Joint Base San Antonio > News > News - Year 2018

Retired AETC pilot chosen for San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame
February 21, 2018 — Retired Lt. Col. James “Robbie” Robinson Jr., deputy chief of the requirements and resources division at Air Education and Training Command, has been selected to be inducted into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame... MORE

Retired Lt. Col. James “Robbie” Robinson Jr., poses next to his F-4 Phantom in this undated courtesy photo. Robinson will be inducted into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame at the awards dinner, March 22.

Navy Updates Selective Reenlistment Bonus Plan
February 20, 2018 — The Navy updated the Selective Reenlistment Bonus award plan for active component and full time support Sailors in Naval Administrative Message, or NAVADMIN, 032/18 released Feb. 15. ... MORE

Foulois, Fort Sam Houston at the front lines developing aerial photography, reconnaissance
February 20, 2018 — Aerial photography can trace its early history to 1858, when French photographer and balloonist Gaspar Felix Tournachon took a photo of the French village of Petit-Becetre from a tethered hot-air balloon 80 meters (approximately 270 feet) above the ground. However, the roots of military aerial reconnaissance and photography are planted much closer to home, when Benjamin Foulois sowed the seeds of the idea at Fort Sam Houston in the early 20th century... MORE

Photographer James Hare (left) sits aboard the new 1910 Wright “B” aircraft purchased by R.F. Collier, owner of Collier’s magazine, who lent the U.S. Army the airplane in March 1911 after the original 1909 Wright Flyer, Signal Corps No. 1 was retired. The Collier plane, together with a Wright factory pilot, Phillip Parmalee (right), arrived in San Antonio in February 1911, and Lt. Benjamin Foulois began to learn to fly the newer type aircraft. During the next several weeks, these two men demonstrated the advantages to be derived from using the airplane for photographic reconnaissance as well as courier duties between military units.

Basura Bash draws hundreds of volunteers to clean out Salado Creek
February 17, 2018 — Hundreds of volunteers turned out for the annual Basura Bash Feb. 17 as part of a community effort to help clean out an important waterway which runs through Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston. The Basura Bash is a one-day, all-volunteer event to clean the San Antonio Watershed... MORE

Seaman Ryan Shorter, who is training to become a medical corpsman at the Medical Education and Training Campus at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, reaches for a piece of trash along Salado Creek during the annual Basura Bash Feb. 17.

Center for Security Forces selects 2017 Sailor of the Year
February 16, 2018 — Vice Adm. Mary M. Jackson, commander of Navy Installations Command, congratulates Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Chatterton, the Center for Security Forces 2017 Sailor of the Year. Chatterton is assigned to the U.S. Air Force 341st Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland where she supervises and facilitates an 11-week joint-service Military Working Dog Handler Course... MORE

JBSA commemorates first military flight by Foulois in 1910
February 16, 2018 — The legacy of aviation pioneer Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin D. Foulois will be remembered with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Foulois House at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston March 2, just a few hundred feet from where the man who helped usher in the dawn of military flight made his historic journey 108 years ago... MORE

The first Army aircraft made its first flight March 2, 1910, at Fort Sam Houston with Lt. Benjamin Foulois at the controls. Foulois piloted the Army's first aircraft, Signal Corps Aircraft No. 1, with his first flight lasting only 7 1/2 minutes. He made three more flights that day and on his fourth attempt, the young pilot ended up crashing the airplane.

Pentagon Releases New Policy on Nondeployable Members
February 16, 2018 — The Defense Department has released a new policy on military retention for nondeployable service members as it seeks to provide more ready and lethal forces, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness told Congress Feb. 15... MORE

The Defense Department has released a new retention policy that requires service members to be worldwide deployable, with the focus on readiness, safeguarding the nation and fighting and winning the nation’s wars.

DOD initiative helps members make good decisions on supplement use
February 16, 2018 — Dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances that are used for a variety of reasons, like adding nutrients to one’s diet, lowering the risk of various health problems, enhancing performance and achieving weight loss... MORE

Dietary supplements are vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances that are used for a variety of reasons, like adding nutrients to one’s diet, lowering the risk of various health problems, enhancing performance and achieving weight loss.

Navy Recruiting District San Antonio names Sailor of the Year
February 16, 2018 — A San Antonio native who coordinates college scholarship programs for future Sailors has been selected as Sailor of the Year for Navy Recruiting District San Antonio... MORE

Petty Officer 1st Class Juan Amaya, Navy Recruiting District San Antonio Navy ROTC program coordinator, has been selected Sailor of the Year for NRD San Antonio. Amaya, a San Antonio native, was one of four finalists within NRD San Antonio for the award. The award is given to a superior petty officer within a Navy command who best represents the large number of dedicated Sailors serving in a particular type of duty as assigned.

Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center debuts new flu test equipment
February 15, 2018 — The 59th Medical Wing, located at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, recently introduced a new system that can allow doctors to get results in less than an hour. The Roche Lab in a Tube is a compact molecular diagnostic platform that can be used in doctor's offices, pharmacies, clinics and hospitals to expedite the diagnosing process... MORE

Joe Contreras and Senior Airman Amber Scandridge conduct a practice test of the new Roche LIAT in the Urgent Care Clinic at Wilford Hall on Joint Base San Antonio Lackland Feb. 6, 2018. The new testing system, according to officials in the clinic, improves patient care by reducing the amount of time to determine if a patient has the flu from 48 hours down to less than 30 minutes.

