Opened in 1942 on around 100,000 acres of land, Camp Hood was built to test and design anti-tank weapons to counter the German Blitzkrieg during WW2. It was named after Confederate General John Bell Hood who was famous during the Civil War. A few years after opening, anti-tank training stopped growing and was replaced mainly by field artillery battalions and an Infantry Replacement Training Center. It wasn't until 1950 that it was designated as a permanent army installation and called Fort Hood. During the Korean War, it continued its role as a place to train and prepare troops for war.
During the 1970s, Fort Hood became known as the place for the introduction of new equipment, tactics, and organizations in the army. Modernization began in Fort Hood in the 1990s. In 2003, tragedy struck Fort Hood when a gunman killed 13 people on the army base. Today, Fort Hood is one of the largest active army bases in the entire world. After 9/11 access to the base became very restrictive, but there are two museums on base that can be accessed with permission. In the global war on terror, Fort Hood plays a large part in training and readying troops for all types of situations all over the world.