MRF Base Chapter:
MACDILL AFB, FL

MacDill Air Force Base is located eight miles south of Tampa, Florida on the Southwestern tip of the Interbay Peninsula in Hillsborough County. The region is often referred to as "Tampa Bay" which is a seven-county region on Florida's west coast offering a diversity of communities. The counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota come together to shape a vibrant market where lifestyle options reflect all the best Florida has to offer. Whether you seek big city downtown living, quiet golf course communities, a waterfront lifestyle, majestic horse farms or historic neighborhoods - the communities of Tampa Bay provide a mix like no where else in the country. The Tampa Bay community is very supportive of MacDill, but is not considered a military town. The cost of living is higher than most cities in the South. The MacDill operation number is 813-828-1110 or DSN 312-968-1110.

MacDill was named after Colonel Leslie MacDill. MacDill Army Base was officially activated on April 16, 1941. The first mission was training airmen in the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-26 Marauder aircraft. Increasing tensions in 1961 led to the activation of the U.S. Strike Command, headquartered at MacDill. MacDill became a Tactical Air Command Training Base with the F-4s and then F-16s. The last F-16s left the base in 1994 and the base had no active duty aircraft for the first time. The 6th Air Mobility Wing was activated October 1, 1996, with the arrival of 12 KC-135 Stratotankers. MacDill was a strategic center for such military operations as Just Cause in Panama, Desert Shield and Storm in the Persian Gulf and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.

The MacDill AFB is an Air Mobility Command (AMC) base capable of rapidly projecting air-refueling power anywhere in the world. Organized into four groups to carry out a two-fold mission of air refueling and airlift support to the two Unified Commands based at MacDill. MacDill is home to the United States Central Command and United States Special Operations Command and 51 other tenant units.