{"id":282035,"date":"2026-05-23T14:23:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T14:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/282035\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T14:23:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T14:23:54","slug":"everything-we-saw-at-tampas-battle-in-the-bay-special-operations-forces-demo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/282035\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything we saw at Tampa’s ‘Battle in the Bay’ Special Operations Forces demo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

Downtown Tampa was \u201cunder attack\u201d on Wednesday afternoon, or at least it looked like it.<\/p>\n

The annual U.S. Special Operations Command\u2019s \u201cBattle in the Bay<\/a>\u201d demonstration took place in front of the Tampa Convention Center, and this year revolved around a mock scenario involving the \u201ckidnapping\u201d of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. <\/p>\n

As part of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) Week Conference, the live simulation involved 10 different partner nations using everything from helicopters, boats, drones, ATVs, and scuba divers, all working together to complete the rescue mission.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re wondering, Jane was indeed rescued, and yes, there are probably countless bullet casings on the floor of the Hillsborough River.<\/p>\n

SOF Week includes a marketplace where defense contractors and arms dealers show off their latest weaponry, and this week occurs as the U.S. is engaged in a war with Iran that has cost taxpayers at least $29 billion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Dave Decker<\/p>\n

This article appears in May 21 \u2013 27, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tColin Wolf has been working with weekly newspapers since 2007 and has been the Digital Editor for Creative Loafing Tampa since 2019. He is also the Director of Digital Content Strategy for CL’s parent…\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore by Colin Wolf\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n