Free Republic

In his first address to U.S. troops, President Trump vowed Monday to defeat the “radical Islamic terrorists” abroad and to prevent terrorism from “taking root” in America. “Today we deliver a message in one, very unified voice to these forces of death and destruction: America and its allies will defeat you,” Mr. Trump said at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, headquarters of the U.S. Central Command. “Freedom, security and justice will prevail.” The president called the troops “our heroes” and said his administration will provide them with better equipment and supplies to carry the fight to the extremists....

Jill Kelley, the Florida housewife whose complaint over threatening emails revealed David Petraeus´ affair, has visited the White House three times in the past three months, it has emerged. In by far the most astonishing example of her determination to reach the top, the shrewd socialite and her twin sister, Natalie Khawam, were invited to two ´courtesy´ meals in the Executive Mansion mess hall as a guest of a White House aide, an Obama administration official has revealed. She met the mid-level aide through her work with MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, where she also rubbed shoulders with the

Tampa, Florida -- Police want your help finding four men who teamed up to beat a young U.S. Army soldier in a South Tampa street. It was an awful welcome to Tampa Bay for a young soldier. Police say the victim of a violent beating caught on camera is 24 years old and has lived in Tampa for less than a month. He's a U.S. Army soldier assigned to MacDill Air Force Base and lives not far from the base at Dale Mabry Hwy. and Interbay Blvd. Police say Sunday morning, at around 3 a.m., the soldier's car broke down...

TAMPA-- MacDill AFB closed the Bayshore gate due to an "on-base incident" Monday night. Two people are in custody and are being questioned. The incident reportedly involved a vehicle that contained ammunition and guns.

Via twitter - BREAKING CNN: 2 people are in custody after trying to get onto MacDill Air Force Base, the home of U.S. Central Command: Air Force spokeswoman

TAMPA — Ronald Bullock made MacDill Air Force Base his home even though he was no longer in the military. Decades had passed since a grenade blew up on him in Vietnam, rendering him disabled, his brother said. But as a veteran with a military ID, he could stay at the base's campground for six months at a time. Bullock, 61, didn't have a family or a job. He told his uncle he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. "He took a mess of pills to keep him going, to keep him cool," said his uncle, Phil Sullivan, 80, of Tampa....

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

TAMPA — An off-duty FBI agent shot and killed an Army veteran Wednesday night after a confrontation and chase at MacDill Air Force Base, officials said. It all started at the base's family camp, a recreational vehicle area at the south end of the base, said Col. Larry Martin, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander. The veteran was visiting the base when an altercation broke out. He took off on a motorcycle with security officials in pursuit, according to Martin. "He became more and more aggressive as the pursuit continued," said Dave Couvertier, a special agent with the FBI. When the...

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Fire officials say one person is dead in a shooting at an entrance gate to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. Tampa Fire Rescue officials say they were called to the gate at 6:47 p.m. on Wednesday.

Why The Hell Would Obama Bow To Tampa Mayor? Hey, what's that on the ground? Oh, it's just my dignity U.S. President Barack Obama bows to Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio at MacDill Air Force Base on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010 in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo)

Air Force Lt. Col. Darryl Sheets has been a pilot for 13 years, but when he switched to the new Osprey troop and cargo carrier, "it was like learning how to fly all over again." Even if you're just along for the ride, like civilians who got a demonstration Wednesday morning, the CV-22 Osprey takes some getting used to. Especially at the moment of truth, when this one-of-a-kind, helicopter-airplane hybrid switches from one mode of flight to the other - in midair. Critics disagree, but the Pentagon insists it worked out all the bugs for pilots such as Sheets during...

WASHINGTON — One of the Army's most Iraq-savvy generals is taking charge, at least temporarily, of arguably the most important command in the U.S. military, with responsibility for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a ceremony Friday at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey is to assume command of U.S. Central Command from Navy Adm. William J. Fallon, who announced unexpectedly on March 11 that he was quitting. Fallon cited press reports that he was at odds with President Bush over Iran policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who has denied that Fallon was out of step...

Documents released by the Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base Florida, in relation to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests files for documents relating to the military investigation into the Scott Thomas Beauchamp "Shock Troops" article in The New Republic magazine. The following are the never-before published statements of soldiers interviewed in the course of the investigation. Names are redacted per federal privacy laws.

War stinks, apparently even behind the lines. That's the gist of a military e-mail concerning restroom problems at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base uncovered by the Tampa Tribune. The bottom line: A small restroom facility near the command's Joint Intelligence Center doesn't have adequate ventilation, resulting in - as Navy Capt. Samuel J. Cox put it - "malodorous working conditions." Cox posted written orders directing workers to take their serious bathroom business to more capable facilities unless it was an emergency. When the signs were removed, Cox pointed out in a lighthearted e-mail that ignoring the directive...

Hillsborough County, Florida TAMPA - A 'suspicious' truck has closed a cargo gate at MacDill Air Force Base, along with several roads close to the base. MacDill spokesman Lt. Omar Villarreal told FOX 13 that the vehicle inspection system at the Port Tampa gate detected something unusual from a truck parked there. The Tampa Police Department reports that they are blocking traffic on Interbay Boulevard between WestShore Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway while base security personnel investigate the truck.

8/18/2006 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers broke training camp Thursday and in an unprecedented move for the team, held its day-before-game walk-through at MacDill AFB, Fla. The Buccaneers, who play their second pre-season game against the Miami Dolphins Saturday, have a long-standing relationship and community partnership with the military here. "You guys have no idea what a great morale booster it is for you to come out and do this," said Col. Maggie Woodward, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander. "It means a lot that you think enough of us to do this." Friday's...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate Republican wants an Army general who drew criticism for church speeches casting the war on terrorism in religious terms to lead the U.S. special operations command. In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., recommended Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, now the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence, for the post at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. The current commander, Army Gen. Bryan "Doug" Brown, is retiring. In 2003, Boykin gave speeches at evangelical Christian churches in which he painted the war on terror as a Christian fight against Satan and...

Breaking on Fox.

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla., Jan. 27, 2006 – Just one day after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, nations around the world mobilized and formed a military coalition. Their goal: to combat global terrorism. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the coalition, which is headquartered at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Fla. Today, CENTCOM officials said, 63 nations are supporting the global war on terror. Since the coalition's inception, 27 nations have deployed more than 22,000 troops to Iraq. In Afghanistan, coalition nations have deployed more than 3,000 troops hailing from 42 nations. These figures exclude U.S. forces....

Washington -- The goal of the global War on Terror is "victory -- unconditional, unapologetic, and unyielding," Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says, even as the terrorists pursue a test of wills in which their goal is not to win militarily but to outlast the coalition. At a town hall meeting October 13 at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, the secretary of defense praised the U.S. forces and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan who he said are on the front line of this effort. He also highlighted Iran's efforts to thwart U.S. and coalition success in Iraq. Rumsfeld...