Leadership Federal Executive Board members tour BAMC
February 15, 2018 — Army Col. Booker King explains the life-saving advances provided by the adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, program to federal participants in the Leadership Federal Executive Board during a tour of Brooke Army Medical Center Feb. 14 in San Antonio... MORE

Army Col. Booker King explains the life-saving advances provided by the adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, program to federal participants in the Leadership Federal Executive Board during a tour of the San Antonio Military Medical Center Feb. 14 in San Antonio. The tour was part of a health care services day organized by the LFEB that included additional medical facilities to develop a better understanding of federal community. The LFEB is made up of 45 class members from various federal agencies across San Antonio who meet monthly to learn from key decision-makers in both the public and private sectors. SAMMC received national recognition in 2017 for its ECMO program, which is a heart-lung bypass system used in the treatment of affected organs. King is a surgeon assigned to SAMMC.

59th Medical Wing Gastronomy Clinic strives for excellence
February 14, 2018 — The gastronomy clinic, located within Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, can provide patients timely screenings to detect gastro related illnesses, including cancer... MORE

Surgical technicians from the 59th Medical Wing, prepare a patient for a colonoscopy, January 10, 2017 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The can provide patients timely screenings to detect gastro related illnesses, including cancer.

410th Contracting Support Brigade hones contingency contracting skills at JBSA-Camp Bullis
February 14, 2018 — Approximately 40 members of the 410th Contracting Support Brigade put their contingency contracting skills to the test during a humanitarian assistance disaster relief exercise Feb. 7-9 at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis... MORE

Role playing as a local vendor, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kortney Johnson (right) seeks favor in a contract award from Sgt. 1st Class Jason Zahnley (left) during a humanitarian assistance disaster relief exercise Feb. 8 at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis. Zahnley is the NCO in charge of the 677th Contracting Team and Johnson is the property book officer for the 410th Contracting Support Brigade at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston.

Airmen selected to participate in new cyberspace direct appointment program
February 14, 2018 — The Air Force recently selected the first two candidates for a newly created cyberspace officer direct appointment pilot program, authorized by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. ... MORE

Lt. Col. Christopher Robinson, 91st Cyberspace Operations Squadron commander, hands second lieutenant ranks to Master Sgt. Micheal Locke, 91st COS operations superintendent, to celebrate his selection as a candidate for the newly authorized cyber direct appointment program. Upon successful completion of the program, Locke will commission as a second lieutenant.

ARNORTH leadership meets off-site to discuss theater campaign plan
February 14, 2018 — U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) leadership met for a Theater Campaign Support Plan Assessment off-site at the Sam Houston Community Center Feb. 8... MORE

Lt. Gen. Jeffery S. Buchanan, commander of U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), discusses the importance of the having an off-site to decide on future priorities for ARNORTH during the Theater Campaign Support Plan Assessment at the Sam Houston Community Center Feb. 8. The strategic planning session was designed to promote dialogue among leaders about ARNORTH’s operational environment in fiscal year 2018.

Air Force streamlines voting program to help optimize Airmen’s core missions
February 14, 2018 — Air Force officials recently released guidance that streamlines the organizational structure and functions of the Air Force Voting Assistance Program... MORE

The Air Force Voting Assistance Program recently realigned under installation Military & Family Readiness Centers. The move is part of an Air Force-wide effort to reduce service member's additional duties so they can more effectively focus on their core missions.

Air Forces Cyber commander speaks at Texas A&M University-San Antonio
February 14, 2018 — Maj. Gen. Chris Weggeman, Air Forces Cyber commander, provides closing remarks during a cybersecurity conference Feb. 8 at Texas A&M University-San Antonio... MORE

Maj. Gen. Chris Weggeman, Air Forces Cyber commander, provides closing remarks during a cybersecurity conference Feb. 8 at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Several cybersecurity industry experts, policy makers and stakeholders also spoke during the event, which was hosted by Atlantic Council, Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Texas A&M University-San Antonio.

Welcome to the Air Force Reserve
February 14, 2018 — Despite the wet weather, Col. Thomas K. Smith, Jr., 433rd Airlift Wing commander, administers the oath of enlistment to 48 future 433rd Airlift Wing Reserve Citizen Airmen Feb. 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas... MORE

Despite the wet weather, Col. Thomas K. Smith, Jr., 433rd Airlift Wing commander, administers the Oath of Enlistment to 48 future 433rd Airlift Wing Reserve Citizen Airmen Feb. 10, 2018 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The future Airmen, members of the Delayed enlistment Training Flight, were supported by Chief Master Sgt. Brian Pinsky, 433rd AW command chief, 10 recruiters, load masters and a flight engineer. (U.S. air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Carlos J. Trevino)

Updates to UCMJ criminalize unauthorized distribution of sexual imagery
February 13, 2018 — The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in December, provides the military justice system new tools to prosecute service members who maliciously distribute sexually explicit images of others, or what is commonly referred to as "revenge porn." ... MORE

The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, which became law in December, provides the military justice system new tools to prosecute service members who maliciously distribute sexually explicit images of others.

President’s Fiscal 2019 Defense Budget Request Calls for $686.1 Billion
February 13, 2018 — The president’s fiscal year 2019 defense budget request calls for $686.1 billion in spending and will reverse years of military erosion, defense officials said in Washington Feb. 12... MORE

Army Lt. Gen. Anthony Ierardi (left), the Joint Staff's director of force structure, resources and assessment, and Defense Department Comptroller David L. Norquist (right), discuss the president's fiscal 2019 defense budget request during a news conference at the Pentagon Feb. 12.