The Dix installation originated in 1917 as Fort Dix, named in honor of Maj. Gen. John Adams Dix, a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Civil War, and a former United States Senator, Secretary of the Treasury and Governor of New York.

Dix has a history of mobilizing, training and demobilizing Soldiers from as early as World War I  through the present day. In 1978, the first female recruits entered basic training at Fort Dix. In 1991, Dix trained Kuwaiti civilians in basic military skills so they could take part in their country's liberation.

Dix ended its active Army training mission in 1988 due to Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations. It began a new mission of mobilizing, deploying and demobilizing Soldiers and providing training areas for Reserve and National Guard Soldiers. In 1994, the United States Air Force Expeditionary Center was established as the Air Mobility Warfare Center on Dix.