Lackland, Randolph become part of Joint Base San Antonio

  • Published
  • By Brent Boller
  • 502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFNS) --  Randolph Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base are now part of Joint Base San Antonio becoming one of the largest single installations within the Department of Defense Feb. 2.

The consolidation of base support functions under the 502nd Air Base Wing, headquartered at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, was mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Officials from the Air Force  were directed to be the executive agents for the action in San Antonio. The Army garrison at Fort Sam Houston will become part of the joint base in late April.

"When we are fully operational, the 502nd Air Base Wing will have about 8,000 employees and will support a military population of 80,000," said Brig. Gen. Leonard Patrick, the 502nd ABW commander. The wing will also support about 150,000 students going through training at the three installations on a yearly basis.

"We are one of the few joint bases which are not co-located or share a common fence line," General Patrick said. "However, with the leadership team we have within my staff and the three local installations, I don't view this as a major challenge.

"We'll set the policies, resourcing and advocacy for base support programs from the 502nd (ABW) staff, but the day-to-day support operations will be run by my mission support group commanders," he said.