Hill AFB is bordered by the colorful Wasatch Mountains on the east and overlooks the Great Salt Lake to the west. Its history reflects the history and heritage of the U.S. Air Force and, in particular, that of Air Force Materiel Command.

Henry “Hap” Arnold, who was taught to fly by the Wright Brothers and succeeded “Billy” Mitchell as the nation’s leading advocate of an independent air force, saw the need for a permanent air base in the Rocky Mountain region in 1934. Successful operation of a temporary Army Air Corps depot at Salt Lake City to support airmail operations focused attention of top-level officials on a site near Ogden City, Utah, which, at the time, was farmland adjacent to the Army Ordnance Department’s Ogden Arsenal.

Representatives from the Ogden and Salt Lake City Chambers of Commerce, together with Utah’s congressional delegation, promoted the advantages of locating an intermountain air depot here-good year-round flying weather; unexcelled climate for both storage purposes and living; center of transportation routes; adequate land, water, power and labor force; and a strategic location inland to ensure maximum protection from possible enemy coastal attack.