MacDill AFB

MacDill is a peninsula base in Tampa where CENTCOM and SOCOM headquarters sit side by side, which means you'll see more general officers than a planetarium has stars and more Patagonia vests than a Silicon Valley mixer — it's the one base where 'business casual Friday' involves a fleece vest over a polo and access to the most powerful military commands on Earth. The base is surrounded by water on three sides, Bayshore Boulevard is the longest continuous sidewalk in the world and the most ostentatious running path in the DoD, and the Cuban sandwiches are a protected cultural asset that Ybor City and Miami are still fighting over (Tampa wins, don't @ me). SoHo and Hyde Park have restaurants and nightlife that would embarrass most major cities. The cost of living has skyrocketed as everyone discovered Tampa, but the BAH tries to keep up. Every O-6 who's ever been stationed here mysteriously decides to retire in Tampa, buy a boat, and never look back. The biggest combat hazard is the Dale Mabry Highway commute, which is a war of attrition between you, 400,000 other drivers, and a traffic light system designed by the enemy.