[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5144-S5145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               75TH ANNIVERSARY OF MacDILL AIR FORCE BASE

  Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, today I wish to honor MacDill Air Force 
Base in Tampa, FL, during its 75th anniversary year.

[[Page S5145]]

  MacDill's humble start began during its construction when aircrews of 
the 29th Bomber Group landed their B-17 Flying Fortress bombers on a 
nearby dirt airstrip in farmer John Drew's fields after flying 
antisubmarine patrols in the Gulf of Mexico. Later named Drew Field, 
this strip is now known as Tampa International Airport.
  Formally dedicated on April 16, 1941, MacDill was primarily known for 
training bomber aircrews of the III Bomber Command. Intrepid but 
inexperienced crews learning to fly B-26 Marauder bombers at MacDill 
were glad of Tampa's warm climate when ditching their aircraft in the 
waters surrounding the field. The regularity of this occurrence 
prompted air crews to jokingly coin the phrase ``Once a day in Tampa 
Bay.''
  MacDill proved its strategic significance during World War II as an 
antisubmarine patrol and air defense base home to B-24A Liberators of 
the 44th Bomber Group and Seversky P-35 aircraft of the 53rd Pursuit 
Group. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, MacDill again displayed its 
geographical importance, serving as a prime location for staging B-47 
Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft.
  Transitioning from a primarily bomber base once home to the famed B-
17 Memphis Belle, MacDill became a Tactical Air Command installation 
flying the F-84 Thunderstreak jet fighter. From the 1960s through the 
early 1980s, F-4 Phantom II fighters filled its skies, followed by F-16 
Fighting Falcons in the 1980s and 1990s. The base is now an Air 
Mobility Command installation, home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing and 
its 310th Airlift Squadron and the 91st Air Refueling Squadron.
  MacDill is also home to the headquarters of two of the U.S. 
military's unified combatant commands: U.S. Central Command, whose area 
of operations encompasses the Middle East and parts of North Africa and 
Central Asia, and U.S. Special Operations Command, tasked with 
oversight of the component special operations units of the Army, Navy, 
Marine Corps, and Air Force.
  Non-Department of Defense tenants of MacDill Air Force Base include 
the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Aircraft 
Operations Center, which operates the NOAA ``Hurricane Hunter'' fleet 
of WP-3D Orion and Gulfstream V aircraft. The U.S. Department of 
Agriculture also conducts its antimedfly operations out of MacDill.
  More than 13,000 military and civilian personnel are involved in 
operations at MacDill, and the surrounding community is home to 
approximately 170,000 retirees who use health and welfare services on 
the base. MacDill is a vital economic driver for the Tampa Bay area and 
is not only a source of jobs for the community, but also a welcome 
source of pride in our Nation's Armed Forces.
  I am confident that MacDill Air Force Base will remain an important 
strategic installation for our military and continue to play an 
important role in protecting the safety of Floridians and all 
Americans. I am proud to honor its 75 great years of service.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

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