In 1844, Captain John C. Fremont, accompanied by Kit Carson, became the first member of the US Army to visit the Fort Irwin area. On 8 August 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range. On 4 November 1942, Camp Irwin was named for MG G. Leroy Irwin, Battle Commander of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. On 18 May 1951, it was activated as the U.S. Army Armored Combat and Desert Training Area. On 9 August 1979, the Department of the Army selected Fort Irwin as the National Training Center. In June 1985, the 197th Infantry BDE took part in the first extended brigade-level NTC rotation. On 26 October 1994, the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment served as the Army's Opposing Force at the National Training Center. In August 2021, the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division completed the 400th NTC rotation. In the Mojave Desert, 37 miles south of Death Valley and 37 miles northwest of Barstow, the installation includes a training area of 1200 square miles and restricted air space from 0 to 25,000 feet. It lies 150 miles from Los Angeles and 180 miles from Las Vegas at an altitude of 2505 feet above sea level, with its highest point at 6148 feet in the Avawatz Mtns. Annual rainfall is 4 inches, the average high temperature is 78, the record high is 114, the average low is 58, and the record low is 7.