began training U.S. Army Air Forces crews for World War II.

The 396th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was the first unit assigned and its planned mission was to train crews for the B-17 Flying Fortress.

However, before the first B-17s arrived, plans for the field changed and the 396th was transferred to Moses Lake AAF, Washington (state).

The 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy) replaced the 470th and trained B-24 crews until it deployed to RAF Eye England in April 1944.

In 1953, the base was transferred to Strategic Air Command (SAC), which assigned its 9th Bombardment Wing to Mountain Home.

To prepare for the addition of missiles to its bomber forces, it was redesignated the 9th Strategic Aerospace Wing in April 1962.

[6][7][8][9] Other closures in the region were also USAF facilities: the Cottonwood radar station in North Central Idaho and SAC's Larson AFB, a B-52E Stratofortress (and KC-135A Stratotanker) installation in Eastern Washington at Moses Lake.

[10] The 366th Fighter Wing (in various designations) has been the host unit at Mountain Home for over 50 years, following its return from the Vietnam War in late 1972.

During 1969, a tenant unit began operating at the south end of the base, using part of the original SAC alert area, and about half of the Mole Hole alert facility, sharing the other half with an NCO leadership school from the main base.

The 366th deployed a squadron of 20 F-111 fighters, which reached South Korea only 31 hours after receiving launch notification.

Following the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, the resultant initiation of Operation Enduring Freedom, the 366th Wing once again got the call.

Following the wing's return from Southwest Asia, the USAF began consolidating its B-1 Lancer and KC-135 Stratotanker forces.

The 22 ARS' aircraft began transferring to McConnell AFB, Kansas, in May 2002 and the squadron inactivated the following August.

A continued reconstruction of the 366 Fighter Wing was official with the 2005 base realignment, coinciding with the large scale integration of the 150+ F-22 Raptors.

[11][12] Captain Chris Stricklin, flying Thunderbird 6 (opposing solo, serial #87-0327), attempted a "Split S" maneuver (which he had performed over 200 times) immediately after takeoff based on an incorrect mean-sea-level elevation.

[11] On June 24, 2022, nineteen Air Force ROTC cadets were participating in a training exercise when there was an accident involving a Humvee.

The investigator of the case told the bomb range manager, who had let the cadets drive the Humvees unsupervised on their final day of training, that he was suspected for the crime of misusing government property.

An ROTC officer who had been supervising the group during the week was also informed he was suspected of dereliction of duty under the military code.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.9 sq mi (26 km2), and 0.10% is water.