Lackland AFB is home to the 37th Training Wing, the largest in the Air Force. It provides basic military training as well as training in professional and technical skills, and English language for the other military services as well as the Air Force, government agencies, and US allies. It is the only entry processing station for USAF enlisted Basic Military Training (BMT). Lackland currently has six technical training squadrons, from which more than 86,000 students graduate every year.
When Kelly AFB was closed as a result of BRAC 1995, Lackland took on a flying mission and incorporated the adjacent 2-mile-long runway. Kelly also bequeathed Security Hill to Lackland, host to the Air Combat Command's 67th Network Warfare Wing and the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency.
(The former Kelly AFB is now known as Port San Antonio, a foreign trade zone with tenants that include Boeing , Lockheed Martin, and Pratt & Whitney.)
The Air Force's largest medical facility, Wilford Hall Medical Center, the 59th Medical Wing, is also located at Lackland AFB. The latest BRAC (2005) recommendations involve consolidating Wilford Hall and Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), the world-class burn ward and Level 1 trauma care center, to comprise the San Antonio Military Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston. BAMC would handle all inpatient care as well as all trauma and emergency medical care.
Wilford Hall Medical Center would be known as SAMMC-South and will become a full-service ambulatory care center. It will offer medical and surgical outpatient services and host a premier Eye Center of Excellence.
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At first I thought the grackles had paused on my potted lemon tree on their way to roost in the HEB supermarket parking lot. Those pesky birds had deposited a couple of yucky blobs on the leaves.
Then I saw a bizarre object on one of the stems. It looked like a rough, gray, stubby snake with a big head.
You guessed it! They are caterpillars, in two different stages of development. If all goes well, they will turn into giant swallowtail butterflies, which can have a wingspan of up to 6 inches. The caterpillars are called orange dogs because of their love of all kinds of citrus plants. If they feel threatened, they poke out a couple of horns that exude a bitter odor. I did not threaten them though. My husband relocated a couple of them to the lime tree and a rue plant.
Giant swallowtail butterflies feed on the nectar of lantana flowers, which we have in abundance. So watch this space--if I can get some photos of these beauties, I'll post them here!
The Air Force's deployment and personnel processes are being combined in a transfer of the AEF Center from Langley AFB in Virginia to Randolph AFB, just northeast of San Antonio, Texas. Earlier in the year, AFPC's readiness division and casualty matters division were combined with AEF operations to create the Air and Space Expeditionary Force and Personnel Operations Directorate. The directorate seems to have met their goal of keeping disruption to a minimum during the transition. Tasks included readying the AFPC's infrastructure by migrating computer systems, rewiring networks, increasing bandwidth, and bringing systems online in the new location.
The ceremony on September 26 marked the achievement of full operational capability for the AEFC Force and Operations Directorate at the Air Force Personnel Center.
Randolph has a large impact on the local area, estimated as contributing more than 7,500 jobs. It is estimated that a net loss of only 0.1% of those jobs in the next few years would come as a result of BRAC's reshuffling of military and civilian positions.
Fort Sam Houston is the location for a new Army Medical Department Center and School's Center for Predeployment Medicine. The CPDM will offer training to combat medics, nurses, senior noncommissioned medics, physicians, and their assistants and will cover everything from providing first aid on the battlefield to support in combat hospitals. Four courses that were previously spread throughout various departments at the AMEDD Center and School will now be offered by CPDM. Since the courses will now be mandatory rather than optional, and offered moe frequently, they will benefit from being administered through a single center.
Feedback from soldiers who have taken the Brigade Combat TeamTrauma Training course (BCT3) has been positive, one soldier commenting, "I wish I had this training before on previous deployments--I would have saved lives."
The new department is just one small part of the $28 million in BRAC funds allocated for construction and health-care projects at Fort Sam and Brooke Army Medical Center.
This spider has lost weight! All the spinning seems to be directed towards making a place for her eggs to hatch. It's like a cotton pad stuck to the basil stem.
Green lynx spiders jump on their prey, including "crop pests" like bollworms and some types of moths, rather than spinning webs to snare them. Unfortunately, they also like to dine on bees! So this family will need to be relocated to the front yard, where they can live in the lantana or Asian jasmine instead of my bee-bait plants.
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I specialize in residential properties in the north San Antonio metro and northeast to Schertz, Cibolo and New Braunfels; homes on the Guadalupe River; military relocations; and rehabbing older homes
I was born in Texas and grew up in San Antonio. I came back to my hometown in 2003 after living in Hawaii for a few years and then in England. I managed a rental property in Hawaii and invested in real estate in England, so my market niche became helping home buyers and sellers with rental properties and relocations. San Antonio changed a lot in the 14 years I was away, and continues to grow and diversify--geographically and culturally. Despite its healthy economy, the cost of living here is still low compared to similar-sized cities, and real estate is very affordable.
