When Diane Capri readers last visited MacDill Air Force Base, FBI Special Agents Kim Otto and Carlos Gaspar were hunting Jack Reacher.
Jack in the Green is fiction, but MacDill Air Force Base actually exists as a unique and complex place in Tampa, Florida. How unique is MacDill? Here’s how Carlos Gaspar views it:
“MacDill Air Force Base was both a country club for military families and a war zone. A strange combination of all-inclusive resort and weaponized death star.”
–Jack in the Green, Chapter 1
Which had me wondering, how do officials at MacDill Air Force Base celebrate the 4th of July?
14,000 personnel are assigned to MacDill, with about 16,000 dependents. Quite a crowd.
To further complicate matters, July 4th is a national holiday.
So does the base take the day off, or does it throw a birthday bash for the nation?
Turns out, a little of both.
The 6th Force Support Squadron holds an Independence Day BBQ Competition, complete with music, games, and, of course, delicious All-American food.
The USSOCOM Parachute Demonstration team goes off-base for the holiday. They will perform a “precision freefall parachute demonstration to kick off the Lakeland Flying Tigers July 4th Celebration.” The Lakeland Flying Tigers are the minor league baseball team of the Detroit Tigers in Central Florida. How much fun would it be to attend that game on the 4th??
Are you surprised to learn MacDill Air Force Base does not put on a public fireworks display? Maybe because the base’s host city provides a massive fireworks display over downtown Tampa, and I don’t doubt you can see it from MacDill.
Do you celebrate the U.S. Independence Day? If so, how?
Comments are closed.