Lackland Air Force Base

Lackland Air Force Base AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 16/34 3,520 m (11,550 ft) Concrete
Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1]

Lackland Air Force Base (

(BMT).

Lackland AFB is part of

Base Realignment and Closure Commission

. The legislation ordered the consolidation of the three facilities which were adjoining, but separate military installations, into a single joint base – one of 12 joint bases formed in the United States as a result of the law.

Units

United States Air Force

• 502nd Installation Support Group

A unit of the JBSA

502nd Air Base Wing

, the 502nd ISG is the focal point for all base activities, serving and supporting the 37th and 737th Training Groups and all of its mission partners as well as the more than 24,000 retirees living in the local area.

• 37th Training Wing

37th Training Group

Provides professional, military and technical training in the knowledge and skills needed for graduates to perform their jobs worldwide. Joint service training for USAF,

U.S. Marine Corps

personnel is provided in numerous courses, such as the military working dog program and security and law enforcement

737th Training Group

Provides Basic Military Training for all enlisted people entering the USAF,

Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, earning Lackland the nickname, "Gateway to the Air Force." The group was the center of the United States Air Force Basic Training scandal, 2012. Since 2020, it has also provided basic training for enlisted recruits to the United States Space Force.^[3]

• Sixteenth Air Force

Operates, maintains and defends the USAF information networks and directs mission critical cyber terrain, provides multisource intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance products, and is the Service Cryptologic Component responsible to the National Security Agency's Central Security Service for Air Force matters involving the conduct of cryptologic activities.

• 624th Operations Center

Interfaces with theater and functional

Air Operations Centers

to establish, plan, direct, coordinate, assess, and command & control cyber operations in support of USAF and Joint warfighting requirements. The 624th Operations Center was inactivated in 2020.

Department of Defense

• Inter-American Air Forces Academy

Fostering enduring Inter-American engagement through education and training. Teaches 37 technical courses, in Spanish and in English, to students from more than 22 countries every year.

• Defense Language Institute

Primary mission was to teach English to Allied pilot candidates. In 1966, its mission expanded to include other career fields, and the school moved under the Department of Defense with the U.S. Army as the executive agent.

National Security Agency

• Texas Cryptologic Center

Lackland AFB hosts a collection of vintage military aircraft on static display on its parade grounds as part of the

.

Training mission

Lackland Air Force Base is home to the 37th Training Wing (37 TRW) which operates a variety of training squadrons. Within the 37th TRW is the 37th Training Group (37 TRG) which oversees the 5 technical training schools on the base, and the 737 TRG which oversees the Basic Military Training squadrons.

Basic training (enlisted)

Lackland is best known for its role in being the sole location for U.S. Air Force enlisted

anti-terrorism teams are trained here.

In October 2008 the BMT was expanded an extra two weeks to implement more air base defense training as well as other rudimentary skills. The BMT course of training is 8+1⁄2 weeks.

Officer training

Prior to 22 September 1993, Lackland AFB's Medina Annex was also home to

, Alabama.

Technical training

Lackland, like many other

out of basic training in a specific specialty via various "tech schools." Lackland currently has six technical training squadrons on base training multiple airmen in various Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSCs).

• The 37th Training Group supports the following five training squadrons and also trains technical training instructors, military training instructors and military training leaders.
• The 341st Training Squadron trains military working dogs and handlers for the entire Department of Defense and several federal agencies.
• The
  Combat Controllers, Special Reconnaissance (SR), Tactical Air Control Party (TACPs) Special Warfare Airmen, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape
  (SERE) Specialists, and a variety of advanced Security Forces courses.
• The
  Security Forces
  members in a 13-week academy.
• The 344th TRS provides technical training for more than 10,000 active duty, Reserve, Guard, international and civilian students annually in Career Enlisted Aviator, Vehicle Maintenance, Logistics Readiness Officer, Logistics Plans, Materiel Management, Contracting, Recruiting, Safety, Cryptological, and TEMPEST courses.
• The 345th TRS trains, develops and educates technical training students into skilled graduates in the Services, Air Transportation, Hazardous Material Transportation School (HAZMAT) and Traffic Management Office career fields..

