Licensed in Florida Former Army JAG and Senior Defense Counsel 25+ years defending service members Courts-martial defense worldwide
Reviewed by Michael Waddington, Founding Partner Updated October 8, 2026
Gonzalez & Waddington defends Airmen and joint-service members at MacDill AFB when a sexual assault, drug, fraud, or misconduct charge threatens a career, a clearance, or freedom.
Attorneys Michael Waddington and Alexandra Gonzalez-Waddington are civilian defense lawyers who challenge every charge brought against service members at MacDill AFB — and they travel to Tampa to do it. They defend personnel across all branches worldwide. At MacDill, cases are typically opened by Air Force OSI and can grow into courts-martial, Article 15 actions, administrative separations, or Boards of Inquiry.
MacDill is home to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, USCENTCOM, and USSOCOM — a joint-command environment where allegations quickly gain command visibility. Cases regularly involve Tampa Police Department or Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office reports, hotel and rideshare records, digital evidence, and witnesses from multiple services stationed across this major Florida metro installation.
Call Gonzalez & Waddington at 1-800-921-8607 for a free, confidential consultation — before investigators or the command shape the record against you.
MacDill Air Force Base is one of the most important military installations in Florida. It sits on the southern tip of Tampa, near Bayshore Boulevard, Gandy, Ballast Point, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Hillsborough County, and the broader Tampa Bay region.
MacDill is not a typical Air Force base. It supports U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command, air refueling missions, joint-service operations, headquarters work, logistics, security forces, medical support, and high-visibility national defense missions.
Service members stationed at MacDill AFB may face UCMJ investigations that begin on base, off base, in housing, during liberty, during TDY, during joint operations, or after contact with Florida law enforcement.
These cases may involve:
Gonzalez & Waddington defends service members stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in serious UCMJ matters. The firm handles courts-martial, Article 15/NJP actions, letters of reprimand, administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry, and security clearance matters.
An allegation at MacDill can threaten a military career quickly. This is especially true for personnel assigned to CENTCOM, SOCOM, air refueling missions, joint commands, headquarters billets, security forces, logistics, medical roles, or clearance-sensitive positions.
MacDill cases often involve more than a simple command investigation. A case may include joint-service witnesses, combatant command records, headquarters staff, classified or sensitive information, Tampa police reports, hotel evidence, rideshare data, digital records, and civilian witnesses from the Tampa Bay area.
If you are accused of a UCMJ offense at or near MacDill AFB, do not wait for the command’s theory to harden. This includes Article 120 sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, domestic violence, assault, DUI, drug misconduct, fraud, larceny, false official statement, orders violations, harassment, stalking, threats, online misconduct, security violations, and off-base misconduct in Florida.
Call Gonzalez & Waddington at 1-800-921-8607 or text 954-799-4019 to request a confidential consultation with civilian military defense lawyers who defend service members worldwide.
Service members stationed at MacDill Air Force Base remain subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. That authority applies on base, off base, during training, during TDY, during deployment support, and while assigned to any MacDill command.
A MacDill UCMJ case may involve the military justice system, the command, OSI, CID, NCIS, CGIS, military police, Florida law enforcement, civilian witnesses, digital evidence, official records, and operational records.
The mission environment is serious. MacDill supports CENTCOM, SOCOM, the 6th Air Refueling Wing, KC-135 operations, joint headquarters work, air mobility, security forces, medical support, and global mission planning.
That environment affects how cases are handled. Commands may act quickly when allegations involve violence, sexual misconduct, alcohol, drugs, fraud, security concerns, classified information, operational readiness, public visibility, or command climate.
Early defense action matters. It can preserve favorable evidence. It can also protect the service member before statements are made to investigators, command representatives, or legal advisors.
MacDill is an Air Force, joint-service, and combatant-command installation. It is also located in a major Florida metro area.
That combination changes how UCMJ cases develop. A MacDill case may involve Air Force records, Army witnesses, Navy witnesses, Marine witnesses, headquarters personnel, Tampa police, local civilians, hotel evidence, rideshare records, and digital communications.
A MacDill military justice case may include:
The defense must move fast. Video can be overwritten. Witnesses can leave Florida. Phone data may be lost. Hotel and rideshare records may disappear. Command assumptions can harden before the defense has the full record.
