Joint Base San Antonio History
On Nov. 9, 2005, President George W. Bush endorsed the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) and signed them into law. One of the recommendations called for the implementation of joint basing. Joint basing involved a single entity that managed the support functions of two or more adjacent Department of Defense installations. The commission felt that combined support functions eliminated duplicated efforts and created a single efficient organization. For San Antonio, the commission recommended joint basing for the three major installations around the city; Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB and Randolph AFB. On Aug. 1, 2009, the Air Force activated the 502d ABW to perform the vital joint base support mission. Because of its central location in San Antonio and Bexar County, Texas, the Air Force activated the wing at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston. The wing gradually built its staff over the next few months, while it coordinated with the support functions at Fort Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, and Randolph AFB, in anticipation of JBSA achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC). When IOC occurred, the 502d ABW assumed responsibility for the installation support mission. On Jan. 31, 2010, the 502d ABW became the host unit at Lackland and Randolph from the 37th Training Wing and 12th Flying Training Wing, respectively, and on April 30, 2010 the wing became the host unit at Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis in northwestern Bexar County. The U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Sam Houston remained active alongside the 502d MSG until JBSA achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC) Oct. 1, 2010. At FOC, the garrison inactivated.
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Between Nov 1947 and Oct 1994 the 502d Air Base Wing provided logistics support and base services for Air University and other base units and agencies on or near Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex. In October 1994 the wing was inactivated and its mission was assumed by the 42d Air Base Wing. The 502d Air Base Wing was reactivated in Aug 2009 and headquartered at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston to provide installation support to Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), TX, which encompasses JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, JBSA-Lackland, JBSA-Randolph, JBSA-Camp Bullis and other Department of Defense locations in and around San Antonio.
· Brief History of the 502d Air Base Wing and Joint Base San Antonio (Click Here)
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