The recent threats have led to long lines and errands unfinished for the thousands of servicemen and women and their families who pass through every day.
TAMPA, Fla. — After a shelter-in-place order was lifted Wednesday afternoon, following a threat made to MacDill Air Force Base, families of service members are wondering when it might end.
The concern is there because this is the second time this week there’s been a threat on or made to the base.
The threat on Wednesday was a reported call made to someone on base; it comes two days after a suspicious package was found on base, the FBI said late Wednesday had “possible energetic materials.”
At MacDill, home to CENTCOM, the military command in charge of the war with Iran, threats mean long lines and errands unfinished for the thousands of servicemen and women and their families who pass through every day.
“We were in the car for almost four hours waiting because they wouldn’t let us go anywhere,” one service member said.
Suzy Malloy is the spouse of a retired Navy captain and executive director of Blue Star Families at MacDill, organizing events and programs to help military families on base.
“Our families here at MacDill Air Force Base have been under some stress for more than just this week,” she said. “This week just brought it a little bit closer to home.”
Malloy said stress has been high since the beginning of the conflict with Iran, including with some local service members already deployed.
adding that there’s been “stress from the beginning of the conflict with Iran and plus some days leading up to it as our service members locally, some of them have deployed.”
Her husband, now in the private sector, was on base when the shelter-in-place order came down.
“He just didn’t leave his office and continued to work,” she adds. “However, there were many families that were stuck either trying to get onto base or to get off of base.”
She says some events in the near future are cancelled to free up security and support services as the base remains on its second-highest threat level, FPCON Charlie, which means there’s an imminent threat, but not an attack, for the base.
“One of the things all of us can do is do your part, check on your military neighbor,” she said. “Bring them a meal. Tell them you appreciate them. Those are the little things that go a long way in times like this.”
MacDill isn’t the only military base in America on alert. Fort Dix in New Jersey went on lockdown this week for a suspicious package that later turned out not to be a threat.