From bombers to tankers: MacDill celebrates 77 years of excellence

TAMPA, FL, UNITED STATES

04.16.2018

Story by Airman 1st Class Caleb Nunez 

6th Air Refueling Wing

From bombers to fighters to tankers, I’ve seen a great deal in my 77 years.

I was born out of efforts to improve the U.S. Army Air Corps in late 1938 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined a program to expand air services. This, along with increasing fear of Nazi U-Boats attacking merchant ships in the Gulf of Mexico after the eruption of World War II in 1939, paved the way for my inception as Southeast Air Base in Tampa, Florida.

I was formally dedicated April 16, 1941, after being renamed MacDill Field in honor of Col. Leslie MacDill, a respected pilot and aviation pioneer.

Shortly after the U.S. Air Force was established in 1947, I officially became known as MacDill Air Force Base.

My first mission was to provide air defense to the Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, until the U.S. entered World War II. From then, my primary mission became the training of Airmen to fly and operate bombardment aircraft such as the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-26 Marauder. I housed as many as 15,000 troops during this time.

Following the end of the war, I was reassigned to the Strategic Air Command where I caught my first glimpse of the air refueling world.

However, by 1960, I faced an uncertain future as the Department of Defense announced the phase out of certain bomber aircrafts, slating my gates to permanently close. Although the aircraft were deactivated, my value as a staging area and my capabilities for strategic deterrence were highlighted during possible hostilities with Cuba, which resulted in my gates remaining open.

With the bombers phased out, I was once again reassigned; this time under the Tactical Air Command in 1963, which brought the F-4 Phantoms and later the F-16 Fighting Falcons to Tampa. I remained a fighter base for almost 30 years, training about half of all F-16 pilots in the Air Force at the time.

In 1991, I once again faced uncertainty when a shift in military strategy led to a halt of flying operations on my runway. Because of this, I had until 1993 to transfer my fleet of F-16s to my brother Luke in Arizona.

I was given a second chance at life in 1994 when the Air Mobility Command gave me the 6th Air Base Wing with the primary mission of providing support services to U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command and the growing number of mission partners. I was also given the opportunity to provide further evidence of the effectiveness of my location during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, where I served as the primary staging facility.

Mission success in Haiti emphasized the value I offer, which led to me being chosen as the site for a KC-135 Stratotanker air-refueling mission and later a C-37 Gulfstream airlift support mission, which gave me my current designation as the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

I currently execute air refueling, airlift and contingency response missions for U.S. and allied forces around the world as MacDill Air Force Base, along with nearly 20,000 service members.

For my birthday, I want to celebrate all of you – the men and women who serve. Thank you to those who have supported my many missions throughout the past 77 years. Happy birthday Team MacDill!

• Date Taken: 04.16.2018
• Date Posted: 04.17.2018 14:36
• Story ID: 273384
• Location: TAMPA, FL, US