Around for the Long Haul

[Originally posted on goofyblog 2.15.07]

This is fairly old, but underreported news. We are building an enduring, military presence in Iraq. Check out more on military news here.

As of mid-2005, the U.S. military had 106 forward operating bases in Iraq, including what the Pentagon calls 14 “enduring” bases – all of which are to be consolidated into four mega-bases.

1) Green Zone (Baghdad) includes the main palaces of Saddam Hussein. The area houses the offices of major U.S. consulting companies and the temporary U.S. embassy facilities.

2) Camp Anaconda (Balad Airbase) Logistical base is spread over 15 square miles and is being constructed to accommodate 20,000 soldiers.

3) Camp Taji (Taji) Former Iraqi Republican Guard “military city,“ is now a huge U.S. base equipped with a Subway, Burger King and Pizza Hut.

4) Camp Falcon-Al-Sarq (Baghdad) In late September 2003, the 439th Engineering Battalion delivered over 100,000 tons of gravel and is assisting with building roads, walls, guard towers, and buildings for Camp Falcon planned to house 5,000 soldiers.

5) Post Freedom (Mosul) Saddam Hussein’s former palace in Mosul is currently home to the 101st Airborne Division.

6) Camp Victory- Al Nasr (Baghdad Airfield) Is a U.S. Army base situated on airport grounds about 5 kilometers from Baghdad International Airport. The base can house up to 14,000 troops.

7) Camp Marez (Mosul Airfield) Located at an airfield southwest of Mosul, has a tent dining capacity for 500.

8) Camp Renegade (Kirkuk) Strategically located near the Kirkuk oil fields and the Kirkuk refinery and petrochemical plant, has a dormitory that houses up to 1,664 airmen.

9) Camp Speicher (Tikrit) Named after F/A-18 pilot Michael “Scott” Speicher who was shot down during the first Gulf War in 1991, is located near Tikrit in northern Iraq.

10) Camp Fallujuh (Rail Station?) The exact whereabouts and name is unknown. Analysts believe that the U.S. is building an “enduring base” in Fallujah, a large town forty miles west of Baghdad. Fallujah has proved to be the most violence prone area in Iraq.

11) Unknown name (Nasiriyah) The exact whereabouts and name is unknown. Analysts believe that the U.S. is building an “enduring base” near Nasiriyah, a provincial capital of South-East Iraq.

12) Unknown name (between Irbil and Kirkuk)

13) & 14) Unknown Locations