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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