The Red River Army Depot was activated as an ammunition storage facility in August 1941. With the entry of the US into World War II, the depot quickly expanded its mission to heavy combat and tactical vehicle maintenance, as well as a general storage facility, housing and transshipping about 1.2 million tons of materiel during the war.


From that time on, in each conflict the U.S has been involved in, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom, and others, Red River Depot has sustained Army supply needs.


This depot has been selected for deactivation twice by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC 1995 and 2005 ), but remained opened because its maintenance support services were considered too integral for the Army. As a result of BRAC 2005, Red River Army Depot was designated as a Center for Industrial and Technical Excellence. Currently its mission includes the reception, storage, and issue of gun-motor carriages, ammunition, explosives, supplies and equipment for the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, as well as a serving as an essential army maintenance point for general-purpose and maintenance vehicles.