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Spending the night in Tampa so I can brief one of the muckity mucks at SOCOM. These tanker boys got it made.

It's been a while since I've RONed here and the place looks great. New housing, new facilities everywhere and they even program the rental cars for you. I got in mine and it went right to Mons Venus.

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CH

You bastard!

I was at MacDill almsot two years ago, babysitting my Army O-6 through CENTCOM HQ. I hinted at stopping by Mons Venus (I still have a "coupon" from there), but he nix'd the idea, and guess who had the rental car keys! Needless to say I was bummed!

Cheers! M2

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Went to MacDill a couple weeks back for an RON. Seven of us went looking for a Hooters for lunch which was supposedly somewhere on Dale Mabry Blvd, but couldn't find it. What we did find was a decent BBQ place so we stopped in (all still in flight suits). We sat down and when the waitress walked up she told us that a gentleman who was leaving as we were entering had put $50 towards our tab to thank us for the jobs we do. When we ordered, they forgot to throw one guys burger on the grill - they got it cooked up a little later than ours, apologized profusely, and told him it would be free. By the time the check came, the place actually owed each of us 12 cents. The waitress got a $35 tip for that lunch.

Also went to Mons for the first time - wasn't a planned trip: we were coming home from dinner, saw the neon sign and all decided "What the heck." I haven't been to a whole lot of gentlemen's establishments in my life, but I must say that they've got some spectacular employees in there. Highlight of the night was one of our female aviators getting a lap dance - and loving every second of it.

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Guest Rainman A-10

Bishop,

Ever heard the term "Ten ones are better than a twenty"?

Mission planning: You need to go to the ATM and get at least 5 magazines ($20 bills). You can get more later, they'll have an ATM where you're going. Make sure you have at least ten singles in your wallet so you can get started as soon as you show up.

Mission tasking/Execution: Proceed direct to the Mons Venus. Sit down in the middle of sniffers row, hold up a $20 and shout "AMMO!". When the barmaid shows up, get change for the twenty, open a tab on your credit card (never burn your cash), order beers for yourself and anyone else sitting at sniffers row and let 'er rip with the singles. After you've seen the batting order get a couple lap dances from your favorites.

Mission Debrief: Don't worry about the money you spent. It will be a night you will not forget, and that is worth more than money.

Hey Now!

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  • 2 years later...
Guest MacDill TDY

I'm heading TDY to CENTCOM for a few months.

Where do you recommend I stay and why?

Thanks,

TDY Trash

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  • 7 months later...
Guest TDY Guy

I heard that Oasis Corporate Housing (www.OasisCorporateHousing.com) was pretty good too. One of the guys is prior AF and understood the drill really well.

Edited by TDY Guy
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Guest filthy_liar

I did a rotation at CENTCOM. I stayed on Dale Mabry road in some apartments. Life is a series of choices, I chose poorly. I also had a room mate because I showed up to where I was going to be working and just asked the dude I was replacing if I could move into his place. I find out after he leaves that he had a room mate, some reservist who showed up about every 4th day. Wasn't bad overall, but there are better places to stay down there.

My buddy stayed here: 345 Bayshore. When I was there in 07 you had to check into the housing office at MacDill and they would give you the green light to go find a place to live.

Make sure you get a rental car, CENTCOM pays for it.

Tampa is probably the best deployment out there. $54 per day walking around money and beautiful women everywhere. The J.O.B. can be fairly busy depending on which directorate you work in. You can take off on weekends, and by take off, I mean you can fly to Jamaica as long as you're back to work on Monday. If you work the night shift or weekends you wear civvies to the office.

Disclaimer: I was there when Abizaid and then Fallon ran the show. Not sure if the new boss has changed any of the rules.

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Here is the real gouge. If you go with anyone but TDYCORPORATEHOUSING.com you are an idiot - period dot. Talk to Claudia/Dan and get the real hookup. As for choices? Screw Dale Mabry unless you like licing on a busy ghetto street. Tell them you want to live downtown in one of the condo's by the cruise ship docks. If you like to push it up every night, ask to stay in the cuban district nearby.

