U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor hosted a bipartisan meeting today to continue discussions about what the future will bring for MacDill Air Force Base with members of the Tampa Bay delegation and Kathleen Ferguson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Logistics and related Department of Defense officials.  

“We are unified in our support for the missions at MacDill Air Force Base and focused on the infrastructure updates needed for the new KC-135 tanker aircraft which are scheduled to arrive at MacDill in FY18.  We also are mindful that additional aircraft and personnel means economic expansion and jobs for the Tampa Bay area,” U.S. Rep. Castor said. “MacDill missions support Tampa Bay businesses large and small, so ensuring MacDill’s vitality helps to sustain the vitality of our local economy.” 

In a show of bipartisan cooperation and strength of the support for MacDill, U.S. Rep. Castor was joined in the meeting by U.S. Reps. Bilirakis, Jolly, Nugent and Ross.

MacDill AFB is scheduled to receive eight KC-135s over the next few years and Assistant Secretary Ferguson advised that $32 million in infrastructure upgrades to prepare for the additional aircraft likely will be programmed in the next couple of fiscal years.

“I expressed the need to begin construction of these upgrades soon so they are completed on time for the arrival of the KC-135s and that future basing of the new KC-46s should be a consideration,” U.S. Rep. Castor said. “We are fortunate to have community-wide, bipartisan support for an expanded air mobility mission at MacDill (i.e. MacDill Means Mobility) and we will continue to play offense at a time when DOD budgets are shrinking.”

U.S. Rep. Castor also highlighted the need for a new mission support facility, expanded base housing and a Joint Aquatic Training Center. Ms. Ferguson lauded MacDill for the growing public-private partnerships to manage growth and encroachment to nearby neighborhoods and to find ways the community, airmen and their families can create shared spaces like pools, parks and community centers.  Public-private partnerships mean jobs, and economic expansion and growth for the Tampa Bay area.   

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