Articles

May 14, 2025

Medical Readiness in Action: TCCC Skills Day

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — Airmen from the 59th Medical Wing and partner units participated in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Skills Day on May 9, 2025, at JBSA-Lackland, where they engaged in realistic, hands-on trauma training designed to enhance deployment readiness. The joint event featured simulated battlefield conditions and collaboration with sister services, pushing participants beyond clinical settings to strengthen life-saving skills under pressure.

Jan. 31, 2025

Air Force Medical Leaders Observe Cutting-Edge Medical Readiness Training at Camp Bullis

CAMP BULLIS, Texas — U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Sean Collins, Air Force Medical Command (AFMEDCOM) commander, and Brig. Gen. Eveline Yao, AFMEDCOM chief of staff, visited the 59th Medical Readiness Training Center (MRTC) at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, to observe medical readiness training on 31 Jan. 2025.

Nov. 4, 2024

Royal Thai Air Force nurses visit 59th Medical Wing

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The 59th Medical Wing hosted five Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) nurses for a professional exchange in September and October 2024, offering them immersive experience in U.S. Air Force healthcare practices. The exchange focused on medical readiness, international collaboration, and hands-on training in areas like critical care and neonatal care, giving the Thai nurses practical insights to take back to their healthcare system. U.S. Air Force and RTAF nurses exchanged best practices and developed a mutual appreciation for each other's roles in patient care and military medical missions. This collaboration strengthened U.S.-Thailand ties and underscored the importance of a global healthcare network to enhance military readiness and foster enduring connections.

Sept. 9, 2024

Training Tomorrow's Dental Leaders: Inside the Air Force Oral Hygiene Course

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The Air Force Oral Hygiene Course at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is a unique training program designed to develop future oral preventive assistants.

Jan. 14, 2024

Operation AGILE Medic, communication is key

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-CAMP BULLIS, Texas — During the first week of December 2023, the Air Force, Army and Marines collaborated in Operation AGILE Medic at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, providing medics with real-world experience in austere environments transporting patients and implementing hands-on Medic-X training. Throughout the joint exercise, medics were faced with unexpected scenarios, where they had to communicate between the Expeditionary Medical Support unit to the En Route Patient Staging System (ERPSS) team to Air Evacuation and, or, Critical Care Air Transport team, and vice versa.

Sept. 13, 2023

Mission of compassion: surgeons restore sight and forge connections in Panama

Regional Hospital Dr. Luis "Chicho" Fabrega, Santiago de Veraguas, Panama — Panamax Alpha 2023, an annual ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE), is aimed to enhance the surgical skills and operational readiness of team members by immersing them in a range of prevalent chronic eye conditions in the region. In July 2023, 32 TriService military members traveled to the Regional Hospital Dr. Luis "Chicho" Fabrega where the team conducted rapid preliminary screenings for 300 patients within just three days, followed by a remarkable total of 291 surgeries over the subsequent eight days, leaving an impact through nearly 750 clinic appointments.

Jan. 4, 2023

59th Medical Wing: Our team, our fight against the Flu

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The Allergy and Immunizations Clinic along with 43 medic volunteers came together during the 59th Medical Wing’s annual flu campaign in the atrium of Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, from October to November 2022. Their teamwork resulted in more than 93% of the wing being vaccinated.

Oct. 5, 2021

Medical readiness training through the pandemic

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-CAMP BULLIS, Texas — The 59th Medical Readiness Training Center continues to provide the highest level of training for medics across the Air Force Medical Service prior to deployment as well as ensuring skills remain current.

June 17, 2020

SECDEF witnesses transformation, protection of citizens becoming Airmen at BMT during COVID-19

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper visited U.S. Air Force basic military training cadre and recruits, as well as members of the Air Force Recruiting Service, for a first-hand look at how the service transforms citizens into American Airmen here June 16, 2020. Esper, accompanied on the visit by the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ramón Colón-López, observed how the 37th Training Wing, with the support of a tri-wing partnership with the 502nd Air Base Wing and 59th Medical Wing, has protected Airmen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 8, 2020

BMT adapts during COVID-19: adds masks, shortens pipeline

JOINT BASE SAN ANOTNIO-LACKLAND, Texas — To prioritize safety and continue providing ready Airmen to fuel tomorrow’s Air Force, BMT is moving to a 7.5-week training pipeline. There’s no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges that require adaptability. The 7.5-week training program is one of many measures implemented at BMT to limit the spread of COVID-19. BMT leadership team is also working to procure face masks that we can provide to our staff and trainees. In the meantime, we are using CDC guidelines for staff and trainees to fashion their own cloth face covering.