JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
A group of more than 50 San Antonio community leaders gained insight into several areas of Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston during a visit by LeadershipSA on Sept. 11, 2024.
The objective of the visit was to increase awareness and support for the military among the public, private, and non-profit sector leaders of the LSA class through personal connection. The program has helped build San Antonio leaders since its creation in 1975. This “Military Day” was one of seven class days that the organization planned as part of the LSA experience.
LeadershipSA was created by The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce to help identify and develop community. The program, one of the first of its kind in Texas, has graduated more than 2,000 participants and focuses on delivering these leaders an opportunity to develop an understanding of the promise and challenges of our community.
The goal of the program is to educate and inform these leaders in the vital areas affecting San Antonio, as well as encouraging Chamber Business involvement and Community advocacy.
LSA Class 48 is comprised of 56 students, 16 steering committee mentors – each of whom are LSA graduates – and two co-chairs. Some of the class members had military connections through family, but many had never been on a military base.
The first stop on the trip was to the historic U.S. Army North Quadrangle, where they were ushered in to the sounds of the 323rd Army Band. After being seated in front of the quadrangle’s clock tower, the class received welcome briefings from a number of JBSA leaders, including Brian Hoffman, 502nd Air Base Wing and JBSA vice director; Army Col. Will B. Freds, 502nd ABW & JBSA deputy commander, Chief Master Sgt. Gilda M. Alexander, 502nd ABW Command Chief; and Army Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman, U.S. Army North commanding general.
Before being sent onto the next part of their tour, the participants also got a quick lesson on how to do a proper Maori haka, or war dance, from Chief Warrant Officer 5 Sam Ngaropo, ARNORTH Command Chief Warrant Officer, who is a native Maori from New Zealand.
The group was then able to talk with members of the 323rd Army Band, as well as meet with members of the Air Force’s 341st Training Squadron Military Working Dog Detachment from JBSA-Lackland, who brought several Belgian Malinois puppies along. The handlers explained the MWD puppy development program, which includes the eight-week-old puppies going into the homes of qualified and dedicated “foster” volunteers from the greater San Antonio/Austin area.
The attendees were then free to explore the Fort Sam Houston Museum, which tells about the history of the post from its origins to the present day, including the units, organizations and figures that have made the post one of the most important in the U.S. military.
The museum houses many artifacts, images and texts covering the time periods of the Army’s establishment in San Antonio and the development of JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. Artifacts include uniforms, insignia, equipment, firearms, weapons and accouterments, which are the personal clothing of soldiers, and an 1880s supply wagon. The museum gallery also includes a 20-minute film.
The next stop for the group was at the Medical Education and Training Campus. As a state-of-the-art tri-service Department of Defense healthcare education campus, METC delivers 49 academic courses of instruction in various medical specialties to approximately 16,500 enlisted medical personnel a year. It is the largest enlisted healthcare education campus in the world.
After being seated in the Anderson Hall Auditorium, the class met with a panel of medical training specialists, including retired Col. Randall Anderson, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence chief of staff; Chief Master Sgt. Taniah Wilkerson, METC senior enlisted leader, as well as NCO instructors from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The panel discussed various aspects of military medical education and how METC and MEDCoE help to educate both the enlisted and officer members of the military.