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USAFSAM closes one chapter and begins another

  • Published
  • By E'Lisa Wilcox
  • 711 HPW/XP
Brooks City-Base, TX --  The USAF School of Aerospace Medicine marked the end of an era on Feb. 17 by ceremonially decommissioning the Brooks-based school after 85 years in San Antonio, a final step in its transition to Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Nearly 600 people including a host of active and retired general officers, MAJCOM Surgeons General, Air Force leadership, current and former students, faculty, and dozens of distinguished alumni, many who shaped the face of American medicine and are part of the school's heritage attended the ceremony in a celebration of the school's long history, the achievements of the students, the lives that were saved because of the training received at the school, and the medical advancements that were possible only because of the experts within USAFSAM.

In his address to the crowd, Colonel Charles Fisher, USAFSAM commander, recounted the 85-year history of the school, noting the school's proud heritage dating back to 1918 during the very beginning of military aviation. He noted the school's first establishment at Brooks in 1926 and cited the nation's space race as a key turning point for the school and its heyday at Brooks.

After nearly two decades at Randolph AFB, the school relocated to a massive new complex at Brooks AFB. "The School of Aerospace Medicine's began teaching in the new Brooks facilities in 1959," Col. Fisher said. "And, in 1963, on his last day of life, President Kennedy dedicated the new Aeromedical center at Brooks launching explosive growth in research and knowledge in space, aviation, environmental medicine, physiology, and biosciences over the next four decades. Brooks was the epicenter, where the action was for biomedical research and for Aeromedical training."

Chief Master Sergeant Joel Berry, USAFSAM superintendent, described personal contributions that members of USAFSAM have made to the Air Force and to the nation, thanking the enlisted team members who have been deployed into harm's way. He recounted the valor and integrity shown by team members and he encouraged continued service as the team moves to Wright-Patterson.

"Collectively, it is our duty to insure that USAFSAM's foundation of commitment, dedication, education, and excellence is continued from this day forward, no matter the mission and no matter the location," Chief Berry said.

Major General Tom Travis, Deputy Surgeon General of the Air Force and former school commander, spoke about his personal attachment to USAFSAM and Brooks City-Base as he invoked the school's mission.

"This is an important day and an important move because it is about the mission," Maj. Gen. Travis said. "You have to go where the action is, and as much as I regret to say this, Brooks is no longer where the action is. We have to go where the technology center is, where technology is developed, where knowledge is developed, where new systems are being fielded. That is the right place for the School of Aerospace Medicine, now proudly part of the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright-Patterson."

Gen. Travis reflected on the numerous USAFSAM certificates he has seen hanging on the walls of medical leaders on nearly all of his domestic and international trips observing that "USAFSAM is making an impact around the world and that mission must continue."

The historic ceremony was capped by the removal of the last insignia from the School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks. As the hundreds of attendees spontaneously stood silently, Maj. Gen Travis and Dr. Thomas Tredici, one of the pioneers of Aerospace Medicine in the field of ophthalmology, helped lower the last remaining sign from the schoolhouse building. That sign along with other historical memorabilia including a memorial to Lt. Col. Thomas Koritz a graduate lost in combat, an intact time capsule, and the granite markers and logos for the school were then given a send-off and dispatched to their new home in Ohio.

The mission of USAFSAM is to be first-call consultants in aerospace medicine, find solutions to operational needs of today and tomorrow, and prepare new aeromedical experts for future global challenges.

USAFSAM is relocating from Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base as part of the nation's 2005 base realignment and closure decisions, and will formally activate the new complex in June 2011. The school is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's 711th Human Performance Wing.