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From siblings to wingmen, a family of service for BMT grads
April 19, 2021 — It’s not unusual to see several family members joining the Air Force at the same time. This is true of three siblings from Yucaipa, California, who recently graduated basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland within weeks of one another... MORE

The Vandenabeele siblings graduated Basic Military Training just three weeks apart.

U.S. Space Force makes history at Basic Military Training
December 11, 2020 — History was made here Dec. 10 as the first seven people to enlist directly into the U.S. Space Force graduated from Basic Military Training... MORE

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- History was made here Dec. 10, as the first seven people to enlist directly into the U.S. Space Force graduated from Basic Military Training.

MTI of the Year attributes win to coworkers, leadership
November 17, 2020 — Master Sgt. Roslyn Ball, 319th Training Squadron, credits the mentorship and bonds she’s shared with her fellow Military Training Instructors in receiving the 2020 MTI of the Year award... MORE

Construction picks up for new Airman Training Complex at JBSA-Lackland
November 16, 2020 — The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, or AFCEC, is leading a massive $700 million, multi-year construction project to modernize the Gateway to the Air Force for new Basic Military Training recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. ... MORE

Steel frame of the dining and classroom facility for Airmen Training Center West Campus goes up

Blue Rope of the Year extols rewards of MTI career
November 4, 2020 — When 20-year-old Holly Vaught walked into an Air Force recruiter’s office in the summer of 2003, she was by her own account, emotionally lost with $2 and a half tank of gas to her name. She admitted... MORE

Master Sgt. Holly Vaught is the 2020 Blue Rope of the Year.

Recruiters, MTIs, MTLs lay foundation for tomorrow’s forces
October 26, 2020 — For Air Education and Training Command, developing the Airmen we need doesn’t happen magically. It takes the right Airmen with the right training at the right time with the right focus. It means investing in our future by investing in force generators – recruiters, military training instructors and military training leaders... MORE

U.S. Chief Master Sgt. Erik Thompson (left), command chief for Air Education and Training Command, talks with Senior Master Sgt. Lorenda Wong (right) 737th Training Support Squadron superintendent, during a tour of the Pfingston Reception Center Oct. 15 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Space Force enlists first trainees to BMT at JBSA-Lackland
October 20, 2020 — The Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson swore in the first four Space Force recruits at Fort Meade, Maryland, Oct. 20, placing them on a direct path to Basic Military Training and marking another milestone in the new service’s growth and development... MORE

The Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson swore in the first four Space Force recruits at the Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Command station, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, Oct. 20, 2020. The first four recruits will join others from Colorado, placing them on a direct path to Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and marking another milestone in the new service’s growth and development.

Centralized Cargo Operations unique team with critical mission
October 2, 2020 — One of the precautions taken by Joint Base San Antonio at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was adding a second Basic Military Training location at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to help better ensure physical distancing between recruits. Accomplishing this task required many other logistical modifications, and one group of people had a key role to play in achieving this... MORE

David Howard, a 502nd Centralized Cargo Operations, or CCO, maintainer at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, reviews a shipment work order Oct. 5. After the release of a shipment, the CCO tracks packages so the recipient knows when it will arrive.

First DRIVE program candidate placed into civil service
September 29, 2020 — Elizabeth Ross, an Oklahoma State University graduate with a degree in zoology and former Airman, was recently hired as an animal caretaker with the Military Working Dog Center, 341st Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland through the DRIVE Program. ... MORE

AETC teams come together to supply BMT uniforms
September 8, 2020 — With Air Force Basic Military Training coming to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, due to COVID-19, the mission of the base has become to not only train, but create premier warfighters. ... MORE

Airmen with the 81st Logistics Readiness Squadron help basic military training trainees from the 737th Training Wing Detachment 5 try on issued military clothing at the squadron’s warehouse at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, Aug. 26, 2020. The squadron worked with different Air Education and Training Command units to support basic military training at Keesler by providing uniforms for trainees.

