TAMPA, Fla. — The shelter-in-place has been lifted, and all gates are back open at MacDill Air Force Base.
MacDill Air Force Base said Wednesday it has implemented shelter-in-place procedures after a threat was made to the installation.
WATCH full report from Jada Williams
A threat was made against MacDill Air Force Base. We take all threats seriously and immediately sheltered in place. As a matter of policy, we will not release specifics on what security measures have been implemented, but we are taking appropriate measures to prioritize the safety and security of our installation.
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Jada Williams is at MacDill Air Force Base and said all vehicles were being turned around and were not allowed to enter for hours on March 18.
Williams talked to Terry and Jan Honeycutt. Terry is retired military and was staying with his wife at the family camp on MacDill.
WATCH interview clip with Terry Honeycutt:
For Terry, a retired Army veteran who has served from the 1970s through the 1990s, two lockdowns in one week was something he said he had never encountered in his 20 years of military service.
"It is concerning, but it's a new world. I mean, what I was in was totally different than what it is nowadays," Terry Honeycutt said.
Honeycutt and his wife, Jan Honeycutt, were staying on base at the family camp and were among those turned away after leaving for lunch when the gate closed.
"We left for lunch. Came back and the gate was closed. We're staying on base at the family camp, been down here since January," Terry Honeycutt said.
The couple said they were not stressed by the situation and came prepared to wait it out.
"She was stuck here the other day for 5 hours, and so the first thing that went through my mind today was, well, we wanna go get a deck of cards and play cards while we're sitting here waiting," Terry Honeycutt said.
Honeycutt said he believes the base's security team is more than capable of handling the situation and had a message for those on the outside looking in.
"There's a lot of very smart people inside of MacDill Air Force Base that knows exactly what's going on. And they're just trying to disrupt it, and that's really too bad," Terry Honeycutt said.
Jan Honeycutt echoed her husband's confidence in the base.
"I'm thankful for our military, and when I did get on base the other day, I felt very secure, and, um, we've enjoyed being here," Jan Honeycutt said.
Inside the base, Shelley Scire sheltered in place with her 6-year-old son. Scire, whose husband is active duty and is in his 23rd year of service, said this is her family's first time living on a base.
"I've never felt, you know, more secure," Scire said. "I trust them 110%."
Scire said when the alert came through, she leaned on her faith to stay calm.
"When we got the alert, me and my 6-year-old son, we just sat down, we held hands, and we prayed to God, you know, for peace and comfort and protection, and I'm telling you, we got this sense of calmness and peace, and, you know, we were good," Scire said.
She described the shelter-in-place experience as nerve-wracking at first, but said her confidence in MacDill's security team kept her grounded.
"It's all about, you know, maintaining the situational awareness and, you know, being vigilant, and if we see something, say something kind of thing. And, you know, I know security forces, they work so hard to keep us safe," Scire said. "We have an awesome, awesome security team out there, keeping us safe, and watching over us, and being… leaving no stones unturned."
Scire said the lockdown lasted about 3 hours for those inside the base and that she and her son stayed busy with crafts while they waited for the all-clear.
For those on the outside worried about what was happening inside the gates, Scire had a message.
"You just have to trust the process. Trust that they're keeping us safe, and they're doing everything, everything in their power to keep us safe," Scire said.
She also cautioned against speculation on social media, saying it adds unnecessary stress for military families.
"A lot of people that don't know what's going on, or the ins and outs, they speculate. And speculation causes a lot of craziness, a lot of worry, unnecessary worry," Scire said. "The family here, we read comments, and it upsets us to see stuff that is being said about our military."
Scire said the support system among military families on base made a difficult day more manageable.
"You don't know anyone. But then you start meeting these people, and these are the ladies that, you know, will have your back for anything," Scire said.
Wednesday afternoon MacDill Officials said the base was back open under normal Force Protection Condition (FPCON) Charlie.
On March 17, MacDill Air Force Base was placed at a FPCON Charlie, a heightened security posture that is the second-highest threat level, according to a Facebook post from the base.
On March 16, the Dale Mabry gate was closed while bomb techs investigated a package found near the MacDill AFB Visitors Center. The FBI released more information regarding the suspicious package left days earlier. The FBI said analysis found possible "energetic materials."
This is an #FBI Tampa investigative update to the suspicious package found on March 16 outside MacDill AFB Visitor Center: Field screening was conducted on the contents of the package and identified possible energetic materials. Final lab analysis is not yet complete. The… pic.twitter.com/IcMO4fvlME
— FBI Tampa (@FBITampa) March 18, 2026
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