History came down

Formerly the home to the 323rd Training Squadron, Building 6275 stood for decades and served as the first Air Force home to Basic Trainees. The 323rd was the first squadron to move into the new Airman Training Complex and building 6275 was scheduled for demolition. The first walls came down in early May of 2013. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Alan Boedeker)

History came down

Demolition begins on BMT facility

Published May 23, 2013
By Mike Joseph
JBSA-Lackland Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A part of Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland basic military training history came down in a heap Monday morning as demolition started on Building 6275, one of the last Recruit Housing and Training facilities constructed.

Using a "claw," heavy equipment operator Roy Harrell of J.R. Ramon and Sons began tearing down the building to make room for a drill pad and running track adjoining Airman Training Complex No. 4. The RH&T was completed in 1976 and is the first one razed as BMT consolidates into a centralized area on JBSALackland.

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the ATC housing campus project administrator, the demolition crew will be working on the project for about a month.

"Demolition will probably take about four weeks," said Daniel Olivas, the Corps' resident engineer. "Separating the metal and masonry since some of those materials are recycled is the longest part in the process."

Building 6275 formerly housed the 323rd Training Squadron, which relocated to ATC No. 1 last December. ATC No. 1 and Dining/Classroom Facility No. 1 were the first buildings opened in the $900 million project. ATC No. 2 is expected to be occupied soon after being turned over to the Air Force in early April. Olivas said construction completion
timelines for the second half of the east campus include DCF No. 2, December 2013;
ATC No. 3, January 2014; and ATC No. 4, December 2014.

Funding is not expected to be available until 2016 for the duplicate BMT west campus of
four ATCs and two DCFs. When complete, the two campuses will be connected by a pedestrian crosswalk over Carswell Avenue.

Along with the new housing and dining/classroom facilities, a new BMT processing and reception center is also under construction just south of ATC No. 1. The new center is adjacent to 737th Training Group headquarters on Truemper Avenue.