{"id":195786,"date":"2026-03-18T02:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T02:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/195786\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T02:29:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T02:29:06","slug":"macdill-air-force-base-raises-threat-level-following-suspicious-package-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/195786\/","title":{"rendered":"MacDill Air Force Base raises threat level following suspicious package investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Officials say the increased threat level allows for heightened security measures at MacDill Air Force Base.<\/p>\n<p>TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 MacDill AFB has increased its terror threat level to FPCON Charlie.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis posture allows us to implement deliberate security measures proactively,\u201d MacDill Air Force Base wrote on social media around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It follows the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/article\/news\/local\/hillsboroughcounty\/macdill-air-force-base-suspicious-package-tampa\/67-b0badd42-25c1-4410-9800-7d06e9cd7e48\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Monday morning discovery of a suspicious package<\/a> at the main entrance gate to the base on S. Dale Mabry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>FPCON Charlie is the second-highest force protection level for military installations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is implemented when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action targeting personnel or facilities is likely,\u201d according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dla.mil\/About-DLA\/News\/News-Article-View\/Article\/3877268\/fpcon-101-force-protection-conditions-refresher\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Defense Logistics Agency<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The increased security level can allow for additional security measures at gates or additional security forces.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>MacDill is asking for patience when accessing the base as there may be a delay with security checkpoints.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Strict security measures have already been in place, including 100% I.D. Card checks, random vehicle inspections, and the continued suspension of the trusted traveler program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Given the nature of operations on MacDill with U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, the 6th Refueling Wing and its joint force partners, security is paramount.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll personnel should remain vigilant, follow the direction of security forces, and report any suspicious activity immediately,\u201d wrote MacDill Air Force Base.<\/p>\n<p>Report suspicious activity to the base defense operations center at 813-828-3322.<\/p>\n<p>When 10 Tampa Bay reached out to the FBI for updates regarding the investigation, a spokesperson said it remains ongoing and reiterated that the suspicious package was removed yesterday from the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The FBI referred 10 Tampa Bay to MacDill Air Force Base for more information, but MacDill has not replied to our request for comment yet.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday morning, the FBI sent bomb technicians to help Tampa Police with a suspicious package at MacDill Air Force Base&#8217;s Visitors Center. The base was not on lockdown, and by evening, the FBI confirmed the scene was clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Officials say the increased threat level allows for heightened security measures at MacDill Air Force Base. TAMPA, Fla.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-195786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}