JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- The brick facade of building 9210 on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (JBSA) has carried a name for 19 years — Chapman Training Complex — but on March 4, 2026 the Airmen of the 326th Training Squadron (TS) chose to honor the man behind it in a way that felt less like ceremony and more like a culmination.
Rows of military training instructors, operators, and leaders stood at attention as Tech. Sgt. Georgie Boyd, a 326th TS military training instructor, read aloud the Medal of Honor citation of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman. For each count of memorial push-up cadence, a dedicated rep was called — one for teamwork, one for fallen comrades, one for Chapman himself. The tradition, borrowed from the special operations community that mourns its fallen this way, was a first for the squadron.
“I don’t think you could get a more perfect example of our core values,” said Maj. Anthony Hemphill, 326th TS Director of Operations. “Integrity, service, excellence was how John Chapman lived, and his legacy endures with this squadron.”
Chapman, a combat controller with the 24th Special Tactics Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, was killed March 4, 2002, during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan. Fighting alongside a Navy SEAL team on a snow-capped mountain, he charged two enemy bunkers, was mortally wounded and continued fighting until he could not. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2018 and was the first Airman to receive the decoration since the Vietnam War.
His connection to JBSA runs deeper than a name on a building. Chapman enlisted in September 1985 and completed Air Force Basic Military Training (BMT) at Lackland before entering the combat control pipeline in 1989. Across the highway from JBSA-Lackland proper, the satellite installation once known as Medina Annex was renamed Chapman Training Annex on March 4, 2020, exactly 18 years after his death, in a ceremony led by then-Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Stephen W. Wilson. Today it is home to the Special Warfare Training Wing and carries the designation “Home of Air Force Special Warfare Training.”
Tuesday’s ceremony drew senior enlisted leadership from across both installations. Among those in attendance was Special Warfare Training Wing (SWTW) Command Chief Master Sgt. William Kelly. Also present were the commander, deputy commander, and senior enlisted leader of the 353rd Special Warfare Training Squadron. This unit is responsible for the TACP apprentice course, where all Tactical Air Control Party and TACP officers earn their coveted berets. Following the ceremony, the 353rd’s leadership toured the complex and two of their dedicated classrooms. The ceremony and visit underscored the deepening bond between the 326th and the Special Warfare Training Wing, two organizations separated by a highway but united by a name.
The 326th Training Squadron host Special Warfare cohorts in BMT for candidates entering the SWTW pipeline. Inside the complex’s student hallway, candidates observe two of Chapman’s military uniforms hang in shadow boxes alongside a scarlet beret, gifted by the Chapman family. A replica of his Medal of Honor anchors the display. A dedicated classroom chronicles his career, family and sacrifice as a permanent reminder to every trainee of where Air Force service can lead.
Nearby, a second classroom tells a different but equally powerful story. Senior Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr., a TACP Airman who survived burns over 80 percent of his body after striking an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan on Dec. 4, 2005, is honored across two dedicated displays. Unironically, Dec. 4, 2005, is the same date the complex was designated Chapman Training Complex. Del Toro, who went on to become a motivational speaker and Paralympian, anchors a room that also memorializes fallen TACP Airmen with a full portrait of a community defined by both sacrifice and resilience.
Together, the rooms form something rare inside a Basic Military Training complex. It’s a living tribute to Air Force Special Warfare, built where every Airman’s journey begins.
Hemphill said he wants every recruit who passes through to understand what the names and the walls around them mean and how it shapes the squadron’s culture.
“The names on the building, the intimate details about how he served and how he sacrificed. He plays into everything. Our trainees have a more intimate connection to a great example of the Air Force core values personified.”
| Date Taken: |
03.04.2026 |
| Date Posted: |
03.13.2026 13:57 |
| Story ID: |
560521 |
| Location: |
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: |
21 |
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0 |
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This work, How John Chapman’s Legacy Spans JBSA-Lackland, by Jennifer Gangemi, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
