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 am a resident in base housing with my wife and three children on of JBSA-Chapman Annex. For the past year and two months, we have dealt with speeders and semi-reckless drivers on a regular basis.
I’ve contacted Security Forces and received the “It’s privatized housing and we can’t do anything” response. I’ve contacted housing and received the “You need to contact Security Forces” response. I’ve put up my own “slow down” signs in front of my house, only to be told by Security Forces I’m not allowed to do this because it’s a hazard to first responders.
I post multiple videos on the local Facebook Medina Residents page of these violators with no action. Just yesterday, I had a female technical sergeant driving at a fairly high rate of speed that passed my eight-year-old son and two of his friends while holding a cellphone on her steering wheel in front of her face. When I asked her to slow down, she got out of her car, in uniform (I didn’t get the name, unfortunately), and yelled at me.
On Halloween, we had a white 4Runner speed and move around kids (not an exaggeration). My neighbor, a retired sergeant major asked her “slow down please” and the driver locked up her brakes and then sped off. Security Forces told her to not drive like that again and she laughed and again drove off.
Just a few days ago, we had a white SUV run the four-way stop at Clay Loop and Maysey, while kids were getting on the school bus for Lackland ISD. A parent yelled at the driver and the driver just yelled something incoherent back. This is a regular thing at least once a day here on JBSA-Chapman Annex housing even with the terrible roads.
Simple patrols twice a day and an email once a month aren’t cutting it. I’m truly afraid a child is going to be injured without command intervention. Anything to help protect our residents would be much appreciated, from lowering the speed limit to 10 MPH, to permanent or temporary flashing speed signs, to even having walking Security Forces patrols with radar guns to issue citations.
Like I’ve said, I’ve tried the routes I thought should address this situation to no avail. Ma’am, as a concerned resident in JBSA-Lackland Housing, I am asking now for your assistance. Thank you.
A: Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Based on the information you provided, we understand your frustrations and the 802d Security Forces Squadron is actively looking at additional measures.
The 802d SFS is dedicated to Air Base Ground Defense, Installation Security, and Law Enforcement functions. They diligently serve to protect and defend the JBSA-Lackland complex.
Currently, they have Ground Tasking Orders, or GTOs, for conducting randomized patrols utilizing radar and stop sign selective enforcement to deter illegal driving behaviors on a daily basis. Similar to off-base communities, patrols are unable to be present at all times, in all locations.
The 80d SFS will work with Civil Engineering, the JBSA-Lackland Housing Office, and the Installation Traffic Safety Working Panel to assess the most effective use of additional speed-reducing measures, such as speed bumps, speed tables and flashing speed signs.
Security Forces will adjust tactics where they can to increase presence in problem areas based on trend analysis and will continue to do so while balancing their response requirements to critical infrastructure and resources across the installation.
Please continue to report these incidents immediately to the Base Defense Operations Center, or BDOC, at 210-671-3030. Thank you again for helping us make every effort to make our JBSA community a better, safer place.