Wilford Hall Medical Center, located on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, was once the flagship of military medicine, named after the medical pioneer, Brig. Gen. Wilford F. Hall. With early beginnings in 1942, as a 100-bed hospital, the medical center quickly grew to a 1,200-bed, Level 1 trauma center by 1957. The Level 1 designation expanded resources and capabilities for handling patients with complex and life-threatening injuries, a service that extended beyond the Air Force community, and into the surrounding civilian community as well.