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MacDill Shows Off Its Goods

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By KEITH MORELLI

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

Published: March 1, 2009

TAMPA - With all this sprawling coastline jutting out into Tampa Bay, U.S. Air Force Col. Larry Martin wants to tell people about his little community.

"A lot of people in Tampa think that South Tampa ends at our north fence line," he said. "But a lot more goes on at MacDill than most realize."

The base is one of just a few across the country plunked smack dab in the middle of a metropolitan area and good community relations are a must, he said.

Martin, the commander of MacDill, has made a priority of interacting with the city and Bay area community, and Thursday he offered a tour of its state-of-the-art flight training facilities and around-the-clock coastal security zone.

MacDill's flight simulator also is used by pilots from other bases, said Mark Vanderkarr, a civilian trainer who oversees the simulator's use. He sits behind the fake cockpit and punches in one or more of the 476 things that can go wrong during a flight.

Problems like bad weather, hurricane winds, poor visibility, flying in tight formations and even flocks of birds.

The simulator is one of 19 at air bases across the country, Vanderkarr said.

On the opposite side of the base, on the sixth floor of the narrow flight tower, is the air traffic control simulator. The screen in front of the computers provides an exact depiction of MacDill and includes the downtown skyline in the distance. Military airplanes land and take off during the simulation, as trainees give orders to pilots.

Tower trainees and seasoned controllers all come here to be trained or to brush up on certification, said Sgt. Timothy Enright, the tower training chief.

The simulator cost $850,000 when it was installed four years ago and its programs can mimic just about any air base in the nation and abroad, including those in hostile regions, he said.

To protect all this, Master Sgt. Craig Campbell, who oversees the Air Force's marine unit, uses two patrol boats that prowl the base's shoreline around the clock. The biggest headache for him: Beer Can Island, a spit of land in the bay used for partying by recreational boaters. Sometimes, they wander into restricted areas and that's when the patrol boats arrive.

"People ask me what kind of airplane I fly," said the reservist. "I tell them I fly a boat."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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