History

World War II

Construction on Lackland Air Force Base began on 15 June 1941, and it was originally part of

. The 78th Wing provided aviation cadets the mechanics and physics of flight and required the cadets to pass courses in mathematics and the hard sciences. Then the cadets were taught to apply their knowledge practically by teaching them aeronautics, deflection shooting, and thinking in three dimensions. Once completed, the graduates were designated as aviation cadets and were sent to one of the primary flight schools for pilot training.

Cold War

On 3 February 1948, the facility was named Lackland AFB after Brigadier General Frank Lackland, who was commissioned into the regular Army after serving in the District of Columbia National Guard.^[4] It shared Basic Military Training status temporarily with Sampson AFB during the Korean War and Amarillo AFB during the Vietnam War until Amarillo's closure in 1968.

As a result of the Korean War, training populations at Lackland soared to 28 basic military training squadrons (BMTS) within the 3700th Military Training Wing. Temporary facilities, to include 129 "I dormitories", were hastily erected as a quick fix to replace tents cities housing recruits. In 1955 the number of BMTS was reduced to 16, where it remained for the next two decades.

The Vietnam War buildup necessitated a "split-phase" training from August 1965 to April 1966. This program provided for 22 days at Lackland and 8 days at a technical school, with directed duty assignees receiving the full 30 days at Lackland. When BMT returned to a single phase on 1 April 1966, it was briefly cut back to 24 days from April to July 1966. After that, basic training stabilized at a length of six weeks. This was the same length as the program used by the Army Air Forces when Lackland opened as a basic training base 20 years before. Training requirements also expanded to include teaching English to Allied military members from foreign countries.

No other item in the 1960s compared to the incident that occurred at Lackland in February 1966 with the death of a basic trainee. An airman died of

in Amarillo, Texas, in February 1966. As a result of the continuing expansion of the USAF, Amarillo AFB continued to conduct basic training until December 1968.

During the 1960s, more permanent facilities were constructed, including four 1,000-person steel and brick Recruit Housing and Training (RH&T) dormitories built between 1966 and 1970 for basic military training by the Lackland Military Training Center. These state-of-the-art buildings included living space, dining halls, and training areas for four basic training squadrons under one roof. Eventually six full-size dormitories, and two 600-person facilities, were constructed, enabling excess space to be converted to classroom use.

Air Defense Command

In late 1951,

to proceed with construction.

On 1 February 1953, the

AN/FPS-6

and AN/FPS-6A sets.

By late 1959, Lackland was also performing air-traffic-control duties for the

AN/FPS-20

A radar. One AN/FPS-6 was retired by 1963. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-75.

In addition to the main facility, Lackland operated an

AN/FPS-14

Gap Filler site:

• Schulenburg, TX (P-75A): 29°45′42.8″N 096°55′51.2″W / 29.761889°N 96.930889°W / 29.761889; -96.930889 (P-75A)

In 1965, AN/FPS-20A was upgraded to an

A. The 741st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron was inactivated in December 1969, and the FAA assumed control of the radar site.

In September 1972, the Houston-based

The Lackland ADC site was taken over by the FAA (also known as 'San Antonio') and remained in operation for a number of years. This then-FAA long-range radar site was data-tied into the Joint Surveillance System. The site operated the AN/FPS-66A search radar. However, the radar facility has been deactivated, and all the structures have been razed.

Post–Cold War era

From the end of the

]

Lackland gained a flying mission when adjacent

]

In addition, with the closure of Kelly AFB, Lackland gained the section of base known as Security Hill. Security Hill is home to numerous units such as

]

Lackland now consists of the Kelly airstrip, Security Hill, main base Lackland, and the old Medina officer training base now named Medina/Lackland Training Annex. With the exception of a few buildings most of the old Kelly air base including the housing has been turned over to civilian jurisdiction.

