Welcome to Presidio of Monterey, home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. Located in picturesque Monterey County on California's Central Coast, approximately 85 miles south of San Francisco and 50 miles from the Silicon Valley. With historic ties to the Spanish colonial era, the Presidio of Monterey as U.S. military installation dates to July 7, 1846 when Commodore Sloat landed his troops unopposed in Monterey during the Mexican-American War and first raised the U.S. flag in Alta California, claiming its territories for the United States. Monterey is the last Presidio in California to have an active military installation.