Fort Sam Houston

Infobox_nrhp | name =Fort Sam Houston
nrhp_type =nhl

---

caption =Clock tower built in 1870 inside the Quadrangle on Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
location= San Antonio, Texas
area =
built =1876
designated= May 15, 1975cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1575&ResourceType=District |title= Fort Sam Houston |accessdate=2008-06-26|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = May 15, 1975cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = United States Army
refnum=75001950

Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpage: [http://www.samhouston.army.mil/sites/about/default.asp SH-Army] .] Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston. Its approximate location is 29°26'56.69"N 98°26'56.04"W .

The installation's missions include being the command headquarters for the Fifth U.S. Army (which became U.S. Army North as of October 2006), United States Army South, the Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) headquarters, the AMEDD Center and School, the Fifth Recruiting Brigade, 12th ROTC Brigade, U.S. Navy Regional Recruiting, the San Antonio Military Entrance and Processing Station, and the U.S. Naval School of Health Sciences, Bethesda Detachment.

Military medicine

Fort Sam Houston is known as the "Home of Army Medicine" and "Home of the Combat Medic". At the end of the Second World War, the Army decided to make Fort Sam Houston the principal medical training facility. "Visit Fort Sam Houston" (description), VisitMilitaryBases.com, 2007, webpage: [http://www.visitmilitarybases.com/local163.html VisitMil-163] .] In conjunction with this decision, came the determination to develop Brooke General Hospital into one of the Army's premier medical centers. As of 2007, Fort Sam Houston is the largest and most important military medical training facility in the world. "Installation Fact Sheet" (Fort Sam Houston), 2007, PDF webpage: [http://militarycityusa.com/PDF/Fort_Sam_Houston_Fact_Sheet_Jan2007.pdf MilCityUSA-FortSH-PDF] : states: "Fort Sam Houston is the largest and most important military medical training facility in the world."]

Known as the brain trust for the Army Medical Department (AMEDD), the Army Medical Department Center and School annually trains more than 25,000 students attending 170 officer, NCO and enlisted courses in 14 medical specialties. The command maintains several academic affiliations for bachelor and masters degree programs with major universities such as Baylor University, University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio, and University of Nebraska.

Also located at Fort Sam Houston are Brooke Army Medical Center, the Great Plains Regional Medical Command, Headquarters Dental Command, Headquarters Veterinary Command, the Institute for Surgical Research (trauma/burn center), the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute, and the Army Medical Department NCO Academy.

Historic buildings

Construction at Fort Sam Houston began in the middle 1870s under the supervision of the military commander of the Department of Texas, Maj. Gen. Edward Ord, a West Point-trained army engineer. Today, as one of the Army's oldest installations, and with more than 900 buildings in its historic districts, Fort Sam Houston boasts one of the largest collection of historic military post structures. The significant contributions of Fort Sam Houston to the United States were recognized in 1975 when the post was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

The Fort Sam Houston Quadrangle is the oldest structure at Fort Sam Houston. It was originally a supply depot, and during that time, it also housed Geronimo and those Apaches captured with him while the Federal government decided whether they were prisoners of war or common criminals. Legend has it that the deer in the Quadrangle were there because Geronimo refused to eat food he did not hunt. In truth, the deer pre-date Geronimo in the Quadrangle, he ate the same rations as the soldiers, and no one really knows why the deer are there. The Quadrangle is now an office complex housing the commanding general and staff of U.S. Army North.

Even more consequential than the number of buildings is the historical integrity of the post's different sections, which represent different eras of construction, and reflect Army concepts in planning and design. Careful preservation of these areas allows the post to live with its history, surrounded by the traditions established when the first soldier arrived here in 1845.

Notable postings

Several famous figures have served at the fort. Maj. Gen. John Wilson Ruckman, Commander of the Southern Department, was based at Fort Sam just after the infamous Houston Riot of 1917. Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was posted there after being demoted to Colonel for disobeying orders. Dwight D. Eisenhower was posted to Fort Sam Houston twice during his career. During Eisenhower's first post, from 1915 to 1917, he met and married Mamie Dowd, and was again posted at the fort when the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred in 1941.

Community connections

Throughout its existence, a close and harmonious relationship has prevailed between Fort Sam Houston and the City of San Antonio. The two have grown and matured together. The city often has been called the "mother-in-law of the Army" because so many soldiers including Dwight D. Eisenhower, met their future spouses here.

More than 27,000 military and civilian personnel work at the post, with an annual payroll and operating budget of $1.9 billion. Local purchases made by installation activities total almost $105 million annually. Funding for construction projects on post average $30 million annually. Fort Sam Houston has also initiated public–private partnerships to renovate and adaptively reuse significant historic buildings.

In June 2006, the "San Antonio Express-News" reported that Fort Sam Houston received utility disconnection notices due to budget constraints. [cite news | url = http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/military/stories/MYSA061506.01A.Army_lights.4fda8.html | title = CPS hits Fort Sam with 1,300 cutoff notices for unpaid bills | date = 2006-06-15 | first = Sig | last = Christenson | accessdate = 2007-08-09 | work = San Antonio Express-News ]

ee also

* United States Army Medical Department Museum

Notes

External links

* [http://www.samhouston.army.mil Official Fort Sam Houston Web Site]
* [http://ameddregiment.amedd.army.mil/fshmuse/fshmusemain.htm Fort Sam Houston Museum]
* [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/75001950.pdf Fort Sam Houston National Historic Landmark file]
* [http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/qbf43.html Fort Sam Houston] Handbook of Texas Online