It is located in Theodore Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, the oldest Army post still active today. It was officially established on July 1, 1946 as an upgraded replacement for the Army-Navy Staff College, which operated from June 1943 to July 1946.
According to Lieutenant General Leonard T. Gerow, President of the Board which recommended its formation, "The College is concerned with grand strategy and the utilization of the national resources necessary to implement that strategy... Its graduates will exercise a great influence on the formulation of national and foreign policy in both peace and war...."
Most mid-level and senior military officers take a course of study at the War College in preparation for higher staff and command positions.
See also: Naval War College