FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
In a significant step forward to providing degree-credit programs to military students attending the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), an accreditation team from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF) spent three days Aug. 23-25 reviewing affiliation candidacy status for several of the METC enlisted medical technical courses and touring the campus.
CCAF is a federally-chartered, degree-granting institution serving more than 320,000 active, guard, and reserve enlisted Air Force personnel. Additionally, the school partners with over 90 affiliated Air Force schools, 82 education service offices around the world, and more than 1,500 civilian academic institutions.
With virtually all military enlisted medical training being consolidated at Fort Sam Houston, Texas as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) ruling, the new METC tri-service school house educates and trains Medics, Techs and Corpsmen from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.
"We're committed to meeting or exceeding the standards set for accreditation by the Community College of the Air Force. They help us to train to a higher level," said Rear Adm. Bob Kiser, Commandant of the Medical Education and Training Campus. "Every Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Coast Guardsman will feel a tangible benefit from our continued affiliation with the CCAF."
The Air University Board of Visitors, which oversees CCAF and sent a subcommittee to participate in the campus tour, approved a "mission transfer" of the credit-awarding courses for the 882d Technical Training Group (TRG) upon consolidating with METC from Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas to ensure the continued award of CCAF credit to Air Force students. The credit also applies to Navy and Coast Guard students participating in METC programs that include Air Force students. Any portion of curriculum not granted credit by CCAF will remain eligible to receive American Council on Education (ACE) recommended credits.
"With the activation of the Medical Education &Training Campus in San Antonio came the need for CCAF to certify METC as a CCAF affiliated school. This process has several steps and takes one or more years to complete," said Dr. Bruce Murphy, Chief Academic Officer for Air University. "The Board of Visitors subcommittee was impressed with the METC's progress on accomplishing its mission of educating the world's finest corpsmen, medics, and techs. They also complemented Rear Admiral Kiser and his team for their leadership in bringing about the vision of combined education and training for all services."
Sixty-eight Air Force courses affecting 18 CCAF degree programs moved from Sheppard Air Force Base (AFB) as part of the BRAC consolidation effort. The METC consolidation also brought together four other major learning institutions; those include the Army Medical Department Center & School (AMEDD C&S) at Fort Sam Houston; the Naval School of Health Sciences (NSHS) in San Diego; the Naval School of Health Sciences in Portsmouth, Va.; and the Navy Hospital Corps School (NHCS) in Great Lakes, Ill.
With the approval of the Air University Board of Visitors, METC will assume affiliation status in the fall and will continue awarding credit to Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard students completing the CCAF approved courses.
METC is the largest consolidation of military training in the history of the Department of Defense and the largest medical technical education institution in the world. METC produces the world's finest Medics, Corpsmen, and Techs, supporting our Nation's ability to engage globally.