Since its inception in 1918, Brooks Field (later known as Brooks Air Force Base) in San Antonio, Texas, has been a focal point of military innovation. Pioneers of early aviation, including Charles Lindbergh, earned their wings at Brooks, and military leaders, like Lieutenant General Claire Chennault, commander of the famed WWII “Flying Tigers,” served as flight instructors at Brooks. Life-saving techniques, such as Instrument Flight, where pilots rely on cockpit instruments rather than their own senses, was developed at Brooks. The “Father of Aerospace Medicine,” Dr. Hubertus Strughold, conducted research at Brooks, identifying medical issues fliers would experience as they climbed higher into the atmosphere. Later, the breakthroughs that took place at Brooks’ School of Aerospace Medicine contributed greatly to our nation’s space program; for example, aeromedical research at Brooks aided the Mercury Program and Tang, the “official drink of Astronauts,” was tested at Brooks. Brooks continues to aid the advancement of manned flight, aerospace medicine and war-fighter capabilities through the research taking place at the Air Force’s Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory and Human Resources Laboratory.

The technology-based Air Force missions at Brooks proved to be an attraction for academia, industry and other government agencies. A City-Base concept that benefited the Air Force and the City of San Antonio seemed a natural evolution for the base.

In 2000, Congress passed Public Law 106-246 authorizing the creation of Brooks City-Base, a collaborative corporate community designed to enhance Air Force missions at the base and encourage future development in southeast San Antonio.

On July 22, 2002, a new era of innovation was born at Brooks when the United States Air Force conveyed the entire Brooks Air Force Base property to the Brooks Development Authority (BDA) creating the nation’s first-and-only City-Base. Today, Brooks City-Base stands as San Antonio’s premier center for bioscience, academic, environmental and technical research. The installation sits on 1,246 acres, including 2 million square feet of lab space, office space, light industrial facilities and recreation/fitness areas available to companies to re-locate or locate their company here.

For a complete military history of Brooks City Base visit the Brooks Heritage Foundation.