Cigars, Rough Riders And Sandwich Link Tampa To Cuba

Photo by Bobbie O’Brien/WUSF Public Media

Tampa is linked to Cuba by more than early Spanish fishermen, migrating cigar workers and the 1960s missile crisis. Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders used the city to train and then launch their 1898 foray into Cuba during the Spanish American War.

But a sandwich became the most recent Cuban battleground between the communities in Tampa and Miami: The Cuban Sandwich Crisis.

• The Case for Tampa
• The Case for Miami

As a result, Tampa City Council named the traditional Cuban Sandwich of sweet ham, mojo-marinated roast pork, Swiss cheese, dill pickles, mustard and Genoa salami as the city’s “signature sandwich” in April 2012.

Tampa’s Cuban Sandwich Festival on Saturday, March 30, features a taste from a 170 foot-long Cuban sandwich, music and a junior chef’s showdown. Sunday, March 31, is the 8th annual International Cuban Sandwich Festival where teams from South Korea, England and California will compete for the title of Best Cuban Sandwich.

Keystone View Company. Roosevelt’s “Rough Rider’s”sic arrival at Tampa, Fla., U.S.A. Florida Tampa, ca. 1898. Meadville, Pa.: Keystone View Company manufacturers and publishers.

And if you’d like some additional visuals, while munching on your Cuban sandwich, here’s a short film of Rough Riders at drill in Tampa on the Library of Congress website.

Tampa’s Navy Week Cancelled, But Seamen Will Still Serve

SOUDA BAY, Greece (Jan. 19, 2013) The guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton (FFG-40) arrives for a scheduled port visit. Halyburton is on a scheduled deployment operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Paul Farley/Released)

The Congressional sequestration tentacles are reaching further into the fiscal year forcing changes and cuts even in the military.

The Navy is cancelling “Navy Week” in Tampa. Citing the “current budget environment,”the port visit by the USS Halyburton and the Blue Angels air show at MacDill Air Force Base have been cut. Without those elements, there’s little left of the Navy Week program. So, it was officially cancelled.

However, seamen serving at the United States Central Command, Navy Operational Support Center Tampa, and Navy Recruiting District Miami, are stepping in.

MacDill AFB: A Community Bids Farewell to Col. Richoux

A billboard in Brandon, FL.

Col. Lenny Richoux was certainly a popular commander when running Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base. He started a friends of MacDill program to encourage civilian members of the community to visit the base and get to know its work and people.

Richoux also worked to expand services to military families, about 80 percent of them, living off base in communities such as Brandon. So, it’s no wonder that this billboard appeared in Brandon.

I don’t know who sponsored the billboard, but you hope Richoux and his family have a chance to see it before flying off to Belgium, their new post.

And a welcome to Col. Scott DeThomas, a friend of Richoux’s, and the new MacDill AFB commander and leader of the 6th Air Mobility Wing.

An Air Force C-17 Mistakenly Lands at Civilian Airfield

Photo courtesy of Aviation News in the Raw.

An Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo plane carrying 23 passengers and19 crew made an unscheduled landing at Tampa’s general aviation airfield, Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands just south of downtown.

Video of the landing courtesy of Ryan Gucwa can be seen on the website Aviation News in the Raw.

The runway at Peter O. Knight is much shorter than most military landing strips, at only 3,400 feet, and used mostly by small private aircraft and helicopters. The runway at MacDill AFB is 14,000 feet long by comparison.

The military aircraft’s planned destination was MacDill Air Force Base, about four miles south at the end of Tampa’s peninsula.

A press release from the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Wing Command at Scott Air Base in Illinois states:

The aircraft, flying in support of U.S. Central Command, was apparently undamaged and there were no injuries. There appears to be no damage to the airfield.

The civilian airfield officials and the Air Force are working together to move the C-17 Globemaster so that Peter O. Knight airport to re-open.

The Air Mobility Win Command is investigating the incident.

Third Teen Arrested in Unprovoked Attack on Tampa Soldier

A still photo taken from the security camera video that captured the attack in the upper right corner.

A grainy black and white video of the attack of a soldier walking along a South Tampa street went viral.

National news media picked up on the story of the lone soldier whose car had broken down being approached by four young men,  beaten and robbed of his wallet and cell phone.

The attack so outraged the community that private donors contributed $16,000 in reward money for information leading to the capture of the attackers.

Just over a week later, Tampa police have arrested a third teenager linked to the unprovoked attack. A nearby security camera captured the youngsters beating and kicking the victim, Army Sgt. Johnny Aparicio, who was hospitalized with a bloody, broken nose and a knocked out tooth.

The sergeant is  with Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base and is relatively new to the area. He was attacked during the early morning on May 13th only a few miles from the base.

