Southeast Air Base Renovation

by Senior Airman Melanie Bulow-Gonterman
6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

7/9/2014 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.  -- By the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Southeast Air Base was opened and built as a World War II strategic air base position. Using the federal relief program created during the Great Depression, our flightline was constructed.

A lot has changed since the opening of Southeast Air Base in 1939. For starters, it is now called MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

Through the years, Tampa and the community have witnessed this base become a significant part of their economy from the airshow, building contracts and the economic boost the troops give to the community. Nevertheless, the community and base support have supplemented each other equally.

The generations of MacDill AFB have worked hard to maintain the base as a first class establishment.

Air Force funding, approved by President Barrack Obama and Congress, with the delegation command of Col. Scott DeThomas, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander, allows our historic flightline to undergo much needed renovations.

"Plans to start this renovation project began in May 2014 with the mission of repairing and relocating the outdoor wash rack area," said Randy Jackson, 6th Operation Support Squadron airfield management. "U.S. Central Command will be extending a parking lot that will accommodate 300 vehicles where the wash rack was originally and the wash rack will be moved up."

This renovation is expected to cost the Air Force $1.4 dollars and is contracted through a local Tampa construction company.

The projected completion time of this contract is Oct. 17, 2014. Airmen can expect to see noticeable improvements to the pavement and outside areas of the flightline.

According to Jackson, other projects you can expect to see over the next couple of years are the filling of ponds far south of the flightline, which will decrease the amount of birds in the area, cutting back of the tree line along the runway, continued repair of discrepancies in airfield pavement and a runway asphalt mill and overlay.

This will ultimately make the ground safer for the Airmen and aircraft stationed at MacDill AFB.

Without these improvements, mission requirements could be diminished or impeded. Our national security, compared to the cost, outweighs the chances of security vulnerabilities. The United States Air Force comes second to none!