59th Medical Wing The 59th Medical Wing ( 59 MDW ) is a wing of the United States Air Force assigned to Air Education and Training Command , stationed at Lackland Air Force Base , Texas . The 59 MDW is the Air Force ' s premier medical unit . It operates Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center , which is now part of the San Antonio Military Healthcare Systems ( SAMHS ) . The wing provides global medical readiness capability and comprehensive peacetime healthcare benefits through education , training and research . Previously referred to as SAMMC - South , this designation was dropped under agreement with the Army , and its name changed to Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgery Center . The wing ' s original unit , the 59th Observation Group was formed in 1941 under 1st Air Support Command . Originally an antisubmarine patrol unit , the group later became a replacement training unit ( RTU ) for fighter pilots with its graduates assigned to another group for overseas assignment . The organization ' s official lineage begins in 1941 , and by taking on the shield and ancestry of the 59th Tactical Fighter Wing in 1993 , the center was able to save the history of a World War II unit and preserve its own World War II service . Groups . 59th Clinical Support Group 59th Dental Group 59th Medical Operations Group 59th Medical Support Group 359th Medical Group ( former 12th ) at Randolph 559th Medical Group ( former 37th ) at Lackland 959th Medical Group ( former 59th Inpatient Operations Group ) Clinical Departments Non - Clinical Departments History . Operations . The 59th Observation Group was established at Newark , New Jersey , in 1941 . It moved to Fort Dix , New Jersey , later in the year . Following the US entry into World War II the Group engaged in antisubmarine patrols along the East coast of the United States from December 1941 – October 1943 . Initially during 1941 – 42 the Group operated a wide range of aircraft , including the BC - 1A , L - 59 , O - 46 , O - 47 , O - 49 Vigilant , and O - 52 Owl During 1943 and 1944 the group trained pilots using P - 39 Airacobra aircraft and later , in 1944 , the P - 40 Warhawk as well . The unit was redesignated the 59th Reconnaissance Group on 2 April 1943 , and again as the 59th Fighter Group on 11 August 1943 . The 59th was inactivated on 1 May 1944 . On 31 July 1985 , the unit was redesignated the 59th Tactical Fighter Wing , but remained inactive . Finally , it was reactivated and consolidated with the Wilford Hall U . S . Air Force Hospital on 1 July 1993 . During the Korean War , the 3700th Medical Squadron developed a program to train basic trainees as medical corpsmen to ease shortage of medical personnel . From 1983 , Wilford Hall offered centralized outpatient care , a clinical investigation facility , the Air Force ' s largest dispensary system , and the only eye bank and organ transplant centers . The hospital accomplished important research work in neonatal medicine , surgical transplants , orthopedic surgery , rheumatology , immunology , and maxillofacial surgery . Clinical investigations research kept the wing at the forefront of development of high - frequency ventilation and extra - corporeal membrane oxygenation ; new techniques for the care of premature infants ; improved cancer treatments ; bone banking and transplantation ; laser photocoagulation ; and acquired immune deficiency syndrome ( AIDS ) . In December 1989 , it provided medical support to casualties returning from operations in Panama . From 4 January to 21 March 1991 Wilford Hall deployed over 900 personnel to RAF Little Rissington , England , to establish a 1500 - bed hospital in support of expected casualties from the Gulf War . In 1993 the Medical Center was redesignated the 59th Medical Wing , taking the lineage of the never - active 59th Tactical Fighter Wing . Closure and realignment . The current building is projected for demolition in 2015 , when it will be replaced with a state - of - the - art 680K square foot facility . Starting on September 15 , Wilford Hall Medical Center was officially renamed to Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center , the largest outpatient surgical center in the Air Force . Inpatient services are no longer provided at Lackland Air Force Base , but are centralized at nearby San Antonio Military Medical Center – formerly known as Brooke Army Medical Center , or BAMC , at Fort Sam Houston , Texas . Both facilities and all other military treatment facilitites in the San Antonio area fall under the San Antonio Military Healthcare System ( SAMHS ) . Design of the four phase project is underway , and construction is for the new surgical center has already commenced .