MacDill Air Force Base is located in South Tampa. It is closely tied to Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, Pinellas County, Hillsborough County, and the broader Tampa Bay region.
The base supports air refueling, combatant-command headquarters, joint-service operations, special operations coordination, logistics, medical support, security forces, and command functions.
That mission creates a unique defense environment. A case may involve Air Force records, Army witnesses, Navy witnesses, Marine witnesses, contractors, joint-command staff, access logs, command emails, local police evidence, or witnesses from multiple services.
Service members may live on base, in privatized housing, or off base. They may visit South Tampa, Ybor City, downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater Beach, Brandon, Channelside, or other local areas.
Those local facts matter. Off-base conduct can quickly become a military legal problem. A Florida police report can lead to an Article 15, reprimand, separation, Board of Inquiry, security clearance review, or court-martial.
The mission area often shapes the evidence. It also affects command pressure, witness access, and career consequences.
A joint-command case is different from an Article 120 case. A headquarters allegation is different from a false official statement case. A local civilian arrest requires a strategy that accounts for both the Florida case and the military consequences.
MacDill AFB is part of a large military and civilian community. Nearby areas include South Tampa, Ybor City, downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon, Riverview, and Tampa Bay.
Service members may attend unit events, visit restaurants, stay in hotels, use rideshares, go to beaches, or interact with civilian police.
Off-base incidents can quickly become military cases. A DUI arrest, domestic call, assault allegation, hotel incident, drug issue, civilian complaint, protective order concern, or local police report can lead to command action.
Local evidence may include:
A defense strategy must account for both systems. A Florida civilian matter may continue while the command separately considers UCMJ or administrative action.
The following examples are hypothetical. They are not claims about any actual case, command, business, service member, civilian, contractor, or witness. They show how local facts can matter when a service member at MacDill AFB is accused of misconduct.
Service members at MacDill may face UCMJ allegations tied to joint commands, air mobility, headquarters work, security forces duties, off-base conduct, digital communications, travel, command investigations, or local police contact.
Once a case enters the court-martial system, the stakes increase. The result can affect liberty, rank, clearance, PCS, future assignments, civilian employment, and reputation.
Before you answer OSI's questions. Under Article 31(b) of the UCMJ, agents of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) must advise you of the suspected offense and of your right to remain silent before questioning you as a suspect. You can decline the interview and ask for counsel, and your silence cannot be used as evidence of guilt. Statements made to "explain your side" are one of the most common reasons service members at MacDill AFB end up charged.
Being titled is not the same as being charged. Investigators can title a service member and index the name in the Defense Central Index of Investigations on only "credible information." The case may go nowhere, yet the entry can resurface years later in background investigations and clearance reviews, so how the investigation is handled from the start matters.
Your commander may not be the one deciding. Covered offenses such as sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, kidnapping, murder, child pornography and (since 2025) sexual harassment are now controlled by an independent Office of Special Trial Counsel, which decides whether charges are preferred and referred. Other allegations at MacDill AFB still go through the chain of command.
Domestic violence allegations. Article 128b covers violence against a spouse, intimate partner or family member, and an allegation of strangulation or suffocation can be charged as aggravated assault even without a visible injury. A qualifying conviction can also trigger the federal firearms ban under the Lautenberg Amendment, which can end a career that requires carrying a weapon.
Drug allegations. Article 112a of the UCMJ applies to service members at MacDill AFB on post and off, separately from Florida law. A positive urinalysis is serious but contestable: the chain of custody, the testing process and innocent ingestion can all be challenged, and the government must prove the use was knowing and wrongful.
Pay and allowance allegations. BAH and other allowance cases are usually charged as larceny under Article 121 or as frauds against the United States under Article 124. An overpayment by itself is not a crime: the government must prove you intended to steal or defraud, and many of these cases begin as paperwork errors.
If you are under investigation at MacDill AFB, talk to a military defense lawyer before you make any statement. Call Gonzalez & Waddington at 1-800-921-8607.
Many MacDill military justice cases begin with a complaint, command notification, rights advisement, local police report, command-directed inquiry, security report, or request for an interview.