MacDill Commander Col. Lenny Richoux called the attack an isolated incident and credited the community for its response.

“I had to do very little. It was the community that came to us and said ‘We can’t believe that this happened to one of our military people,’” Richoux said. “They’ve come to the sheriff’s office and they’re helping them to find these people.”

Richoux said the people of Tampa recognize how valuable the military is to the community and “have wrapped their arms around us.”

Community tips helped lead police to the arrest Friday of suspects Geroshe Lewis, 18, and Lerome Howard, 18, both of Robinson High School in South Tampa. Late Sunday, Jared Richardson, 18, of Brandon was arrested. A fourth suspect is still at large.

Veterans Day Ceremonies Begin in the Tampa Bay Area

Floyd Kruszka (left) and Darrell Egner, both veterans of Operation Dragoon, salute the American Flag at a ceremony commemorating the 65th Anniversary of Operation Dragoon, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Aug. 5, 2009. Photo courtesy of Army.mil.

Friday is the official – 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month which marks the end of hostilities – the Armistice from World War I.  Yet many events are planned throughout the week to mark what has become Veterans Day.

NOVEMBER 8 – TUESDAY:

MacDill AFB – It’s not open to the public, however, the 6th Air Mobility Wing at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base and the joint commands located on base will observe Veterans Day at an 8 a.m. ceremony that includes a flyover by a KC-135 Tanker.

USF TAMPA CAMPUS: An early Veterans Day celebration is set Tuesday at Tampa’s University of South Florida Campus featuring the Special Operations Parachute Demonstration Team and Keynote Speaker, General Lloyd “Fig” Newton, USAF (Ret). It’s scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza.

NOVEMBER 11 – FRIDAY:

HALEY VA HOSPITAL – A parade, antique car show and cookout have become a tradition at Tampa’s VA Medical Center. It’s open to the public and is truly a center where Veterans are a huge part of the ceremony and celebration. The parade begins at 10 a.m. including high school bands, the U.S. Central Command Color Guard, AMVETS Riders and  more.

BAY PINES VA: A ceremony honoring the men and women who served features the Keswick Christian High School band, a firing salute, taps performance, and military vehicle display is scheduled at 10 a.m. on the Bay Pines Campus. It’s open to the public, veterans and their families.

A reminder to all Veterans – if you’d like to share your definition on what it means to be a Veteran – email me at bobrien@wusf.org with your comment before Nov. 10th.

Airfest 2011 this Weekend at Tampa’s MacDill Air Base

The USAF Thunderbirds. Photo courtesy of the Air Force website.

The KC-135 Stratotanker is an everyday sight at Macdill Air Force Base, home to the 6th Air Mobility Wing. But, this weekend the C-135s will have company. The skies over Tampa will be filled with demonstration flights by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, a B-25 Mitchell Bomber and a P-51 Mustang among other aircraft.

It’s the annual MacDill AirFest is Saturday and Sunday. The gates at Dale Mabry Boulevard and MacDill Avenue open at 8 a.m. to the public with opening ceremonies planned at 9 a.m. both days. Once the spectator parking is full, the gates will close however and the base will only be accessible for the general public by foot or on public transportation.

There’s also a schedule of events. Some highlights:

• The Thunderbirds perform both days at 2:30 p.m. both days
• A U.S. Special Operations Command Jump at 9:05 a.m. and Parachute Team Demo at 2 p.m. both days
• A KC-135 Stratotanker fly-over at 10:20 a.m.

Be sure to check the Frequently Asked Questions page for a list of suggested items to bring and what not to bring.

A “Hometown” Medal of Honor Ceremony for Dakota Meyer

Tampa's ceremony to remember fallen Marine Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick and celebrate Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer.

Marine Sgt. Dakota Meyer received the Medal of Honor Thursday for saving the lives of more than three dozen U.S. and Afghan forces. Yet, during that six-hour fire-fight he was unable to save his buddies – three Marines – a Navy Corpsman and an Army soldier.

Meyer wrote a letter to the families of the fallen asking them to hold ceremonies in their hometowns rather than attend the Medal of Honor ceremony in Washington D.C.

A majority of those who attended were veterans.

One of those hometown events took place outside under a bright Florida sun at Tampa’s Patriot Corner, Bayshore and Bay to Bay boulevards.Dozens of veterans, active duty military and citizens, most held an American flag. They lined Tampa’s heavily traveled, scenic road that curves along the bay from MacDill Air Force Base to downtown.

They were there to honor Marine Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick – one of five teammates that Sgt. Dakota Meyer tried to save.

Kenefick’s mother, Susan Price, helped arrange the ceremony to celebrate the heroic efforts of Sgt. Dakota Meyer and to remember her son.