On 15 May 2009, USAF officials announced that Lackland is the preferred alternative location for the

In winter of 2009 it was decided to combine all the military bases in San Antonio into one large base named Joint Base San Antonio.[9]^[10]

In April 2012 Lackland served as an overflow shelter for an influx of illegal immigrant minors after the Administration for Children and Families determined that all other local shelters were filled to capacity.^[11]

On 28 October 2013, the

Military Working Dog Program.

Sexual assault scandal

In the United States Air Force Basic Training scandal, involving sexual assault on the base, dozens of female and male recruits said that they were sexually harassed or raped by their instructors from 2010 onward.^[15][16]

2016 shooting

On 8 April 2016, an airman on the base shot and killed a squadron commander, then killed himself.^[17][18]

Kelly Field Renaming

In December 2017, Lackland AFB renamed Kelly Field Annex to Kelly Field to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the airfield becoming property of the US Government and to better fit its joint nature ^[19]

Chapman Training Annex Renaming

On March 4, 2020, Medina Training Annex was renamed to Chapman Training Annex after Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. John A. Chapman^[20]

Demographics

Lackland AFB CDP
UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID	2512527[21]

Lackland Air Force Base CDP is a

It does include the Kelly Field annex or the Lakeland training annex.

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1990	9,352		—
2000	7,123		−23.8%
2010	9,918		39.2%
2020	9,467		−4.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[24] 1990[25] 2000[26] 2010[27] 2020[28]

2020 census

Lackland AFB CDP, Texas – Racial and Ethnic Composition
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity	Pop 1990[25]	Pop 2000[26]	Pop 2010[27]	Pop 2020[28]	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	6,666	4,222	6,871	5,331	71.28%	59.27%	69.28%	56.31%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,493	1,315	1,575	1,762	15.96%	18.46%	15.88%	18.61%
Alaska Native alone (NH)	43	48	49	12	0.46%	0.67%	0.49%	0.13%
Asian alone (NH)	233	250	175	362	2.49%	3.51%	1.76%	3.82%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x	22	150	12	x	0.31%	1.51%	0.13%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	8	23	256	133	0.09%	0.32%	2.58%	1.40%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	x	262	73	295	x	3.68%	0.74%	3.12%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	909	981	769	1,560	9.72%	13.77%	7.75%	16.48%
Total	9,352	7,123	9,918	9,467	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2000 census

As of the census

Latino

of any race.

There were 174 households, out of which 79.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.6% were non-families. 12.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 3.49 and the average family size was 3.78.

On the base the population was spread out, with 5.3% under the age of 18, 79.8% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 0.4% from 45 to 64, and none who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 256 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 267.3 males.

The median income for a household in the base was $32,250, and the median income for a family was $31,923. Males had a median income of $16,435 versus $15,572 for females. The per capita income for the base was $10,048. 7.3% of the population and 6.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.3% of those under the age of 18 were living below the poverty line.

See also

• 433rd Security Forces Squadron
• Texas Cryptology Center
• Texas World War II Army Airfields
• Air Training Command
• List of airports in Texas
• Twenty-Fourth Air Force
• United States general surveillance radar stations

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lackland Air Force Base.

• Lackland AFB official site
• Lackland AFB Personnel Locator
• USAF: A Narrative History of Lackland Air Force Base
• USAF Airman Heritage Museum
• USAF BMT Flight Photograph Project
• 802nd Force Support Squadron (formerly Lackland Services) Website
• Unofficial website
• Lackland Air Force Base at LacklandAFB.com (Comprehensive Lackland AFB Directory)
• BRAC 2005: Closings, Realignments to Reshape Infrastructure
• Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Colonel Edward B. Westermann from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
• Military Working Dog Teams National Monument official site