Find information about Joint Base San Antonio including the main commercial and DSN numbers for the base, information on basic services, base transportation, lodging for TDY personnel, PCS moves, and inprocessing.
Joint Base San Antonio Mission And Units
Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) in San Antonio, Texas includes the formerly independent military bases Fort Sam Houston, Randolph Air Force Base, and Lackland Air Force Base. The primary mission at Fort Sam Houston is medical training and support.
Lackland Air Force Base is the home of the Air Force’s basic training facility, plus a variety of technical schools including technical training in Spanish for members of America’s international allies. Randolph AFB is the home of the headquarters for Air Education & Training Command (AETC), the Air Force Personnel Center (AFPC), and the Headquarters for Air Force Recruiting Services.
Joint Base San Antonio History
In 2005, President George W. Bush signed the recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) into law, resulting in the creation of the Joint Base concept. This requires multiple military installations to be merged under the auspices of a single entity managing two or more installations that are geographically separated but close enough to realistically support.
BRAC recommended the Joint Base concept for the three major San Antonio, Texas military installations; Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, and Randolph Air Force Base.
In 2009, the Air Force activated the 502d Air Base Wing (ABW) and made it responsible for joint base support. In 2010, the 502d ABW became the host unit at Lackland and Randolph from the 37th Training Wing and 12th Flying Training Wing. It wasn’t long before the 502d also became the host unit at Fort Sam Houston.
Joint Base San Antonio Contacts
Because a joint base has multiple locations, the addresses for each individual military installation will vary. The official central address for Joint Base San Antonio is:
Joint Base San Antonio
Hwy 90 and SW Military Road
Lackland AFB, TX 78236-5113
The address above is not necessarily the place where visitors should go when trying to access one of the bases/installations under the JBSA umbrella.
Individual Locations For Joint Base San Antonio Military Installations
Lackland Air Force Base
2525 Fairchild Street Bldg 1524
JBSA-Lackland, TX 78236
Fort Sam Houston
3171 Zinn Road, Bldg 1161
JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234
Randolph Air Force Base
610 Harmon Drive
JBSA-Randolph, TX 78150
Joint Base San Antonio Surrounding Area
The City of San Antonio officially covers more than 450 miles. 465 square miles. The downtown area features a variety of attractions including the famously expanded Riverwalk area, plus music venues, professional sports including the San Antonio Spurs basketball team, museums, plus a large public library.
Downtown San Antonio is home to the Alamo. It, along with several other “frontier missions”, was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.
San Antonio weather is typically hot in the summer with a summer average high of 94 degrees between June and August, and winter lows at or near 64 degrees in December through November.
There has been a military presence in San Antonio, Texas for approximately 300 years, and while the area is known by many names, its’ designation as Military City, USA is the one most relevant to service members.
Joint Base San Antonio Inprocessing and Check-In
Fort Sam Houston check-in procedures are different for officers and enlisted members. Officers are required to check in upon arrival with the unit they have been assigned to, while enlisted soldiers will sign-in with their unit and make an inprocessing appointment and report to Building 2263, Room #312 at 7:15 AM for in-processing. More information is available at 210-221-9274 or DSN 471-9274.
Those reporting to Fort Sam Houston in training status for Tech School are required to report to the Fort Sam Houston Academic Support Building #1467.
Lackland Air Force Base and Randolph Air Force Base check-in requirements are handled by the Commander’s Support Staff for the unit the military member has been assigned to serve in. There is a mandatory newcomer’s orientation for those assigned to Lackland Air Force Base held at times designated by the base.
Randolph Air Force Base check-in procedures include check-in with the Commander’s Support Staff, but those arriving after office hours or over a weekend are asked to check in at the base’s 24-hour arrival station at the Randolph Lodging office, Building 112.
Joint Base San Antonio Services
Since there are three separate military installations under JBSA, the availability and hours of essential services may vary depending on location.
Joint Base San Antonio Child Care
Fort Sam Houston offers two daycare centers with hourly and full-time care. There are preschool programs, plus before-and-after school care. Age requirements and other guidelines will apply.
Lackland Air Force Base features three day care facilities and the base maintains a list of family day care homes, which is available from the base Family Day Care Office, Building 6629.
Randolph AFB offers two day care options. The Randolph Child Development Program is for dependent children between 2 and 5 years old, and there are also programs from the Randolph Child Development Program Annex for children between six weeks and 24 months old. This program is in Building 734.
Joint Base San Antonio Dependent And Military Retiree ID Card Renewal
JBSA offers online renewal of both dependent military IDs and military retiree IDs. This service is available via the Joint Base San Antonio official site and pickup for new ID cards can happen as soon as seven days.
Joint Base San Antonio Medical Care
Fort Sam Houston is home to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMM), which is a Level 1 Trauma Center with a dozen operating rooms, five oral surgery suites, and four dental rooms.
You may contact the San Antonio Military Medical Center commercially at 210-916-4141, and via DSN 312-429-4141. For emergencies, always dial 9-1-1. The appointment line is 210-916-9900. SAMM is also the go-to facility for the former Wilford Hall Medical Center (see below).
