The Corps was established in its current form on 31 July 1942, with predecessor services dating back to the American Civil War.

The Army Quartermaster purchased eight City-class ironclads on the Mississippi River in February 1862, a full month before the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia set sail.

A substantial number of battles were won because of the field commander's ability to swiftly and effectively move troops and supplies.

[5] During the Spanish–American War, the task of mobilizing and deploying a largely volunteer force to Cuba and the Philippines magnified the need for a separate transportation service within the Quartermaster Department.

The United States Army School for Truck Drivers had been established by 9 July 1918;[6] and the Transportation Corps of the AEF was abolished after the war,[5] The M.T.C.

[8] As allied forces rapidly advanced across France in the summer of 1944, a special transportation operation nicknamed the Red Ball Express was carried out from 25 August to 16 November.

The Red Ball Express provided around the clock truck convoys from allied held ports to supply troops on the front in a giant, one-way loop.

There was a short lived television series in the early 1970s named Roll Out which focused on the experiences of a fictional African American motor transportation unit involved with the Red Ball Express.

[5] Operations in Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, Bosnia, and Iraq have also seen the deployment of large numbers of transportation units.

[5] When the coalition forces invaded Afghanistan, the Transportation Corps opened up the air line of communication into the country and until 2008, a single movement control battalion managed all logistics in Regional Command-East.

As the number of brigade combat teams increased in Afghanistan in 2006, the Transportation Corps began ground convoy operations.

Motor Transportation Operator (truck driver, MOS 88M) training is conducted at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.