The Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) is a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
(DoD) integrated campus under a single university-style administration, with nearly 50 programs of study available to
U.S. military enlisted students and a small number of foreign military students. METC is located at
Joint Base San Antonio
Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) is a United States military facility located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 502d Air Base Wing, Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The win ...
on
Fort Sam Houston
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, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
with a field training site located at
Camp Bullis
Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U.S. Army training camp comprising in Bexar County, Texas, USA, just northwest of San Antonio. Camp Bullis provides base operations support and training support to Joint Base San Antonio. The camp i ...
.
Base Realignment and Closure
METC is the result of the 2005
BRAC legislation that required the bulk of enlisted technical medical training in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
, and
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
to be collocated to
Fort Sam Houston, Texas
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, webpageSH-Army.
Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...
with the potential of transitioning to a tri-service education and training effort.
Consolidation is expected to result in government savings and makes the campus the largest enlisted military medical education and training facility in the world.
I
Construction
METC's footprint covers more than one million square feet on Fort Sam Houston and cost more than $1 billion to build and equip. Eleven new facilities have been built, including three 1,200-student dormitories, and five existing buildings were renovated/transitioned to accommodate METC students. Construction began July 21, 2008. Three dormitories were built to accommodate Air Force and Navy students. Other facilities include a dining facility, fitness center, five new medical instructional facilities (MIFs), a biomedical equipment technician field training site, a Navy and Air Force shared command building, student activity center, academic support facility, and a METC headquarters building.
Two other dorms were built nearby for Army students, with one housing technical school students. The dorm rooms themselves were individually constructed offsite at a plant in
Belton, Texas
Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas on the Interstate 35 in Texas, Interstate 35 corridor between Austin, Texas, Austin and Waco, Texas, Waco. Belton is the county seat of Bell County, Texas, Bell County and is the fifth largest city in t ...
and shipped. Each of the five, 4-story dormitories cost approximately $ to complete.
The dormitories consist of 600 apartment-styled dorms on three upper floors while the bottom floor are classrooms and administrative spaces.
Due to the unique circumstances of a military dormitory over traditional college dorms (such as noise from aircraft, armored vehicles, and artillery, as well as the Army's policies on the amount of floor space allocated per soldier), contractors were forced to find a unique way to deal with the sound. The traditional method of party walls would not work because of the already limited floor space. A new soundproof drywall was used instead to give students as much living space as possible.
Academics
![RDML-Kiser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/RDML-Kiser.jpg)
METC entered into its initial operating capability June 30, 2010 and reached full operating capability on September 15, 2011. Its initial training course was Radiology Technician. Their courses were phased in throughout the rest of the year and into 2011. The METC campus graduates around 16,500 students each year, with an average daily student load of approximately 5,500. METC officials will also employ an operating staff and faculty of 1,200.
On August 10, 2014 METC realigned under the Education and Training Directorate of the newly established
Defense Health Agency
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) is a joint, integrated combat support agency that enables the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Space Force medical services to provide a medically ready force and ready medical force to Combatant Co ...
and entered into initial operational capability.
By service, the student breakdown includes approximately 51 percent Army, 31 percent Navy and 18 percent Air Force. The longest program offered is
cytology
Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...
, which is the study of cells, at 52 weeks; and the shortest, at four weeks, is
patient administration. Consolidated basic and specialty enlisted training from five separate service medical learning centers have moved to
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, Texas.
Local impact
The Medical Education and Training Campus has already brought $ to San Antonio and is estimated to bring an additional $ per year after 2011.
See also
*
Army Medical Department Center & School
*
Naval Hospital Corps School
Naval Hospital Corps School was the United States Navy's only basic hospital corpsman school. It was located within Lake County, Illinois, at 601 D St., Bldg 130H, Naval Station, Great Lakes, Illinois 60088, for nearly a century.
History
It was e ...
References
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Military education and training in the United States
Health in Texas
Joint Base San Antonio
Healthcare in San Antonio
Education in San Antonio
Educational institutions accredited by the Council on Occupational Education