In the early 1940s, both the United States Army and United States Marine Corps were looking for a large base. The Army stopped caring about the project. The Marine Corps announced on February 1942 that the Camp Pendleton area would become the largest Marine Corps base in America. They purchased Rancho Santa Margarita las Flores for $4,239,062. Because the base was at first considered to be a temporary base, the buildings were built to minimum standards. The base was then mainly used for training.