Lackland AFB was once home to Wilford Hall Medical Center, which closed its’ emergency room and joined with Brooke Army Medical Center to form the San Antonio Military Medical Center or SAMM. This change is confusing to some veterans who long knew Wilford Hall as one of the premiere military medical destinations, even for injuries and illnesses at overseas locations.
Randolph AFB offers medical services via the 359th Medical Group. General outpatient medical services are available to active duty personnel, family members, retirees, and dependents of retirees. Dental Care is open to active duty military only.
Joint Base San Antonio Schools
There are 23 Independent School Districts (ISD) in the San Antonio area, with many military dependents attending. The Joint Base San Antonio School Liaison Office can provide military parents with a welcome packet to research districts, schools, test scores, rankings, and policies. In addition to the off-base ISD options, each of the JBSA installations have an ISD school on-site with similar policies.
There is no bussing across school district boundaries and students must attend the ISD in the area where they live. Military families who live on-base or on-post are automatically eligible to attend those ISDs; those living off-base may apply to send their children to the on-base school but parents are required to provide transportation.
Joint Base San Antonio School Immunization Policies
Texas State law requires all students to be immunized against a list of preventable diseases. These requirements may be subject to change depending on state law or other factors. Military parents should contact the Joint Base San Antonio School Liaison Office for on-base students and the Texas Department of State Health Services, Immunization Branch for off-base/off-post school requirements.
There may be exceptions for certain immunization requirements depending on circumstances and the current state laws in effect; the Interstate Compact for the Education of Military Children provides guidance for such exceptions-ask a representative from the JBSA School Liaison Office for details. You can learn more via e-mail.
Joint Base San Antonio Housing
Military housing is generally privatized for all three locations of JBSA. Fort Sam Houston housing information is available via the Family Housing website. For Air Force members and families, JBSA advises visiting the Air Force Housing website.
Lackland AFB housing is privatized, and normally features a waiting list. Lower enlisted personnel who are single and not yet non-commissioned officers are required to live on base in a dorm on Lackland, the Lackland Training Annex, or the Kelly Annex.
Randolph AFB is also privatized and new arrivals to Randolph should use the Randolph Family Housing website.
PCS and TDY Lodging
Joint Base San Antonio has a large number of resources for temporary housing for those in the area on Temporary Duty (TDY) or for Permanent Change of Station moves (PCS).
Availability of services, rooms, and amenities will depend on the location and the nature of the military member’s travel. Those traveling on PCS or TDY orders may be given top priority depending on the military member’s orders, space available, and other factors. Pets may or may not be permitted depending on the location. If you are traveling on orders, it is best to contact the lodging facility ahead of time to see what is available.
There may be a time limit on your stay in temporary housing depending on the time of year. At Lackland, “PCS season” often completely fills the base’s temporary housing vacancies. Ask in advance how much time you have to find a permanent home once you have secured temporary lodging at JBSA.
Lackland Air Force Base Temporary Lodging Facilities
Lackland AFB offers Visiting Airmen’s Quarters, Visiting Officer’s Quarters, The Gateway Inn, and more temporary lodging at Camp Bullis. Make reservations by calling:
- Commercial 210-671-4277
- Toll-free 1-888-235-6343
- DSN 312-473-3622
- DSN 312-473-0047
- DSN 312-473-2556
Randolph Air Force Base Temporary Lodging Facilities
The Randolph Lodge has 30 family units and over 500 individual units. Reservations can be made once the military member has orders at the following phone numbers:
Commercial 210-652-1844
DSN 312-487-1844 for reservations.
In cases where Temporary Lodging is full, military members and their families will be referred to private, off-base hotels.
Fort Sam Houston Temporary Lodging Facilities
Temporary housing at Fort Sam Houston is privatized and operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group. Reservations are available via the IHG Army Hotels website or call 210-357-2705 ext 5000. You can also contact the Fort Sam Houston Billeting Office at 210-357-2705 ext 5000 for more information.
In many cases, a military member or military family may arrive at Joint Base San Antonio without transportation; this is true in many circumstances from those who have just left Basic Training and are now in tech school training to those who have arrived in Texas from an overseas duty location.
Base transportation may be available to help personnel make it to their base appointments, go to and from temporary lodging, etc.
Joint Base San Antonio Transportation
In most cases, on-base transportation is available for official business only. The nature and availability of base transportation depends on the location, mission requirements, time of day, and other factors.
Fort Sam Houston offers base shuttle buses for on-base destinations only. The post is served by two shuttle bus routes; the Hospital Route and the Brigade Route (which serves many important destinations for check-in and in-processing including the post Finance Office, Police Station, and “Army Community Service”.
Lackland Air Force Base offers shuttle services for more than 20 destinations. This service is primarily used by tech school students but rides for others are open on a space available basis. Randolph Air Force Base offers a “military taxi” service for official business.
Vehicle Registration And Driver’s License Information
Those who arrive in Texas with a valid driver’s license from anywhere else in the United States are not required to get a Texas license or add Texas plates to their vehicles. Joint Base San Antonio does NOT require military drivers or military dependents to register their vehicles on base, but drivers must carry proof of insurance in compliance with Texas state law at all times.
Military ID or the equivalent for dependents and retirees must be carried at all times and is a requirement for entry to JBSA bases and facilities.