Bagram Air Base

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Image:Bagram Air Base.jpgBagram Air Base is an airport located at the antique city of Bagram, southeast of Charikar in Parvan, Afghanistan. The ICAO ID is OAIX and it is specifically at 34.944N, 69.259E at around 1500 m above sea level. It has a single 3003 m (9852 ft) runway built in 1976.

Bagram Airbase has three large hangars, a control tower, and numerous support buildings. There are over 32 acres (130,000 m²) of ramp space. There are five aircraft dispersal areas with a total of over 110 revettments. Many support buildings and base housing built by the Soviets have been destroyed by years of fighting between the various warring Afghan factions. The runway built is capable of serving large cargo and bomber aircraft.

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History

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Soviet Occupation

Bagram Airbase played a key role during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1980 to 1989, serving as a base of operations for troops and supplies. Bagram was also the initial staging point for the invading Soviet forces at the beginning of the conflict, with a number of airborne divisions being deployed there. Aircraft based at Bagram provided close air support for Soviet and Afghan troops in the field. Some of the Soviet forces based out of Bagram included the elite 105th Guards Airborne Division.

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Civil War

Following the ousting of the Soviet forces and the rise in the power of the mujahideen, Afghanistan plunged into civil war. Control of the base was contested from 1999 onward between the Northern Alliance and Taliban, often with each controlling territory on opposing ends of the airfield. Taliban forces were consistently within artillery and mortar range of the field, denying full possession of the stragetic facility to the Northern Alliance. Press reports indicated that at times a Northern Alliance general was using the bombed-out control tower as an observation post and as a location to brief journalists, with his headquarters nearby.

Reports also indicated that Northern Alliance rocket attacks on Kabul had been staged from Bagram, possibly with Russian-made FROG-7 Rockets. Taliban attacks on the airbase included mortar attacks and airstrikes using cluster bombs.

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Use of Bagram Airbase by Allied Forces

During the U.S-led invasion of Afghanistan the base was secured by a team from the British Special Boat Service. By early December 2001 troops from the 10th Mountain Division shared the base with Special Operations Command officers from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg. In November 2001, SERE program's chief psychologist, Col. Morgan Banks, was detailed to Afghanistan, where he spent four months at Bagram Air Base. As of mid-December 2001 more than 300 American troops, mainly with the 10th Mountain Division, were providing force protection at Bagram. The troops patroled the base perimeter, guarded the front gate, and cleared the runway of explosive ordnance. As of early January 2002 the number of 10th Mountain Division troops had grown to about 400 soldiers.

As of late January 2002, there were somewhat over 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan, of which about 3,000 were at Kandahar airport, and about 500 were stationed at the air base in Bagram.

As of mid-June 2002, Bagram Air Base was serving as home to more than 7,000 U.S. and multinational armed services working together in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Numerous tent areas house the troops based there, including one named Viper City.

The main supply route (MSR) at Bagram was officially renamed on 30 April 2002, “Disney Drive” in memory of Spc. Jason A. Disney, a certified welder with the 58th Maintenance Company, out of 1st Corps Support Command, and part of Task Force Warrior, who died at Bagram on Feb. 13 in an industrial accident.

By November 2003 B-huts were replacing the standard shelter option for troops. There were several hundred, with plans to build close to 800 of them. The plans were to have nearly 1,200 structures built by 2006, but completion of the project was expected much earlier; possibly by July 2004. The increased construction fell under US Central Command standards of temporary housing and allowed for the building of B-huts on base, not to show permanence, but to raise the standard for troops serving here. The wooden structures have no concrete foundation thus not considered permanent housing, just an upgrade from the tents, the only option Bagram personnel and troops had seen previously. The small homes offer troops protection from environmental conditions including wind, snow, sand and cold. On average, B-huts house up to 8 people, as does the majority housing option, the tent.

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See also

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External links and references

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