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Love in a time of war

Col. Maggie Woodward leads the base at the center of the war in Iraq - and juggles a marriage to a Pentagon officer.

By ELISABETH DYER
Published February 3, 2006

	[U.S. Air Force]
	Col. Maggie Woodward, commander of MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE - Her troops laugh when they ask their commander where she spends her free time.

Tampa International Airport, Col. Maggie Woodward responds. And not very often. Since taking the top position at MacDill Air Force Base exactly one year ago today, she hasn't had much time for anything but work.

But every few weeks she drives to the airport to pick up her husband, Dan, an Air Force colonel and soon-to-be brigadier general who is stationed at the Pentagon.

Married 24 years, the high-ranking couple have been stationed together for only five months in the past six years.

"It's hard. I won't lie to you," she said recently from her office on the base. "And it almost seems like it gets harder."

Commitment to their work keeps them going. And knowing they aren't alone, she says.

"There are an awful lot of people making sacrifices," she said. "We're just another one of them."

Dan will fly south to celebrate his wife's 46th birthday Feb. 11. At her request, he will speak to her troops at MacDill's annual award ceremony Feb. 10.

MacDill is home to Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq, and Special Operations Command, which oversees the nation's secret commandos, such as the Green Berets and the Navy SEALS.

At the direction of President Bush, SOCom has been directed to synchronize the war on terror. MacDill also houses the 6th Air Mobility Wing, which refuels fighter jets in midair and airlifts four-star commanders. It also plays a role in homeland defense.

As commander, Woodward oversees an annual operating budget of $250-million and about $700-million in planned construction at the base.

In her office, Woodward points to a map of the base, which employs 19,000 people and has 5,500 acres and 22 miles of runways,

"I have airmen doing incredibly big jobs, taking working dogs in Iraq looking for bombs before the Iraqi election," Woodward said.

With her appointment last year, Woodward became the first female commander of MacDill since it opened in 1941. There are three other female wing commanders worldwide.

"She's always known exactly what she wanted to do," says her mother, Mary Ann Maslowski, who lives in California. "And she's always been willing to do whatever it takes to get there."

Woodward flew on a plane for the first time when she was about 1 year old. As a small child, she shared her older brother Mark's dream of becoming an astronaut.

Her father worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides assistance in poor countries. Growing up, her family lived in Washington, D.C., Pakistan, New Delhi and Bombay, India.

Maslowski recently found a report card from a Pakistan school where she enrolled her daughter as a preschooler. "Plays well with others," it read. "Especially the boys," Maslowski said with a chuckle. "She's always been a bit of a tomboy."

In her junior year of high school, Woodward remembers telling her guidance counselor what she wanted to do.

"I said, "I'm going to be an Air Force pilot.' And he said, "You can't. They don't let women fly.'

"I'll never forget the feeling because it was something I had never ever considered. I just never thought of it as something a woman couldn't do. I was so committed that I said, "Well they're going to change.' "

The Air Force began admitting women pilots while Woodward was a sophomore at Arizona State University. She decided to get a bachelor's degree in aerospace and engineering.

In 1983, she enlisted in the Air Force and earned her pilot wings on the T-38 training jet. She then began flying the KC-135 refueling tanker, a military version of Boeing's 707 passenger plane.

In 1989, she led a convoy of tankers and special operations gunships during the opening moments of the invasion of Panama.

Before coming to Tampa she commanded the 12th Operations Group at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and was deputy director of the Air Force Senior Leader Management Office at the Pentagon.

She schedules flying time every week at MacDill and hopes she won't have to cancel it.

"I do love to fly," said Woodward, who usually wears a flight suit to work. "That feeling of being able to get out there and be free."

The only thing that tops flying is being with her husband, who is also a pilot.

After the couple retire, they plan to join the Peace Corps as a way to give back. Perhaps using their leadership skills to help restructure a new government.

Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at edyer@sptimes.com or 813 226-3321.

AGE: 4 5

JOB: Commander of MacDill Air Force Bas e

FAMILY: Husband, Col. Dan Woodwar d

HOUSEMATES: Two Samoyeds, Tashi and Haley. In cool weather, Haley runs on base with her.

PILOT CALL SIGN: Swamp Witch - because of the high standards she sets for her troops.

BEST DAY IN TAMPA: One Friday in July, she waved a flag with the Bayshore Patriots along Bayshore Boulevard.

ON THE PATRIOTS: "There are people whose patriotism spiked after 9/11, but theirs has been steady. That constant support every Friday makes such a difference for the people who work on this base.' '

TOUR HERE: Normally ranges from 11/2 to two years. "I told my boss I'd like to stay for two," she said.

[Last modified February 2, 2006, 11:27:10]