It is one of two major prisons built on Fort Leavenworth property, the other is the military Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, which opened on 5 October 2010.

Female prisoners from all branches of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) are typically incarcerated in the Naval Consolidated Brig, Miramar instead of the USDB.

[3] The original USDB followed the Pennsylvania plan modeling on a layout of the Eastern State Penitentiary where cell blocks radiated out from a central structure.

[6] During World War I, two brothers named Joseph and Michael Hofer, died at Fort Leavenworth in 1918 after refusing to enlist or wear uniforms after they were drafted under the Selective Service Act of 1917.

The pair of conscientious objectors, who were Christian Hutterites, were held in solitary confinement, beaten, and starved to death.

[9] In August 1988, an inmate named David Newman escaped after hiding in Pope Hall while on Wood Shop detail.

[11] In 2002, Gail Dillon of Airman magazine wrote of the old detention barracks: A visitor would immediately notice the medieval ambiance of this institution – the well-worn native stone and brick walls constructed by long-forgotten inmates when 'hard labor' meant exactly that – have witnessed thousands of inmates' prayers, curses, and pleas over the past 128 years" and that entering the facility was "like stepping back in time or suddenly being part of a kitschy movie set about a prison bust.

[12]In the late 1990s, work began on a new purpose-built military detention center on the site of the former USDB Farm Colony.

[15] Colonel Colleen L. McGuire, the first female commandant of the USDB, said in 2002 that the new facility is "much more efficient in design and layout – much brighter and lighter.

"[16] In 2009, the Barracks, along with the Standish Maximum Correctional Facility in Michigan, were being considered for relocation of 220 prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

[4] In 2012 the facility received a 100% rating and the accolades from an assessment team from the American Correctional Association (ACA) (who have been auditing the sites since 1988).

[18] The USDB is staffed by both "green-suiters," Service Members assigned to the 15th Military Police Brigade as well as DoD liaisons from each branch, and DA Civilians.

There are 300 graves dating from approximately 1894 to 1957, 56 of which are unmarked and 14 that belong to German prisoners of war executed for the murder of fellow POWs.

being tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay would be transferred to USDB for execution if they are convicted and sentenced to death.

[22] The last execution by the U.S. military was the hanging of Army PFC John A. Bennett, on 13 April 1961, for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old girl.

As of 11 July 2018[update], there are four inmates on death row at the USDB, the most recent addition being Nidal Hasan.

New York Daily News described the facility as "virtually identical to the" execution chamber at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute.