Balad Air Base Explained

Balad Air Base
Caption:Camp Anaconda
Iata:XQC
Icao:ORBD
Lid:OR9
Type:Military
Operator:Iraqi Air Force
Location:Balad, Iraq
Elevation-F:161
Elevation-M:49
Pushpin Map:Iraq
Pushpin Mapsize:280
Pushpin Label:Balad Air Base
R1-Number:14/32
R1-Length-F:11,490
R1-Length-M:3,503
R1-Surface:Concrete
R2-Number:12/30
R2-Length-F:11,495
R2-Length-M:3,504
R2-Surface:Concrete

Balad Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة بلد الجوية), is an Iraqi Air Force base located near Balad in the Sunni Triangle 40miles north of Baghdad, Iraq.

Built in the early 1980s, it was originally named Al-Bakr Air Base. In 2003 the base was captured by the United States Armed Forces at the start of the Iraq War and was called both Balad Air Base and Anaconda Logistical Support Area (LSA) by the United States Army before being renamed Joint Base Balad on June 15, 2008. The base was handed back to the Iraqi Air Force on November 8, 2011, during the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, after which it returned to being called Balad Air Base.[1]

During the Iraq War it was the second largest U.S. base in Iraq. It was also one of the busiest airports in the world with 27,500 takeoffs and landings per month, second only to Heathrow Airport.[2] Today it is home to the Iraqi Air Force's contingent of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcons.

History

Ba'athist Iraq

Balad was formerly known as Al-Bakr Air Base, named in honor of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979. It was considered by many in the Iraqi military to be the most important airfield of the Iraqi Air Force. During most of the 1980s, it operated with at least a brigade level force, with two squadrons of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighters. Al-Bakr Air Base was especially well known for the large number of hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) built by Yugoslavian contractors during the Iran–Iraq War in the mid-1980s. It had four hardened areas—one each on either end of the main runways—with approximately 30 individual aircraft shelters.

U.S. military presence (2003–2011)

The base was captured by U.S. forces in early April 2003, renaming it Camp Anaconda and later Joint Base Balad (JBB). [3] The area was nicknamed "Mortaritaville" (in a play on Margaritaville), because of a high frequency of incoming mortars, at times every day, from Iraqi insurgents. Camp Anaconda has also been more colloquially-termed "Life Support Area Anaconda" or the "Big Snake".[4]

The U.S. Army 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and the U.S. Air Force 332d Air Expeditionary Wing were headquartered at JBB. It was decided that the facility share one name even though it had differing names through its different occupants. Until mid-2008 the U.S. Army had been in charge of Balad but overall control was handed to the U.S. Air Force when it was designated a joint base. Balad was the central logistical hub for coalition forces in Iraq. Joint Base Balad also hosted a Level I trauma center Air Force Theater Hospital which boasted a 98% survival rate for wounded Americans and Iraqis.[5]

It housed 28,000 military personnel and 8,000 civilian contractors. Like most large bases in Iraq, LSA Anaconda offered amenities including a base movie theater (Sustainer Theater), two Base/Post Exchanges (BX/PX), fast food courts including Subway, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell (2007), Burger King, Green Beans Coffee, a Turkish cafe, an Iraqi bazaar, multiple gyms, dance lessons, an Olympic size swimming pool, and an indoor swimming pool.

The base was a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting US troops serving in Iraq on USO Tours including the Charlie Daniels band (2005), Vince Vaughn (2005), Carrie Underwood (2006),Wayne Newton, Toby Keith, Gary Sinise, Chris Isaak, Neal McCoy, Oliver North, and WWE.[6]

Mortaritaville

Starting in 2003, several mortar rounds and rockets were fired per day by insurgents, usually hitting the empty space between the runways, although there were isolated injuries and fatalities.[7] [8] [9] [10] By mid-2006, this rate had dropped by about 40%.[11] Due to these attacks, the soldiers and airmen refer to the base as "Mortaritaville", though this name is shared with other bases in Iraq.[12]

Burn Pit

Joint Base Balad had a burn pit operation as late as the summer of 2010. The pit, which was visible for miles, was in continuous use which resulted in 147 tons of waste burnt per day, some of which was considered toxic.[13] [14] Respiratory difficulties and headaches were attributed to smoke inhalation from the burnt waste; however, according to research conducted on behalf of the US Department of Veteran Affairs, there is insufficient evidence to connect those symptoms to burn pits.[15] [16] Despite this, the VA allows service members to file claims for symptoms they believe to be related to burn pit exposure.[17] [18]

Black Jail

A black jail, a U.S. military detention camp to interrogate high-value detainees, was established at Balad in summer of 2004, named the Temporary Screening Facility (TSF).[19] [20] [21] A British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) lawyer who visited a black jail, believed to be at Balad, described it as holding prisoners in wooden crates, too small to stand in or lie down, who were subject to white noise.[22] General Stanley McChrystal, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, regularly visited the site, reporting that the staff of interrogators and analysts was six times the number of detainees, enabling important detainees to be questioned through each shift.[23]

2007 AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crash

See main article: 2007 AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crash. On 9 January 2007, an Antonov An-26 airliner operated by AerianTur-M on behalf of the U.S. Air Force crashed while attempting to land at the air base, killing 34 passengers and crew.

Units

Ground forces
Aviation forces
US Air Force
Army

Current use

On 8 November 2011, as U.S. forces were in the process of withdrawing from Iraq, Joint Base Balad was handed back to the Iraqi Air Force, after which it returned to being called Balad Air Base. The base is home to the Iraqi Air Force's General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons[24] of 9th Fighter Squadron (34 aircraft operating in 2023).[25]

Sallyport Global Human Rights Abuses and Corruption

In 2014, Sallyport Global, subsidiary of Caliburn International (now called Acuity International), was awarded contracts to work on Balad Air Base in support of the Iraqi F-16 program.[26] Following reports alleging timesheet fraud, investigators found evidence of alcohol smuggling, human trafficking, security violations, and theft. The investigators were subsequently fired by the human resources personnel that they were originally sent to investigate, and removed from the base under armed guard.[27] [28] Employees have also raised concern about racism, particularly from white South African security guards who made open endorsements of Apartheid and refused to work alongside Iraqis and other people of color. Former employees say that they feared for their safety at the base due to security failures. In one such report, a militia member shot a bomb-sniffing dog that had flagged their vehicle. It is also said that animals were intentionally starved, and the company withheld passports from employees who wished to leave.[29]

Sallyport is also being investigated by United States Department of Justice on allegations of bribing Iraqi officials for exclusive contracts.[30] [31]

Islamic State attacks

The base came under attack by ISIL militants in late June 2014, when the insurgents launched mortar attacks and reportedly surrounded the base on three sides.[32]

On January 4, 2020, the base came under a rocket attack, and no claims of responsibility have been made yet.[33] The attack wounded four people. On 20 February 2021, four rockets targeted the base, in which one Iraqi contractor was wounded.[34]

