A former mosquito-infested swamp occupying
a 5,700-acre (2,300-hectare) spit of land on Florida's west coast, MacDill Air
Force base is considered a sought-after posting in the U.S. military.
The base, now at the center of a spiraling
scandal that forced the resignation of former CIA Director David Petraeus, also
boasts close civilian ties with the neighboring city of Tampa, just outside its
gates.
Jill Kelley, 37, a vivacious Tampa
socialite, seemed to embody that civilian bond, and did all she could to make
officers and their wives feel right at home.
Those ties are under intense scrutiny
because of the behavior of Petraeus, who became a friend of Kelley during a
two-year stint at the base between 2008 and 2010 as head of Central Command
(CENTCOM), responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East and
South Asia.
Another former deputy commander at MacDill,
Marine Corps General John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was
caught up in the scandal on Tuesday. Defense officials revealed that he
exchanged "flirtatious" emails with Kelley, who had prompted the FBI
investigation that led to Petraeus' resignation over an affair with his
biographer.
Defense officials and people close to
Petraeus say neither he nor Allen had a romantic relationship with Kelley.
Kelley and her husband, cancer surgeon
Scott Kelley, are prominent figures in the city's informal civilian support
network, throwing parties at their imposing home and providing local tips and
assistance for military officers and their wives.
Many of the officers were foreigners,
operating as military liaisons for countries forming part of the coalition
working alongside U.S. forces in Iraqand Afghanistan.
The base offers plenty of perks including
warm winter weather, modern housing, its own championship golf course, and
proximity to shopping malls and Walt Disney World resort only 90 minutes drive
away.
Originally established as an Air Force base
during World War Two, MacDill has evolved into the nerve-center of post-September
11 American combat operations in the Middle East and Asia, housing both CENTCOM
and the U.S. Special Operations Command.
The daughter of Lebanese parents, Kelley
enjoyed her role as honorary consul, driving around town with a Florida
consular license plate 'JK1' on her Mercedes. ABC News reported that she has
represented South Korea since August.
"I like to think of her as a welcome
wagon," said Aaron Fodiman, the publisher of Tampa Bay Magazine and a
friend of the Kelleys.
"When a new general's wife arrived and
said, 'I want to know where to get my hair done and where to buy a birthday
cake for my kids,' they knew they could call Jill and she would always help
them. Everybody called Jill," he added.
The bonds of friendship were so strong with
some officers that they stayed in touch after leaving the base.
Petraeus and Allen even intervened in a
bitter child custody case involving the son of Jill Kelley's identical twin
sister, Natalie Khawam, writing letters in her favor in September.
'MORE GOING ON'
The Kelleys had lots of parties, with tents
on the front lawn, said Janna Walker, who lives in an equally grand home a
block away.
Walker said military and foreign
dignitaries would attend functions and black vans and limos would arrive at the
house. "I don't know if it was Secret Service, but security was
around," Walker said.
Attempts to reach the Kelleys for comment
were unsuccessful.
A posting at MacDill, and at CENTCOM in
particular, could certainly be described as a choice assignment for a career military
officer, CENTCOM spokesman Mark Blackington said.
"For a military person, they want to
go somewhere where the action is," he said. "We've got a war going on
and that kind of thing, and I think it would be considered desirable."
Then there are Tampa's famous strip clubs.
Warren Colazzo, a co-owner of the club known as Thee Doll House, where a Sarah
Palin lookalike was the star attraction during the Republican National
Convention in August, said his customers include a fair number of military
personnel based at MacDill.
"Anybody from the military gets in for
free," he said of the club's military-friendly policies.
AIR FORCE TOWN
Together with the 6th Air Mobility Wing and
the 927th Air Refueling Wing, the base employs 15,000 active duty personnel and
has an estimated $2.8 billion economic impact on the Tampa Bay area.
"Tampa is an Air Force town!"
declares MacDill's website. Few in the city of 350,000 would disagree. City and
county officials work hand-in-hand with the Pentagon to augment the base's
role.
The city is in a battle with dozens of
other bases around the country to house some of the next generation Air Force
KC-46A refueling tanker jets.
"We have had a long history of mutual
support," said Pam Iorio, a former Tampa mayor, citing innumerable
banquets and receptions she attended at MacDill and events hosted by the city
for military officers.
The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce hosts
an annual military appreciation banquet, and each November the city invites
foreign military families to a coalition Thanksgiving dinner at the Tampa
Convention Center.
Iorio frequently attended parties at the
Kelleys' home, or saw the couple with Petraeus at military receptions on the
base, but says she never heard of any improper conduct.
"That's not the way in which Tampa
interacts with the military. It's a very respectful relationship, one of
appreciation for their service to our country, and it's really deeply embedded
in our community," she said.
She was as shocked as anyone to learn of
Petraeus' affair, especially after she included glowing references to him in a
book she wrote, titled 'Straightforward: Ways to Live and Lead.'
"He seemed like such a good
leader," she said.
The Kelleys' financial standing has also
come into question. According to county court documents, the Kelleys owe $2
million to a bank on a foreclosed office building in downtown Tampa.
The scandal is the talk of the town, said
Keith Bowman, a retired wounded Vietnam veteran, who lives half the year at an
RV campground for retired military and defense workers on MacDill.
He and his wife often worked out at the
base gym in the mornings at the same time as the Petraeuses, and occasionally
ran into them at Cellini, a nearby restaurant.
"Everybody respected the guy,"
said Bowman. "He was a great general. But now?"
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