I enjoy working with international clients who are attracted to San Antonio and the Hill Country for their excellent investment possibilities and vacation properties, especially waterfront homes. I am an Advisor for the National Association of Residential Real Estate Investment Advisors (NARREIA). I also work with military transferrees, relocations, and foreign buyers who are delighted to find out how much real estate they can buy in affordable San Antonio. I'm a Certified Residential Specialist and an Accredited Buyers Representative, and have a Transnational Referral Certification.
I work mainly in the northwest, north-central, and northeast sections of San Antonio, Bexar County. I specialize in selling homes in established neighborhoods such as Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park, Northwood and Northridge, Terrell Heights, Shavano Park, Hunters Creek, Churchill Estates, and Elm Creek, as well as in the Cibolo/Schertz area, where I live. I also help buyers and sellers in Wilson, Guadalupe, and Comal counties, since I love the Guadalupe River area around New Braunfels, Lake McQueeney, and Seguin.
I specialize in buying and selling single-family homes, many for residential investment as rental properties, and helping with relocations, including military, to the San Antonio area. I also help with finding homes for rehabbing and remodeling in some of San Antonio's beautiful older neighborhoods. I often work with buyers, since I love finding the "right" property, but also like the creativity and challenges of marketing homes for sale.
I especially enjoy welcoming people to San Antonio who are relocating here in the military or with a job transfer and need to find a home in a city they may not be familiar with. San Antonio has several military installations, including Fort Sam Houston Army Base, home of the world-renowned Brooke Army Medical Center; Lackland AFB, where most of the Air Force trainees go at one time or another and Wilford Hall VA hospital is located; Randolph AFB, with its pilot training; and the former Brooks AFB, now Brooks City Base and host to a Centers for Disease Control facility.
San Antonio's diversified economy also benefits from jobs in the oil and gas industry, especially thanks to the Eagle Ford Shale play. In addition, the South Texas Medical Center employs nearly 28,000 people, and the University of Texas Health Science Center contributes biotech research while training future healthcare professionals.
For my investor clients, I take the long-term approach to invest in single-family homes for break-even or positive cash flow and/or future appreciation. Rehabs and remodeling projects can be rewarding; especially those that could be rented after, or even during, rehabbing to take advantage of lower capital gains rates after one year's ownership. All of the properties I help my clients acquire must have features that would appeal to both good-quality tenants as well as future home buyers for resale purposes.
I look for good investment properties in the northeast and northwest parts of the San Antonio metropolitan area, near major employers and the Medical Center, which is where I grew up and where I still work with a lot of my investor clients. Neighborhoods close to Fort Sam Houston and Randolph AFB are others that attract tenants. The city is growing in practically every direction now, but I still have a fondness for the older neighborhoods with lots of trees. I provide relocation guides with neighborhood information to home buyers relocating here.
For sellers, I am a convert to staging to make a vacant home more appealing and I offer this service. Most buyers--and prospective tenants--are unable to see past the cosmetic issues of a house. I'll give my recommendations for preparing a home for sale or lease, and I have assembled a terrific team of people who do excellent work for a reasonable price. I want every home I list for sale or lease to look better than the competition.
From a couple who retired to San Antonio to be near their children and grandchildren:
Robin expertly guided us through relocation from Maryland to Texas. She found us an excellent local real estate agent in Maryland who helped us sell our home during one of the worst real estate markets in recorded history. Robin then rented her Corpus Christi beachfront condo to us while our household goods were in storage and transit. When we were ready to purchase, Robin found us the retirement home of our dreams with a beautiful inground pool in a nice, quiet neighborhood in north San Antonio.
She knows San Antonio as only a native Texan can, and tackles any problem that arises with her amazingly extensive network of experienced maintenance people. As we enjoy our retirement playing in the pool with our granddaughter; we say, "Thank you, Robin!!"
And an update from them:
It's been a year since we signed the papers to buy our home. How amazingly fast time goes by! We've been blessed with a happy life and loving family, but we're happier now than we've ever been. Thank you so much, our dearest Robin, for all you've done to make our retirement dreams come true. You truly are the best!!!
From the buyer, and then later the seller, of a duplex:
I wanted to share the fantastic experience I had working with Robin Rogers buying my first investment property in Texas. I found Robin's contact information from an article, gave her a call and within a day or so we were in action over phone and e-mail looking for my investment property. Robin is a fantastic communicator, always quickly answering my questions via e-mail. She connected me with extremely helpful folks (inspector, appraiser, property manager) who all worked closely with Robin and myself to make my long distance investment process very smooth.
From a first-time buyer who was excited about moving out of an apartment, although she will miss the pool (that'll be in her next home!):
Working with you was very easy. I met with two realtors before you but really liked the fact that you asked for what was most important to me in a house (meaning bathrooms, yard, kitchen...) and did not laugh that it was "the feel" when you walk in. You did not push me to try things outside of my comfort and gave subjective opinions when some of my "feelings" were a little out there (i.e. the bank owned house needing A LOT of work, with a great yard).