Boyd's rite of passage, history as greatest instrument of learning
September 2, 2020 — A respected researcher and writer of history, Gary W. Boyd, the command historian of Air Education and Training Command, has lived through several significant periods of history — all of which he believes has determined our present and shapes our future... MORE

Gary W. Boyd, Air Education and Training Command historian, reads through documents of the formation of Randolph Field July 28, 2020 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. A respected researcher and writer of history, Boyd has lived through several significant periods of history—all of which he believes has determined our present and shapes our future.

502nd Logistic Readiness Squadron helps recruits continue training during pandemic
August 31, 2020 — The 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has been providing clothing to new recruits at an alternate Basic Military Training location since March 2020 to help the U.S. Air Force continue forging America’s future Airmen during the coronavirus pandemic... MORE

Man wearing a mask speaking to a woman in military uniform. People sewing clothing in the background.

Feedback Fridays
August 21, 2020 — 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... MORE

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.

Band of Brothers: Introducing A1C Hughes, A1C Hughes, and ... A1C Hughes
July 1, 2020 — Three brothers graduated from Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland together May 28. Airman 1st Class Jesus Hughes, 28, Airman 1st Class Nicolas Hughes, 26, and Airman 1st Class Daniel Hughes, 25, went through BMT in the same flight from April 7 to May 28 and thereafter went to technical school in avionics together at Sheppard Air Force Base in northern Texas... MORE

Daniel (left), Jesus (center), and Nicolas (right) Hughes, U.S. Air Force basic training trainees

Air Force’s inaugural ECHO Flight Airmen share their experiences
June 26, 2020 — Ten Airmen were part of the Defense Language Institute English Language Center’s first-ever ECHO Flight beta test, a replica of the U.S. Army ECHO Company program which has been carried out by DLIELC since 1975. ECHO flight’s mission was to provide English-language training and cultural immersion to enable anyone who would like to serve in the Air Force to do so effectively... MORE

U.S. Air Force basic training trainee Alexie Delgado Berrios goes through the Leadership Reaction Course

Feasibility of secondary Air Force BMT location proven; COVID-19 surge operations begin June 2
May 26, 2020 — Air Force officials announced that, beginning June 2, the service will continue to hold basic military training at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, as a secondary location until the end of COVID-19 surge operations. The decision to stand up initial operating capability under 37th Training Wing comes after a successful proof of concept trial run... MORE

Air Force English language beta test advances despite COVID-19
May 18, 2020 — The 37th Training Wing began a beta test in March for an Air Force version of the Defense Language Institute English Language Center Army Echo Company program which has been in existence since 1975... MORE

Air Force Echo Flight trainees attend their distance learning classes in the 737th Training Support Squadron learning lab, although separated physically from their classmates to due to COVID-19.

First Airmen graduate BMT proof of concept at Keesler Air Force Base
May 18, 2020 — Due to safety concerns stemming from COVID-19, the Air Force sent new recruits to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to demonstrate a proof of concept to generate the force at multiple locations during contingencies... MORE

Military training instructors lead graduating Airmen onto the drill pad during the basic military training graduation ceremony at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, May 15, 2020. Nearly 60 Airmen from the 37th Training Wing Detachment 5 completed the six-week basic military training course. Due to safety concerns stemming from COVID-19, the Air Force sent new recruits to Keesler to demonstrate a proof of concept to generate the force at multiple locations during contingencies. The flight was the first to graduate BMT at Keesler since 1968. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

Volunteers serve food to new BMT recruits
May 17, 2020 — Meals Operating on Wheels began serving food to Basic Military Training trainees at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland March 30 to feed Airmen who are quarantined in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention social distancing guidelines put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic... MORE

CSAF visits BMT, thanks JBSA team for ‘fighting through’ COVID-19 response
May 8, 2020 — U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, along with Chief Master Sgt. Manny Pineiro, the service’s first sergeant special duty manager, visited Joint Base San Antonio May 7, seeing first-hand how basic military training has adapted operations to fight through the COVID-19 environment. ... MORE

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein (right) and Chief Master Sgt. Manny Pineiro (center), the service's first sergeant special duty manager, talks with an Airman after basic military training graduation May 7, 2020, at Joint San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.