Lsa Anaconda

Joint Base Balad , formerly Balad Air Base and Logistics Support Area Anaconda , or simply LSA Anaconda - formerly known as Al-Bakr Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة البكر الجوية ‎) and known in popular media as Camp Anaconda - is one of the largest American military bases in Iraq which was formerly the largest Iraqi air base.

The Army's 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and the Air Force's 332d Air Expeditionary Wing is headquartered at JBB. It was decided that the facility share one name, even though for many reasons and for its many occupants, it has differing names. Balad is the central logistical hub for forces in Iraq and the busiest air base in the world operated by the United States Department of Defense and is currently the second busiest airport in the world. The base is so large and has so many occupants that it has its own 16-page, weekly newspaper, the Expeditionary Times (Anaconda Times before the base name change), which serves residents of the base, as well as all logistical servicemembers in Iraq and their families at home. The newspaper is staffed solely by Army journalists, usually the sustainment command's public affairs detachment, as well as a print team from a mobile public affairs detachment. Camp Anaconda has also been more colloquially-termed "Life Support Area Anaconda" or "Mortaritaville" or the "Big Snake". Joint Base Balad is also used extensively by aircraft of the Royal Air Force, which have operated a wide range of types (rotary and fixed wing) from the base, in support of ongoing missions in the country.

History

Joint Base Balad was formerly known as al-Bakr AB, named in honor of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the president of Iraq from 1968-79. 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 MiG-23 fighters. al-Bakr AB was especially well-known for the large number of hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) built by the Yugoslavs in the mid-1980s. It had four hardened areas—one each on either end of the main runways—with approximately 30 individual aircraft shelters.

Location

Located near Balad, Iraq in the Sunni Triangle 40 miles (64 km) north of Baghdad, its concrete walls house 28,000 military personnel and 8,000 civilian contractors. Unlike most bases in Iraq, LSA Anaconda offers amenities including a movie theater, fast food courts, dance lessons, an olympic size swimming pool, and an indoor swimming pool. The base is a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting American troops in Iraq.

Conditions

In 2004, several mortar rounds were fired per day , usually hitting the empty space between the runways, although there were isolated injuries and fatalities. By mid-2006, this rate had dropped about 40% . Due to these attacks, the soldiers and airmen refer to the base as "Mortaritaville", though this name is shared with other bases in Iraq. The base is thought to be one of four "super-bases" planned by the Pentagon once US forces are replaced by Iraqi forces on the front lines.

Hospital

LSA Anaconda is also home to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Airbase, a Level I trauma center which boasts a 96% survival rate for wounded Americans and Iraqis alike.

See also

• 2007 Balad aircraft crash
• Post-invasion Iraq

References

1. ^ Renamed U.S. military base in Iraq reflects joint status
2. ^ Morning Edition , NPR. Broadcast 28 September 2007.
3. ^ Carter, Phillip (October 18, 2006). "The Thin Green Line". Slate.com . http://www.slate.com/id/2151742/ . Retrieved 2007-07-25 .  
4. ^ "Balad Airbase". globalsecurity.org . http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/balad-ab.htm . Retrieved 2007-07-25 .  
5. ^ "Letters to the editor for Wednesday, October". Stars and Stripes . October 27, 2004 . http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=24803&archive=true . Retrieved 2007-07-25 .  
6. ^ Powell, Anita (July 22, 2006). "Attacks on the decrease at LSA Anaconda, aka 'Mortaritaville'". Stars and Stripes . http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37883&archive=true . Retrieved 2007-07-25 .  
7. ^ "U.S. Prepares 'Super Base' in Iraq". Newsmax.com . April 23, 2006 . http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/4/23/214827.shtml . Retrieved 2007-07-25 .  
8. ^ Mason, Michael (March, 2007). "Dead Men Walking". Discover . http://discovermagazine.com/2007/mar/dead-men-walking/ .  

Balad Airbase

LSA Anaconda, the largest support base in Iraq, is reportedly nicknamed "Mortaritaville" because of the frequency of mortar/rocket attacks on the base.

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