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  • 6 months later...
Guest TDY Guy
Here is the real gouge. If you go with anyone but TDYCORPORATEHOUSING.com you are an idiot - period dot. Talk to Claudia/Dan and get the real hookup. As for choices? Screw Dale Mabry unless you like licing on a busy ghetto street. Tell them you want to live downtown in one of the condo's by the cruise ship docks. If you like to push it up every night, ask to stay in the cuban district nearby.

There are a bunch of these companies down here. They all have the same places available and all offer them at the per diem. I think the biggest difference in them is how responsive they are. The people at Oasis Corporate Housing have been very responsive to my needs and I have one of the downtown condos by the cruise ship docks complete with stainless steal appliances and granite counter tops and plenty of "pool scenery". The "cuban" district is Ybor and is a very unsafe area. I do not recommend Ybor. 345 Bayshore is nice but somewhat "stuffy". Call Oasis Corporate Housing 813-416-0294 and ask for Steve (he's the former security forces guy). He takes good care of the TDYers.

Edited by TDY Guy
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  • 1 year later...

AFLt,

PM me if you want a good contact. My best friend from high school is a -135 pilot down there and should have the latest gouge on where to live, the life of a -135 Co, etc. I visited him down there for a long weekend and we had a blast; give yourself a high-five for getting an awesome assignment.

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Just picked up a -135 to Macdill out of UPT. Looking for any intel on the base/area, places to live, lifestyle/ops tempo before I get down there in a few months

A little while ago a bunch of these units went up for auction. It kind of set the tone for what they could charge for rent. You'd have to check to see the current numbers to find if they've got any good deals, but if you're willing to commute 35 minutes, it'd be a nice place to settle down for a few years.

Last time I drove by Bayshore Blvd they had quite a few houses up for rent/sale. Being close to the back entrance, sts, would make your drive into work about 5 minutes long. Not a bad deal.

MacDill is definitely a nice base to be at. It also might give you a chance to network with the C-37 dudes, if that's something you're interested in.

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We moved here in February. It is a good time to buy. We bought our house for what it was valued ten years ago. I see a lot of nice new houses south of Tampa. That also puts you about 15 minutes away from Sarasota beach. Only thing I don't like about those houses (looking down from 1000') is like most new neighborhoods, they are clear cut. If you try to live across a bridge into St Pete, be prepared to pay a lot of insurance. Think about whether you want to keep the house or not. Someone asked us if we're going to have to move again one day. My wife replied "I am not, I don't know about him". My kids have also been happier here than anyplace we have ever lived.

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  • 2 months later...

Does anyone know where to go on MacDill for a DA photo?

I will plead ignorant of knowing exactly what that is but I presume it is some official photo. I got my passport picture done at a little shop just north of the USPS/Subway building, to the right of the fire station. There was also a Marine LTC there getting a formal photo done there. The 2 airmen at the shop work pretty inconvenient hours and take a nice 1.5hr lunch. I think you might need an appointment too.

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  • 1 year later...

If you have the time to do the research, Beach Dr in downtown St Pete has a bunch of nice condos on the water that you might be able to get a short term lease on. The commute to MacDill wouldn't be too bad from there. You'd be next to Albert Whitted Airfield, one of USF's campuses, some museums, and a decent little downtown with some pretty good concert venues if you want to relive your 80's punk glory days.

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Agree w/Royal...downtown St Pete is a great place and the commute is much less painful than the folks in Brandon have. I'm in Tierra Verde on the south side of St Pete and it takes me 30 min to get to CENTCOM. Lots of "on the water" options over here if your into that.

Albert Whitted has a great restaurant right on the field, and downtown writ large has great food/booze options.

I will retire here....someday!

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If I were going to macdill for a 180 I'd recommend staying in Hyde park, south Howard, or downtown Tampa...all about a 15 minute drive to the gate. St Pete is nice too but you have to deal with the bridge traffic everyday. Regardless, it's a great area there.

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  • 9 months later...

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