Fort Sam Houston is known as the "Home of Army Medicine" and "Home of the Combat Medic". At the end of World War II, the Army decided to make Fort Sam Houston its principal medical training facility. In conjunction with this decision came the determination to develop
Brooke General Hospital into one of the Army's premier medical centers. As of 2011, Fort Sam Houston is the largest and most important military medical training facility in the world. Military medical training is provided by numerous elements, including Military Education and Training Campus (METC), AMEDD Center and School, Brooke Army Medical Center, US Army Institute of Surgical Research, The Center for Battlefield Health and Trauma, Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute, as well as many smaller organizations. Known as the brain trust for the 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's and master's degree programs with major universities such as
Baylor University,
University of Texas Health Science Centers at Houston and San Antonio, and the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As a result of the
Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) 2005 recommendations, all military medical training has been consolidated at Fort Sam Houston. This consolidation concluded with the opening of the METC in 2011. The Navy moved its medical training from
San Diego, California;
Great Lakes, Illinois; and
Portsmouth, Virginia. The Air Force moved its medical training from
Sheppard Air Force Base in
Wichita Falls, Texas. This increased the average student load and required additional support staff. The expansion in training has required construction approaching one billion dollars, a windfall of federal investment in Texas. ==Community connections==