The military has had a significant presence in San Antonio for many years. The first military flight, for instance, took place at Brooks Air Force Base; the Air Intelligence Agency is located at Lackland Air Force Base; Brooke Army Medical Center is the leading treatment center for burn victims in the military and Fort Sam Houston is the home of Army medicine, among many other major missions present in San Antonio.

The military and Department of Defense (DoD) have a substantial impact on the local economy in San Antonio. The DoD registered an impact estimated at $13.3 billion overall. With an additional $2.1 billion in military construction scheduled before September 2011 and more than 4,800 net new jobs expected to relocate to San Antonio, the estimate of the economic impact from the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activity is $5.7 billion resulting in additional earnings of $2.2 billion. The projected economic impact of BRAC through 2011 is $5.6 billion. For more information about the economic impact of BRAC through 2011, click here.

It is also worth noting that the military in San Antonio provides many other benefits to the local community beyond the economic, such as the world-class medical care provided by the military healthcare facilities to many San Antonio citizens.

Source: The City of San Antonio – Office of Military Affairs

Military Labor Force at a Glance

San Antonio has four military bases

Randolph AFB - HQ for Air Education and Training Command and the Air Force Military Personnel Center.

Fort Sam Houston (Army) - Brooke Army Medical Center, Institute of Surgical Research, Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute.

Brooks City-Base (the former Brooks Air Force Base) - Human Systems Command, including School of Aerospace Medicine and the Air Force Center for Environmental Excellence.

Lackland Air Force Base - Air Force Basic Training and HQ for Air Force Intelligence Agency.