JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
Feedback Fridays is a weekly forum that aims to connect the 502d Air Base Wing with members of the Joint Base San Antonio community. Questions are collected during commander’s calls, town hall meetings and throughout the week.
If you have a question or concern, please send an email to jbsapublicaffairs@gmail.com using the subject line “Feedback Fridays.” Questions will be further researched and published as information becomes available.
Q. Good morning and I hope all is well at JBSA. I am reaching out with hopes of getting clarification on JBSA’s current COVID-19 visitor restrictions.
I am a Department of Defense ID cardholder and my fiancé and I are planning an educational/vacation trip with our kids to San Antonio and would like to include all that JBSA may have to offer.
My fiancé and her two daughters are not DOD ID cardholders and I was unsure if they would be allowed to come on the base under the current visitor restrictions? Any information you could share on this would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and have a blessed day.
A. Starting June 26, JBSA will be open to mission-essential and mission-critical personnel only. Only military members, civilian employees and other DOD-affiliated personnel – to include retirees, dependents, contractors – who are conducting official business or have appointments at a military medical treatment facility will be allowed on the installation.
There will be a 100 percent DOD and Uniformed Services identification check for the driver and all members in the vehicle, aged 17 and over.
Reduced installation access and vetting procedures will be the same as previous HPCON CHARLIE procedures.
In addition, all future visitor pass requests will need approval by a unit commander or designated representative. Passes must be accompanied by valid identification (e.g., driver’s license) for non-DOD affiliated visitors. Lastly, current visitor passes will continue to be honored.
Q. The Selfridge East and West gates at JBSA-Lackland were closed after a mechanical problem many weeks ago. Selfridge East was scheduled to reopen and then canceled.
The last update was both gates were closed until further notice. Are there any updates you can provide as to when the gates may be open again. Thank you.
A. Thank you for your question. In May, we believe a severe electrical storm caused the Selfridge East gate problem of anti-vehicle barriers popping-up unexpectedly. The replacement electronic equipment is expected to arrive in late June.
Once the new equipment is installed, the entire system will be re-tested to ensure it won't unexpectedly deploy and cause harm to personnel or their vehicles.
Regarding the Selfridge West gate, it was hit and damaged by an intoxicated driver and must be repaired by contract. We hope to award the contract by the end of July and complete the repair by the end of August.
Thank you for your patience as we work through these required steps to ensure your safety and get these gates back open as soon as we can.
Q. I’m so glad the “Taj Mahal” at JBSA-Randolph (building 100) is lit when I come to work at 4:15 a.m. Such an iconic building should be visible. Thank you to whoever got the lights turned on.
A. Thank you for your compliment! We are glad to share joy by lighting the historic building. The Taj, built in 1931, is normally lit with standard white lighting to symbolize its beacon as the Air Force’s “West Point of Airpower.”
On holidays and certain months designated for non-holiday special observances, the lighting colors are changed to give tribute such as National Police Week and Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Halloween.