A typical case may involve:
Investigators often seek statements early. Those statements can shape the government’s theory. A service member should not assume an interview is harmless because charges have not yet been filed.
MacDill cases can move quickly. Many involve operational records, digital evidence, local civilian evidence, command pressure, joint-service records, and mission-related timelines.
Evidence can disappear or become difficult to obtain. CCTV, rideshare records, hotel records, phone data, bar or restaurant records, access logs, and civilian witness memories may not remain available for long.
Witness movement is also a major issue. Service members may PCS, deploy, separate, transfer commands, or leave Florida before the defense has a chance to interview them.
Early defense action can help preserve favorable evidence. It can also identify gaps, inconsistencies, and unsupported assumptions before the command’s view becomes fixed.
This is especially important in cases involving Article 120 allegations, joint-service witnesses, off-base incidents, local police contact, digital evidence, drug allegations, contradictory witness accounts, headquarters records, security issues, or clearance concerns.
Article 120 cases may involve dorm rooms, hotels, apartments, off-base social events, alcohol, dating apps, delayed reports, text messages, app messages, social media, phone extractions, and civilian witnesses from Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, or nearby areas.
These cases often turn on consent, credibility, intoxication, timing, digital evidence, witness contamination, and command assumptions.
Domestic violence and assault cases may involve military police reports, Florida police reports, 911 calls, body-camera footage, medical records, photographs, protective orders, Family Advocacy records, text messages, and command no-contact orders.
Even if the civilian case is reduced or dismissed, the command may still pursue Article 15, adverse paperwork, separation, Board of Inquiry, or clearance-related action.
MacDill cases may involve Air Force witnesses, Army witnesses, Navy witnesses, Marine Corps witnesses, contractors, civilians, and personnel assigned to different command structures.
The defense must account for command boundaries, access to records, witness availability, and preservation of local and military evidence.
Some cases may involve restricted areas, access records, mission-support records, sensitive information, security rules, or clearance concerns.
The defense must address both the UCMJ case and the career risks tied to clearance, trustworthiness, and command confidence.
These cases may involve travel cards, official claims, housing records, TDY, leave forms, official reports, emails, text messages, receipts, duty logs, or command-directed inquiries.
The defense must evaluate whether the government can prove intent. It must also determine whether records are complete and whether administrative mistakes are being treated as crimes.
A positive urinalysis, prescription issue, alcohol-related incident, DUI arrest, or property search can lead to adverse paperwork, Article 15, separation processing, or clearance concerns.
For service members in air mobility, headquarters roles, security forces, joint-service assignments, medical, command, or clearance-sensitive roles, administrative consequences may move faster than the criminal process.
Military criminal cases are not routine administrative matters. A serious allegation can threaten confinement, punitive discharge, rank, pay, clearance, reputation, and long-term career prospects.
A civilian military defense lawyer provides independent trial-focused representation. The goal is to protect the client early and prepare the case as if it may be litigated in court.
A service member facing court-martial generally has the right to detailed military defense counsel. Civilian military defense counsel does not replace detailed military counsel. Civilian counsel can work alongside the detailed military lawyer.
Civilian counsel can bring independent investigation, family communication, digital evidence review, witness preparation, cross-examination strategy, and continuity outside the command structure.
In MacDill cases, civilian defense counsel may need to review evidence from many sources. These may include OSI reports, CID reports, NCIS reports, CGIS reports, military police records, security forces records, command emails, travel records, duty rosters, mission-support records, communications records, access records, phone extractions, text messages, app messages, emails, social media, hotel records, rideshare records, Florida police records, civilian court records, protective order records, urinalysis documents, and adverse administrative paperwork.
Gonzalez & Waddington represents service members worldwide in serious military cases. The firm defends clients in courts-martial, Article 120 cases, Article 128 and 128b cases, CID, NCIS, OSI, and CGIS investigations, Article 15/NJP actions, Boards of Inquiry, administrative separations, letters of reprimand, security clearance matters, fraud cases, violent offenses, digital evidence cases, and other serious UCMJ matters.
Service members stationed at MacDill AFB can face military consequences from allegations tied to air mobility, joint-service missions, combatant command assignments, off-base conduct, Florida police contact, digital evidence, security concerns, and command investigations.
