Hypobaric Altitude Chamber finds new home at 344th Training Squadron

Members of the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence team pose for a photo in front of the spot that a hypobaric altitude chamber from Tyndall will be positioned, Aug. 25, 2020. The chamber will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community.

Hypobaric Altitude Chamber finds new home at 344th Training Squadron

A hypobaric altitude chamber from Tyndall arrives by truck to the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020. The chamber will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community,

Hypobaric Altitude Chamber finds new home at 344th Training Squadron

Forklifts maneuver a hypobaric altitude chamber from Tyndall after arriving to the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020. The chamber will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community.

Hypobaric Altitude Chamber finds new home at 344th Training Squadron

Members of the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence and 19th Air Force team pose for a photo in front of a newly positioned hypobaric altitude chamber at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020. The chamber was delivered from Tyndall Air Force Base and will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community. Historical photograph of a hypobaric altitude chamber at the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center (now known as JBSA-Lackland). The SAACC was a flight school open from the mid 1940s to late 1950s. Tyndall arrives by truck to the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020. The chamber will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community.

Hypobaric Altitude Chamber finds new home at 344th Training Squadron

Published Aug. 28, 2020
By Capt. Kayshel Trudell
37th Training Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Lackland, Texas --

A hypobaric altitude chamber claims the 344th Training Squadron Career Enlisted Aviator Center of Excellence hangar as its new home at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020.

Weighing over 50,000 pounds, the chamber was delivered from Tyndall Air Force Base, where it had been housed since its original installation in 1954 and was the first time the Chamber had been moved.

“This delivery was the culmination of years of effort from multiple agencies,” said Maj. Jordan Clark, 344 TRS commander. “It will support over 2,300 enlisted aircrew and several hundred permanent party officer and enlisted flyers from across the JBSA community, resulting in an additional 12 permanent assigned physio staff members, two officers and ten enlisted, to support multiple chamber flights every week.”

The 344 TRS team worked closely with members of 19th Air Force to make this repositioning possible and also received support for the 502nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer.

“There has been over a decade of need for us to have our own physical chamber and through this awesome collaborative effort we [made it happen],” said Chief Master Sgt. Robert Reasor, deputy commandant. “This capability will free up many logistical challenges and generate huge time saving.”

Previous to this Lackland chamber, 344 TRS instructors and CEA candidates relied on commuting to JBSA-Randolph for their chamber capabilities for all training requirements. Once the chamber is installed and fully operation all 344 TRS technical training chamber requirements will be able to be accomplished in house.

“The 344 TRS is a total force team, so this chamber capability will also benefit Reservist and National Guard units in the JBSA-Lackland community,” said Reasor.

The Center of Excellence was stood up in 2006 as part of the 37th Training Group, which encompasses nearly 50 percent of all enlisted Air Force technical training.

CEA Airmen fulfill aviation roles ranging from crew chief to special mission aviators, flight attendant to boom operators and engineers to load master, to name a few. Potential assigned aircraft include the KC-10 Extender, C-5 Galaxy, E-3 Sentry, E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (STARS), and C-130 Hercules.

Lackland has not been home to a chamber since the late 1950s when the installation was known as the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center.

When SAACC opened in 1941, the mission focused on training male Aviation Cadets for flight school after their preliminary military training. There was physical and mental training to include psychological tests and various tests involving an altitude chamber.

A time lapse video of the arrival and positioning of the chamber can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube.

To see more imagery visit, https://www.flickr.com/gp/gatewaywing/3H3W95.