Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      picture of name unveiling200304-F-GY993-226
                        
                        
                        Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright (left) and Chief Master Sgt. Julie Gudgel (right), along with the family of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman (center), reveal the new sign during a ceremony, Joint Base San-Antonio, Texas, March 4, 2020. The JB San Antonio-Annex, home of Special Warfare training, was renamed the JB San Antonio-Chapman Training Annex in honor of the service, heroism and ultimate sacrifice of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Chapman Training Annex Renaming Ceremony
                        
                        
                        The Joint Base San Antonio-Annex, home of Special Warfare training, was renamed the JB San Antonio-Chapman Training Annex, in honor of the service, heroism and ultimate sacrifice of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman during a ceremony at JB San Antonio, Texas, March 4, 2020. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                
                View DVIDS Video
        


        women speaking to crowd200304-F-GY993-226
                        
                        
                        Valerie Nessel, spouse of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman, speaks to attendees during a renaming ceremony, March 4, 2020, at Joint Base San-Antonio, Texas. The former JB San Antonio-Annex, home of special warfare training, was renamed  the JB San Antonio-Chapman Training Annex in honor of the service, heroism and ultimate sacrifice of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        U.S. Airmen participate in the memorial pushups during the Joint Base San Antonio Annex renaming ceremony, March 4, 2020.200304-F-GY993-333
                        
                        
                        U.S. Airmen participate in the memorial push ups during a renaming ceremony, March 4, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The JB San Antonio-Lackland Training Annex, home of Special Warfare training, was renamed the JB San Antonio-Chapman Training Annex in honor of the service, heroism, and ultimate sacrifice of Master Sgt. John A. Chapman. Chapman was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his action in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

JB San Antonio-Lackland training annex dedicated to fallen Air Force Medal of Honor recipientPublished March 5, 2020
                    
                    By 1st Lt. Jasmine Manning
                    
                    
                    Special Warfare Training Wing Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFNS) --**With family, friends and fellow Airmen in attendance, the Chapman Training Annex was officially renamed during a ceremony March 4.
Previously known as the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Training Annex, it was renamed in honor of Medal of Honor recipient Master Sgt. John A. Chapman, an Air Force combat controller who gave his life fighting in Afghanistan in 2002.
“Today we honor the tremendous courage, the selflessness and the patriotism of Master Sgt. John Chapman,” said Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen W. Wilson, who was the keynote speaker during the ceremony. “Chapman was a great warrior, a steadfast friend, a selfless patriot and, above all, a man of unquestionable character. For John, it was always about those on his left and those on his right – it was about others.”
While conducting reconnaissance operations in Takur Ghar, Afghanistan, on March 4, 2002, Chapman’s helicopter was attacked by enemy fighters with heavy machine-guns. The attack caused a team member to fall from the aircraft. After egressing the area in the damaged helicopter, Chapman and his team volunteered to return in a second helicopter in an effort to save their teammate. Once on the ground, Chapman stormed an enemy bunker, cleared the position and moved from cover to engage another enemy machine gun emplacement.
During this second assault, Chapman was struck and injured by enemy fire. Despite severe, mortal wounds, he continued to fight against multiple enemy personnel until his death.
“While there are a number of extremely high awards presented in the aftermath of this battle, the story of John Chapman’s gallantry simply stands above them all,” said Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, commander of Air Education and Training Command. “If we ever needed an example of Air Force core values in action, John Chapman is it.”
In August 2018, Chapman was posthumously presented the nation’s highest award for valor and heroism. He is the fourth Air Force enlisted Airman to earn the Medal of Honor.
“Renaming this annex is extremely fitting and speaks volumes about John as an operator and how he lived and died,” said Valerie Nessel, Chapman’s wife. “Each trainee will know John and learn about his actions. The operator has to want with every fiber of their being to become an operator. When doubts enter, one must remember John on that mountain top.”
The Special Warfare Training Wing conducts initial entry training courses at the annex for Airmen pursuing combat control, pararescue, special reconnaissance and tactical air control party specialties.
“These gates through which Sgt. Chapman walked 30 years ago, will now bear his name,” said Wilson. “The brave men and women who follow in his footsteps and commit themselves to live by the ethos ‘first there, that others may live’ shall forever be reminded of John’s uncompromising service to this nation and of his unbreakable commitment to his brothers and sisters in arms.”
Chapman entered the combat controller training pipeline at Lackland Air Force Base in 1989.
“When I think of John, I think of a special warfare continuum,” Webb said. “On that day, Chapman represented the best of who we, Airmen, aspire to be. He represents the ideals of special warfare. He represents a continuum of the excellence that has gone before, the excellence of today and the excellence that is still to come.”
Chapman Training Annex is only the second Air Force location named after an enlisted member. Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is named after Cpl. Frank Scott, the first enlisted member to lose his life in an aircraft in 1912.AFWN 



USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



AETC 



Air Education and Training Command 



JB San Antonio-Lackland 



chapman training annex 



Medal of Honor 



Master Sgt. John Chapman 



Air Force vice chief of staff 



Gen. Stephen W. Wilson 



Afghanistan 



renaming 



ceremony 



Special Warfare Training Wing 



IET 



initial entry training

Related Links
        Chapman Training Annex Renaming Ceremony
                                
                                Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Training Annex was renamed the Chapman Training Annex during a ceremony on March 4, 2020. Master Sgt. John A. Chapman was an Air Force combat controller and Medal of Honor recipient who gave his life fighting in Afghanistan in 2002.
            
            JBSA training annex to be renamed for fallen MOH recipient; watch live March 4
                                Feb. 28, 2020
                                With Master Sgt. John A. Chapman’s family, friends and fellow Airmen in attendance, the JBSA-Chapman Training Annex name will officially be unveiled during a ceremony March 4, 2020. U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen A. Wilson will be the keynote speaker and the ceremony will be
            
            Medal of Honor recipient John Chapman memorialized at Pope Army Airfield
                                June 3, 2019
                                Master Sgt. John Chapman was commemorated during a Medal of Honor dedication at Pope Army Airfield on May 30.A life-size figure of Chapman, a hand-drawn portrait and a replica of his Medal of Honor were unveiled and placed on permanent display at the Benini Heritage Center, a nationally-recognized Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil