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Iraq
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 20, 2003
TAMPA -- No protesters. No commotion. No traffic.
Save for a few television satellite trucks, the Dale Mabry Highway gates of MacDill Air Force Base were silent Wednesday night as bombs dropped over Baghdad.
A few cars and trucks passed by the gate, which was flanked with a giant sign: "100% ID Check."
MacDill Air Force Base is at "Condition Bravo," which means that people with a military ID -- including retirees -- can access the base. Vehicles are searched at random and guests are escorted.
Almost every military component at the base including Central Command, the Special Operations Command and the 6th Air Mobility Wing is engaged in the war on terror.
But Central Command -- called "CentCom" by military insiders -- was largely devoid of drama Wednesday night.
"It's business as usual for us," said Lt. Commander Stephen Franzoni, at Central Command's public affairs office. "The military in general has gone to 24-hour operations, though."
Franzoni said Central Command watched President Bush on television at 10:15 p.m., then went back to their regular duties: overseeing military efforts for Africa and Afghanistan.
The Tampa command does not oversee the Iraq war.
Gen. Tommy Franks, the man leading the war, became CentCom's commander almost three years ago.
Franks, 57, is constantly on the move, shuttling between Tampa, Washington, and his area of responsibility, including Qatar, which is serving as CentCom's Iraqi war headquarters.