Officials set operating location for San Antonio joint base Published May 4, 2009 By Capt. Paula Bissonette Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Education and Training Command officials here signed an order March 16 that established an operating location to support the creation of a joint base in San Antonio. Establishment of the operating location provides a framework against which to assign some of the earliest members of what will become the 502nd Air Base Wing, which is slated to stand up with a skeletal staff in August. The 502nd ABW will be the command structure responsible for executing the installation support mission for the joint base, which will include Randolph and Lackland Air Force bases as well as the Army's Fort Sam Houston, also located in San Antonio. Representatives from installation support areas at all three locations have met regularly to determine how best to consolidate their organizations and meet the intent of the Joint Basing Implementation Guidance, or JBIG. The guidance comes from the secretary of Defense and identifies which functions are considered installation support, and therefore must be included in the joint base organizational structure. The guidance also dictates which military service will lead the joint basing effort at each of the locations where it is taking place around the country. In San Antonio, the Air Force was given the lead. Col. Vincent Feck, director of the Joint Basing Implementation Office at Randolph AFB, is charged with leading the effort to synchronize and integrate the efforts of all the functional representatives to complete the joint base standup by October of 2010. "At Randolph and Lackland, the mission support groups, pretty much in total, along with elements of the wing staff will realign under and become part of the 502nd ABW," he said. "Because the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Sam Houston already exists to provide installation support there, that entity, almost in total, will also fall under the joint base." Each of the three locations will have a mission support group that reports to the 502nd ABW commander. The majority of functions and personnel at the three locations will remain in place to continue to provide the same installation support they are providing now. A detailed memorandum of agreement, or MOA, is being created to capture exactly how the 502nd ABW and its three mission support groups will continue to provide the same level of support that customers at all three installations experience today. When complete, the MOA will be signed by all service secretaries involved. "The MOA spells out not only what services we will provide, but also the people and the dollars allocated to provide that support," Colonel Feck said. Representatives from all three bases and functions involved are currently reviewing a draft of the agreement. One of the next milestones in the joint base transformation is the MOA review workshop, scheduled for June of this year. During this review, representatives from the Department of Defense and the different services will be able to review the draft agreement before it is submitted for signature. "The workshop will give (the Office of the Secretary of Defense) and the services a chance to see what we have created," Colonel Feck said. "It will give them an ability to interact with us directly in a one-on-one environment to address any issues we haven't been able to resolve at our level." The MOA should be signed by September, solidifying the definition of what the 502nd ABW will do and how it will accomplish its mission. Armed with this MOA, the newly formed 502nd ABW will begin the implementation stage of joint basing in San Antonio, with Lackland and Randolph AFB beginning the transition in January 2010, followed by Fort Sam Houston in April of 2010. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page