It truly was a pleasant experience and I would definitely recommend you and use your knowledge in the future.
From the sellers of a home I managed and subsequently listed for sale (a couple of my many clients whom I've never had the pleasure of meeting):
We have truly enjoyed working with you and we truly appreciate all of your hard work. I know you are moving away from the property management business but if any of your clients ever ask for a business reference, don't hesitate to give them my name.
From the sellers of a home and a golf-course lot, both near the Medical Center:
Where do we begin? We will start with a huge thank you for making the real estate business simplified! You made everything seamless! From our very first interaction as buyers a few years ago to our recent transaction as sellers, you have been not only a wealth of resourceful information, but also courteous, patient, and determined. With everyone's busy schedule these days, what a client wants and needs is someone who can break down the complicated real estate jargon, set reasonable expectations, and possess good follow-through. You absolutely shined in every one of those aspects!
From the buyers of two rental homes, planning to add more to their portfolio in 2010:
If there's a Robin Rogers fan club, sign us up! When we found Robin's name through an internet search for San Antonio Realtors, we had no idea what a terrific experience was in store for us. As out-of-towners, we depended on Robin's expertise to guide us through the San Antonio real estate market. Both times we worked with Robin to buy rental properties, Robin steered us to winner houses that quickly generated income for us. Her advice was unbiased and spot on, and her commitment to us and our expectations was unsurpassed. You would be hard pressed to find a more competent and caring Realtor in San Antonio.
From first-time home buyers from California who wanted to move closer to the kids' grandparents in Schertz:
I want to say thank you so much for all of the help you have given us. You were so wonderful throughout the process and found us great lenders as well. We couldn't have made it without you, so thank you so much!
From an attorney in the military from Chicago whose wife is from San Antonio:
What was I looking for in a Realtor? I'm concerned about a few things. They have to deal with a lot of investors. I think it's a completely different thing for a buyer's Realtor to deal with someone looking to buy a house they will live in compared to a house they will rent out. They have to respond to your calls, emails, questions and concerns in a timely manner. This goes without saying, but I was surprised that I have called or emailed at least three other active Realtors and did not receive calls back from them. Obviously a Realtor needs to be familiar with the area, neighborhoods, schools, crime statistics, where appreciation is most likely to occur, and basically which neighborhoods are improving and which are declining. My other requirement is that the Realtor doesn't agree with me all the time. I would like my ideas to be thoughtfully challenged. I require someone who ultimately carries out my will, but who helps to clarify my thoughts and plans by not blindly agreeing with me on everything.
I was lucky to find Robin Rogers. I Googled San Antonio investment Realtor and found her blog as well as some articles she had written for the National Association of Residential Real Estate Investment Advisors (NARREIA). Got that? It's a mouthful. I liked her right off the bat for a few reasons: she responded to me very quickly and we opened up with a very nice conversation about my investing goals and what she was able to provide; she understands the area; she spends time blogging and connecting with other bloggers which, I think, is like a form of continuing education; she owns investment properties herself; and she independently offers her advice even when she knows it is different than my thoughts.
Robin has been great about dealing with the seller, sending me listings that I may be interested in, and having a great network to recommend to me. She recommended a great inspector, which helped me to get a new roof from the seller, as well as a mortgage broker, accountant, and handyman. These were particularly helpful since I was new to the area.
If you're looking for a Realtor that focuses on investment properties, I would recommend looking for someone that has these traits. If you're in the San Antonio area, you should contact Robin and see if she would be a good fit for you. Check out her blog at activerain, and check out her Web site for more information.
From a captain in the US Air Force:
I have moved many times in my life, and without a doubt, Robin is the best realtor I have ever worked with. She helped me purchase one home, sell another, and found long-term tenants for a rental property on two separate occasions. Robin is a gifted communicator and you couldn’t ask for a better advocate whether buying or selling. She knows the business and has always earned her keep by looking out for my best interests. She’s the first person you should call for any real estate need in the San Antonio area!
From the wife of a US Army chaplain whose family PCSed to San Antonio from Virginia:
I would recommend you to anyone, and I feel like the lucky one, because you're still the one I contact when I need help...finding a service person or information I misplaced etc. :) I only wish they made all realtors like you. I wish we could take you with us each move we make!
From a first-time home buyer who relocated from California with her husband in the Air Force:
What sets Robin apart from her peers is her ability to anticipate your needs. Robin was always one step ahead of us as she directed my husband and I through the experience of buying our first home. As a military family living on the west coast Robin's efficiently and reliability were invaluable to us. When the time comes to sell our wonderful home there will be no other realtor I even consider calling!
P.S. We are STILL very much in love with our home!
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