“Dakota is a special breed of human being and part of him died that day he was on the other side of the radio listening to two hours of calls for help,” Price said.

A rifle volley, a poem, a prayer, the unveiling of a portrait of Kenefick and the release of a butterfly were all part the ceremony.

A portrait of Gunnery Sgt. Aaron Kenefick by Greg Crumbly, also a veteran, who does commemorative portraits of fallen warriors and presents the works to their families for free.

Multiple Deployments: A New Reality for a New Military

Master Sergeant Nation holds a photo of he 8-year-old daughter - he's been deployed for half of her life.

I wrote a headline earlier this week that the “military continues to pay the price for 9/11.” Not all of that cost is in blood, the price also is exacted in how military families live their lives.

“You deploy for a year, then you come back, you have another honeymoon, then you deploy for another year,” said Master SG Milt Nation, a military policeman who joined the Army in 1989. He joined because he always wanted to be a cop. He’s deployed a lot to Bosnia and Croatia “but those were peacetime deployments.”

Nation has deployed five times since 9-11, three times to Iraq, once to Afghanistan and once to Qatar. He’s currently assigned to U.S. Central Command Headquarters at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base. I met him at the CENTCOM 9/11 ceremony on Friday.

With so many deployments I asked how that affects his family. He pulled out a photograph of his daughter, Alexandria.

Nation has deployed five times since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he is currently assigned to CENTCOM.

“She turned 8 years old, but I’ve only known her four years of her life with all the deployments that I’ve gone on,” Nation said. “I’m just actually balancing it out right now, to know her, to see her and be a dad. So, I have fun.”

“All soldiers know they’re going to have to deploy to one of those two places (Afghanistan or Iraq) and they expect that and the leadership expects that,” Nation said adding that today’s soldier is different, “I joined a long time ago in ’89 for a different reason, for college and for an  experience to be a police officer. But they joined just to help out our country combat on terrorism and I thought that was very honorable, it surprised me just young kids just joined to come over and deploy

He said families learn to deal with deployments taking it day-to-day and technology has been a great help – with the internet and phones – keeping families connected. But he added that it’s important they don’t get distracted.

“Sometimes you’ve got to stay focused about what’s happening with the mission and the families they have to focus what’s going on at school or with the kids,” Nation said. “At the end you’ve got to have that relationship where you come back and try to bond with each other again.”

Nation has two Purple Hearts from his deployments in Iraq and he still loves what he does being a military policeman.

Deploying Air Force Officer Opts for a Short Good-Bye

Air Force 1st Lt. Mark Graff prior to deploying to Afghanistan.

President Obama is slowly drawing down forces in Afghanistan and talk in Washington focuses on how to get out. But replacement troops arrive there every day to train the Afghan forces and help rebuild the country.

One of those is 1st Lt. Mark Graff. Until a few  months ago, he was the public affairs officer at MacDill’s 6th Air Mobility Wing in Tampa, Florida. Now, he’s serving for 9 months on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Farah, Afghanistan.

The airman talked with me just days before his deployment for three months of combat training and then joining his team in Afghanistan.

“The sense of upheaval in one person’s life or in a marriage is just immeasurable,” Graff said. “Professionally, I’m still very excited to get started because joining ROTC years ago, this is something that you hear about, your first deployment. I feel like I’m reaching one of those milestones in my young career.”

But, emotionally and personally he admitted to a building nervousness and anxiousness.

Graff had been married less than five months when he left for combat training. He’ll spend his first anniversary in Afghanistan. They understood deployment was in his future even though his first assignment out of college ROTC was to the Public Affairs Office at MacDill.

Graff holds the two lucky acorns he picked up prior to deployment. He kept one and gave one to his wife.

The Air Force officer talked with his wife and they mutually agreed how they would say good-bye when he left.

“She’s not a fan of long good-byes and I suppose I am really not either,” Graff said. “Over a glass of wine (we) just agreed she’ll drop me at the airport, I’ll unload the bags and we’ll say our good-byes then and there.”

Graff and his wife wanted to avoid “spending that last one-and-a-half hours in the airport with that black cloud sitting over us,”

He did give her a card and a lucky acorn. He picked up two, one for him and the other for her while in the woods during a visit home to Illinois. It’s a habit he developed, randomly picking up something to fidget with while hunting. She teases him about it, but to him they’re lucky charms and now they each have one while he’s deployed.

We’ll be checking in with 2^nd Lt. Graff during his deployment and as he reaches milestones like mid-tour R and R, when he receives his next assignment and when  he returns to Tampa completing his first deployment.

A previous version had 1st Lt. Graff at his former rank of 2nd Lt. Congratulations on the promotion!