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JBSA News
NEWS | March 8, 2022

187th Medical Battalion signs Adopt-A-School charter with Davenport High School

By Jose Rodriguez U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence Public Affairs

The 187th Medical Battalion signed with Davenport High School as part of the Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston Adopt-A-School Program.

Lt. Col Dennis Segui, 187th Medical Battalion commander, signed the charter with Matthew DeLoach, Davenport High School Principal, at a ceremony held on the school campus March 5, held in conjunction with the Davenport High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) two-mile color fun run.

On hand for the signing were Maj. Gen. Dennis LeMaster, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence commanding general; Joseph Bray, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Texas (South); Col. Marc Welde, 32nd Medical Brigade commander; Command Sgt. Maj. Gilberto Colon, 32nd Medical Brigade; and Command Sgt. Maj. Deanna Carson, 187th MED BN. Also attending were administrators, teachers, and parents from Davenport, along with 187th MED BN cadre.

MEDCoE’s participation in the JBSA-Fort Sam Houston Adopt-A-School Program is not new, all of the MEDCoE’s battalion and above units have adopted at least one elementary school that they support. The Davenport Charter, however, marks the first high school to be adopted by MEDCoE in recent years.

The partnership with the MEDCoE and Davenport High School first began when the school invited LeMaster to be the guest speaker at their Veterans Day event in November 2021.

Afterwards, LeMaster meet with Davenport Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or JROTC, students and asked what he could do for to further the relationship. That began the process of MEDCoE working with the 187th MED BN to establish an Adopt-A-School charter with the school that is located in the Comal Independent School District.

“JROTC programs produce good citizens for the United States of America, and that’s what fundamentally this is about,” said LeMaster as he addressed the audience at the signing ceremony. “Great opportunities for our young folks to go onward and upward and reach their goals and dreams.”

Located on FM 3009 and Schoenthal Road in the Garden Ridge area, Davenport High School opened in August 2020. DeLoach said when the school first opened, one of the goals was to make Davenport a community hub.

“This charter assists in reaching that goal,” DeLoach said. “We’re involving more of our community and expanding out, so this is great today.”

The purpose of the charter is to outline terms and areas of responsibility in order to establish and maintain a cooperative effort between JBSA-Fort Sam Houston units and San Antonio area school districts to improve the citizenship and learning experiences of children in elementary, middle, and senior high schools.

The program consists of three components: unit-school partnership, tutorship program, and leadership program. Sponsoring units conduct regular school visits, coordinate mentoring and tutor students, assist in organizing school visits to JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.

The 187th Medical Battalion has an existing charter with Briscoe Elementary School, making Davenport High School their second school under the Adopt-A-School program.

The 187th MED BN is a diverse unit responsible for the Army Trauma Training Detachment, U.S. Army Medical Department Student Detachment, Department of Leader Training, the MEDCoE Graduate School, and Department of Operational Medicine.

“We are honored to begin a path of unity and partnership,” said Segui when speaking about the school charter. “We stand here before you committed to this relationship for years to come, charged with transporting both organizations to amazing heights on numerous fronts. The charter we sign today symbolizes our mutual commitment to our community bringing together the Davenport 'Wolves' and the 187th 'Wildcats.'"