Rockets fell in Iraq’s Balad air base on March 17, 2022 leaving no damage, 2 security forces wounded.[35]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Huge U.S. air base returned to Iraqi control. Reuters . November 9, 2011. www.reuters.com.
  2. Web site: 9 November 2011. Huge U.S. air base returned to Iraqi control. live. Reuters. https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042128/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-usa-balad/huge-u-s-air-base-returned-to-iraqi-control-idUSTRE7A82KG20111109 . 2019-02-22 .
  3. Web site: 9 November 2011. Huge U.S. air base returned to Iraqi control. live. Reuters. https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042128/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-usa-balad/huge-u-s-air-base-returned-to-iraqi-control-idUSTRE7A82KG20111109 . 2019-02-22 .
  4. News: Carter . Phillip . October 18, 2006 . The Thin Green Line . 2007-07-25 . Slate.
  5. News: Mason . Michael . March 2007 . Dead Men Walking . 2024-07-02 . Discover.
  6. http://www.garysinisefoundation.org/blog/article/iraq-november-2003
  7. News: 2003-07-10 . Mortars, Grenades Fired at U.S. Troops in Several Attacks . 2017-07-27 . Fox News . en-US.
  8. News: October 27, 2004 . Letters to the editor for Wednesday, October . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011950/http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=24803&archive=true . September 28, 2007 . 2007-07-25 . Stars and Stripes.
  9. News: Mortar attacks part of daily life at Balad air base . 2017-07-27 . en.
  10. News: Burns . John F. . 2004-01-04 . G.I. Killed and Two Wounded by Mortar Fire at Iraq Base . 2017-07-27 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  11. News: Powell . Anita . July 22, 2006 . Attacks on the decrease at LSA Anaconda, aka 'Mortaritaville' . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015019/http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37883&archive=true . September 28, 2007 . 2007-07-25 . Stars and Stripes.
  12. News: Base hit by daily attacks told no GIs available for patrols . 2017-07-27 . tribunedigital-chicagotribune . en.
  13. Web site: 2013-03-29 . Burn pit at Balad raises health concerns — Troops say chemicals and medical waste burned at base are making them sick, but officials deny risk . 2017-07-27 . Military Times.
  14. The New Agent Orange . 2017-07-27 . New Republic . en-US.
  15. Web site: Administration . US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health . Burn Pits - Public Health . 2017-07-27 . www.publichealth.va.gov . en.
  16. Web site: Administration . US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health . Studies on Possible Health Effects of Burn Pits - Public Health . 2017-07-27 . www.publichealth.va.gov . en.
  17. Web site: Administration . US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health . VA's Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry - Public Health . 2017-07-27 . www.publichealth.va.gov . en.
  18. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_burnpit_102708w/ "Burn pit at Balad raises health concerns
  19. News: Schmitt . Eric . 22 August 2009 . U.S. Shifts, Giving Detainee Names to the Red Cross . 2 July 2018 . New York Times.
  20. News: Allisa J. Rubin . 2009-11-28 . Afghans Detail a Secret Prison Still Operating on a U.S. Base . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121108185645/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/world/asia/29bagram.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print . 2012-11-08 . New York Times.
  21. Web site: Cobain . Ian . 1 April 2013 . Camp Nama: British personnel reveal horrors of secret US base in Baghdad . 2 July 2018 . The Guardian.
  22. News: Ian Cobain, Jamie Doward . 30 June 2018 . M16 put questions to prisoner waterboarded 83 times by CIA . 1 July 2018 . The Guardian.
  23. Book: McChrystal, Stanley . My Share of the Task: A Memoir . Penguin . 2013 . 9781101601426 . 8 August 2018.
  24. Book: AirForces Monthly. August 2014. Key Publishing Ltd. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England. 23.
  25. Web site: AeroHisto - Aviation History: Iraqi 9th Fighter Squadron has now 21 F-16C/Ds in its fleet. Arnaud. Delalande. November 8, 2017.
  26. Web site: Editor . 31 January 2019 . Sallyport wins $375m Iraq Contract . 2019-05-10 . Iraq Business News . en-US.
  27. Web site: 3 May 2017 . AP: U.S. contractor ignored security violations at Iraq base . 2019-05-10 . www.cbsnews.com . en-US.
  28. Web site: Hinnant . Desmond Butler and Lori . 3 May 2017 . U.S. company turned blind eye to wild behavior on Iraq base . 2019-05-10 . chicagotribune.com . en-US.
  29. News: McCullough . Zack KopplinIrvin . 2018-09-18 . U.S. Paid $1B to Contractor Accused of Bigotry at Iraq Air Base . 2019-05-10 . en.
  30. News: McCullough . Zack KopplinIrvin . 2019-02-12 . DOJ Is Investigating Whether U.S. Payoffs to Iraqi Officials Opened the Door for ISIS . 2019-05-10 . en.
  31. Web site: Iannelli . Jerry . 2019-02-15 . Miami Migrant-Camp Contractor Tied to Iraqi Government Bribery Investigation . 2019-05-10 . Miami New Times.
  32. Web site: ISIS Tries to Grab Its Own Air Force. Lake. Eli. Josh Rogin . 25 June 2014. The Daily Beast. 2014-06-26.
  33. Web site: Rocket Attacks Hit Baghdad's Green Zone, Balad Air Base: Iraqi Military. Richard. Sisk. January 4, 2020. Military.com.
  34. Web site: Rocket attack on Iraqi airbase where US defense company operates . The Guardian . 20 February 2021 .
  35. Web site: balad air base . 2023-02-28 . Arab News . en.

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