A civilian military defense lawyer can work alongside detailed military defense counsel in courts-martial, Article 120 cases, Article 15 matters, letters of reprimand, administrative separations, Boards of Inquiry, security clearance matters, and command investigations.
Because MacDill is an Air Force, joint-service, combatant-command, Tampa Bay, and Florida-based military environment, defense strategy should account for operational records, access logs, digital evidence, local civilian evidence, joint-service witnesses, command pressure, security concerns, and long-term military career consequences.
When my brother was facing false allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence, our family found ourselves in one of the most frightening and overwhelming situations we have ever experienced.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.
Yes. Service members have the right to military defense counsel and may also retain civilian defense counsel. Civilian counsel can assist during investigations, Article 32 hearings, courts-martial, Article 15 proceedings, administrative separations, Boards of Inquiry, and rebuttals to adverse paperwork.
Serious UCMJ cases may include Article 120 sexual assault allegations, assault, domestic violence, drug offenses, fraud, false official statements, orders violations, security issues, digital evidence cases, and other felony-level military charges.
Yes. Investigations often begin long before charges are preferred. Investigators may request interviews, collect witness statements, search devices, and review digital or official records before the service member fully understands the risk.
Yes. A civilian arrest, police report, protective order, or local criminal case can trigger command action. The command may consider Article 15, adverse paperwork, administrative separation, Board of Inquiry, clearance review, or court-martial.
They can be. MacDill cases may involve combatant command records, joint-service witnesses, headquarters evidence, local civilian evidence, classified or sensitive information, command visibility, and clearance concerns.
Yes. The military does not always wait for civilian courts. A command may issue adverse paperwork, impose restrictions, initiate Article 15 proceedings, or begin separation action while the Florida case is still pending.
No. Article 31(b) of the UCMJ requires investigators to tell you what you are suspected of and that you have the right to remain silent, and you can ask for a lawyer before answering anything. An interview is evidence collection, and OSI can title you as a subject on a low "credible information" standard that can follow you into background and clearance checks even if the case is dropped. Politely decline, ask for counsel, and call a military defense lawyer before you say anything.
Gonzalez & Waddington, LLC is a civilian military defense law firm representing service members worldwide. The firm focuses on military criminal defense, court-martial litigation, UCMJ investigations, administrative separation boards, Boards of Inquiry, letters of reprimand rebuttals, Article 15/NJP matters, sexual assault defense, violent offense defense, fraud cases, digital evidence cases, and other high-stakes military legal matters.
Michael Waddington is a former Army officer and former Army JAG. He has served as an Army Trial Defense Counsel, Senior Defense Counsel, Army prosecutor, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and Chief of Military Justice. He has more than 25 years of military defense experience and is admitted to all U.S. military trial courts worldwide.
Alexandra González-Waddington is a founding partner, former public defender, and experienced military defense lawyer. She is admitted to all U.S. military trial courts worldwide and has defended service members in sexual assault, violent crime, war crimes, murder, classified-information, domestic violence, and white-collar cases.
For service members at MacDill Air Force Base, that background matters. Cases at this installation may involve joint-service records, local police records, command pressure, digital messages, security issues, Article 120 allegations, combatant-command concerns, and serious UCMJ consequences.
If you are stationed at MacDill Air Force Base and are under investigation, do not wait. Get legal guidance before making statements or submitting paperwork that may be used against you later.
Gonzalez & Waddington can work alongside detailed military defense counsel. The firm can help review the evidence, preserve favorable information, prepare for command decisions, and build a defense strategy that accounts for both the military case and the MacDill joint-command environment.
Call Gonzalez & Waddington at 1-800-921-8607 or text 954-799-4019 to request a confidential consultation. No attorney can guarantee a result. The goal is to intervene early, protect your rights, and help you make informed decisions before the command or prosecution theory hardens.
This video explains what your rights are and how experienced criminal defense lawyers can make a difference.
Facing a military investigation, UCMJ allegation, or serious criminal charge? Gonzalez & Waddington provides trial-focused defense for high-stakes cases. Call 1-800-921-8607 or text 954-799-4019 for a confidential, no-cost consultation.
