In 1917 the site served as a major mobilization and training post for the 32nd Infantry Division which was made up almost exclusively of the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard prior to its shipping to France as part of World War I.

[6][page needed] During World War II Camp Williams and Volk served as a mobilization and training station for elements of the 32nd Infantry Division which was made up almost exclusively of the Wisconsin and Michigan National Guard.

Around midnight on 25 October 1962, a guard at the Duluth Sector Direction Center 300 miles (480 km) west saw a figure climbing the security fence.

At Volk Field, the alarm was incorrectly wired, and the klaxon sounded, which ordered Air Defense Command (ADC) nuclear-armed F-106A interceptors to take off.

The pilots had been told there would be no practice alert drills due to DEFCON 3 status, and, according to political scientist Scott D. Sagan, they "fully believed that a nuclear war had just started".

[9][11] Sagan writes that the incident had raised the possibility of an ADC interceptor accidentally shooting down a Strategic Air Command (SAC) bomber.

[4] During the 1990 Persian Gulf War, Volk Field was the primary point of embarkation for soldiers and equipment from nearby Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

[4] Since 2006 Volk Field, along with Fort McCoy, has served as the primary location for Patriot Warrior, the largest annual training exercise for Air Force Reserve Command.