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. I have been seeing advertising on TV about adding additional items to my Medicare such as dental, hearing aids, vision care etc. I have medical care at the clinic/SAMC.
If I add these items to my Medicare, would this disqualify me for medical help at the clinic? I retired in 1990. I have tried to find out at the clinic/BAMC, but no one knows.
A. Thank you for your question. Medicare patients are still eligible to utilize the emergency room, pharmacy, laboratory, and radiology services within the Military Treatment Facility, or MTF. They will still be considered for specialty care and inpatient care on a space-available basis.
For patients aged 65-plus seeking primary care, they will be enrolled at a non-military treatment facility; however, they can apply to enroll at an MTF by exception. For more information, see https://tricare.mil/Plans/SpecialPrograms/Plus
For more in-depth information, you can visit https://tricare.mil or contact a Beneficiary Counseling and Assistance Coordinator at any or our MTFs at 210-916-3586.
Q. I have two things I would like to suggest. The first is I hope someone in the chain of command will give the people updating the static aircraft by the JBSA-Lackland parade field a pat on the back for a great job.
The second is, would it be possible to have the area in front of fire station No. 1 marked as a no-stopping zone? Fire trucks will be able to exit the fire station without being blocked.
A. Thank you for acknowledging the team that cares for our historical aircraft. Their work to preserve Air Force heritage allows us to marvel at and acknowledge the contributions of the men and women that flew and maintained them.
Regarding parking in front of the fire stations, our civil engineers will review the signage in the vicinity and determine if they should be refreshed, updated, or enhanced.
Q. I am writing to make a suggestion regarding the JBSA-Lackland Luke East (Main) gate.
To get to this gate, one must turn in from Military Drive (Loop 13). There are two entry lanes after you turn in. It is a very short distance to the gate and most of the time only one lane is open. You cannot see which of the two lanes are open until you have already turned in from Military Drive.
If you happen to turn into the lane that is closed, you must then attempt to squeeze into the line of cars going in the lane that is open. There is not much time to do that and not everyone is nice enough to allow you in.
I am not sure why there is a need to change the open lane on what seems to be a random manner. My suggestion is to designate the left hand lane (default lane) and open the right lane. This way one would know this in advance and could turn in accordingly. This situation may exist at other gates.
A. Thank you for your suggestion on easing the daily commute challenge. During daily peak traffic from 6 to 9 a.m., both entrance lanes of the gate are open.
After the peak, we minimize the guesswork by setting the left lane to be the default for entering the base. There are unannounced times that Random Anti-Terrorism Measures, or RAMs, are conducted at the main gates or when incidents are occurring that would cause the right lane to be open instead.
We appreciate your understanding, as these measures are essential to protecting the JBSA community.