Bagram Airfield

Bagram Air Base
IATA: none ICAO: OAIX
Summary
Airport type	Military
Owner	Government of Afghanistan
Operator	United States Army
Location	Bagram, Afghanistan
Elevation AMSL	4,895 ft / 1,492 m
Coordinates	34°56′46″N 069°15′54″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 3,003 9,852 Concrete 03/21 3,500 11,000 Concrete

Bagram Air Base - known and referred to by US military as Bagram Airfield - (ICAO: OAIX) is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. It is often referred to as Bagram Air Base, however the senior mission commander at Bagram is an Army two-star general, making it an Army Airfield in US military parlance. The base is currently occupied and maintained by the Combined Joint Task Force 82nd Infantry Division. (CJTF-82) The airfield is occupied and maintained by 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade (Task Force Falcon) and 2/3 GSAB (Task Force Knighthawk) of the United States Army, with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the United States Air Force and other U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard, and their coalition partner units having sizable tenant populations.

Bagram Air Base has three large hangars, a control tower, and numerous support buildings. There are more than 32 acres (130,000 m²) of ramp space and five aircraft dispersal areas, with a total of over 110 revetments. Many support buildings and base housing built by the Soviet Armed Forces during their occupation were destroyed by years of fighting between various warring Afghan factions after the Soviets left. New barracks and office buildings are slowly being constructed at the present time. There is also Bagram Theater Internment Facility, a detention centre which has been criticized in the past for its abusive treatment of prisoners. In May 2010, the International Committee of the Red Cross revealed that since August 2009 it was informed by US authorities about inmates of a second prison where detainees are held in isolation and without access to the International Red Cross that is usually guaranteed to all prisoners.

The ICAO ID is OAIX and it is specifically at 34.944N, 69.259E at 1,492 metres (4,895 ft) above sea level. The base had a single 3,003 metres (9,852 ft) runway built in 1976. A second runway, 3,500 metres (11,500 ft) long, was built and completed by the US military in late 2006, at a cost of USD$68 million. This new runway is 497 metres (1,631 ft) longer than the previous one and 280 millimetres (11 in) thicker, giving it the ability to land larger aircraft, such as the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III or the Boeing 747.

History

The original runway, 10,000 foot long, was built in 1976.

Soviet occupation era

Bagram Air Base played a key role during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 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 elements of two Soviet Airborne Troops' divisions being deployed there. Aircraft based at Bagram, including the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment flying Su-25s, provided close air support for Soviet and Afghan troops in the field. The 368th Assault Aviation Regiment was stationed at Bagram from October 1986 to November 1987. In 1987 a memorial was erected in honor of the five Soviet Air Force Su-25 "Frogfoot" pilots who had been killed during the war, including Captain Burak and Senior Lieutenants Aleshin, Zemlyakov, Paltusov and Hero of the Soviet Union Pavlyukov. The dilapidated memorial was discovered by U.S. Air Force Sergeants David Keeley and Raymond Ross, and Army Sergeant Tom Clark in 2006. An attempt was made to preserve it as a historical site, refurbish and possibly relocate the memorial to the Russian embassy in Kabul, but it was ultimately destroyed by demining efforts in 2008.

Some of the Soviet land forces based at Bagram included the 108th Motor Rifle Division and the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment of the 105th Airborne Division.

Civil War era

Destroyed aircraft line the runway, early 2002

Following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces and the rise 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 base. Taliban forces were consistently within artillery and mortar range of the field, denying full possession of the strategic 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.

US and allied forces invasion era

During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan the base was secured by a team from the British special force 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. The British force consisted of Bravo and Charlie Companies from 40 Commando Royal Marines. As of mid-December 2001 more than 300 US troops, mainly with the 10th Mountain Division, were providing force protection at Bagram. The troops patrolled 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 Bagram Air Base. The runway was repaired by US, Italian and Polish military personnel.

As of mid-June 2002, Bagram Air Base was serving as home to more than 7,000 US and other armed services. Numerous tent areas house the troops based there, including one named Viper City.

US President George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush arrived to Bagram Air Base in Air Force One on 1 March 2006.

By November 2003 B-huts, 18-by-36-foot structures made of plywood designed to hold eight troops, 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. During 2005, a USO facility was built and named after former pro football player and United States Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

By 2007 Bagram has become the size of a small town, with traffic jams and many commercial shops selling goods such as clothes to food. The base itself is situated high up in the mountains and sees temperatures drop to −20 °F (−29 °C). Due to the height and snow storms commercial aircraft have difficulty landing there, and older aircraft often rely on very experienced crews in order to be able to land there.

On 18 October 2009 The State reported on Bagram's expansion. The article reported that Bagram was currently undergoing $200 million USD expansion projects, and called the Air Base a "boom town". According to the article: "Official U.S. policy is not to create a permanent occupation force in Afghanistan. But it is clear from what's happening at Bagram Airfield - the Afghan end of the Charleston-to-Afghanistan lifeline - that the U.S. military won't be packing up soon."

In March 2010 the US Air Force (USAF) installed 150 solar powered lights to address a rising number of sexual assaults at the base. Eight reported sexual assaults occurred at the base in 2009 involving USAF personnel and the US Army's sexual assault response team reported treating 45 victims in 2009.

Significant Bagram Air Base Attacks

Main article: 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing

Veterans Day at Bagram Air Base, 2008

The 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing was a suicide attack that killed up to 23 people and injured 20 more at the base, while Dick Cheney, the vice-president of the United States, was visiting. The attack occurred inside one of the security gates surrounding the heavily guarded base.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack and said Cheney was the target. Another Taliban spokesman later said that Osama Bin Laden planned the attack, and reiterated that Cheney was the intended target. This claim is supported by the relatively limited number of large suicide bombings carried out in Afghanistan, combined with the intensity of this attack, and the fact that Cheney was at the base.

Cheney was unhurt in the attack. Among the dead were a US soldier, PFC Daniel Zizumbo, a US contractor, Geraldine Marquez-Rincon, a South Korean soldier, and 20 Afghan workers at the base.

On 4 March 2009, a car bomb exploded just outside Bagram Air Base wounding three civilian workers.

On 21 June 2009, two US soldiers were killed and at least six other personnel were wounded during an early morning rocket attack Four of the Afghans have also faced charges, while three of them have been held as material witnesses. The GIs are reported to have received over a million dollars in bribes.

Early on the morning of 19 May 2010, Taliban suicide bombers attacked Bagram, with "nearly a dozen" insurgents and one U.S. contractor reported dead while nine service members were reported wounded. A base spokesman said a building was slightly damaged during attacks by rockets, small arms, and grenades; a Taliban spokesman claimed 20 armed men wearing suicide vests attacked the base with four detonating explosives at the entrances, but the military spokesman said they failed "to breach the perimeter" and were "unable to detonate their suicide vests."

Most incidents do not receive press coverage. Evidencing this fact, it was reported in Newsweek.com that "Bagram came under daily rocket attack" in 2002 even though most of these attacks went unreported by the press. [1] Landmines have also been a serious concern in and around Bagram. [2]

As of present, Bagram Air Field is attacked approximately every other week with 107MM rockets, mortars, and [rocket-propelled grenade] (RPG) rounds. Brief small-arms firefights occasionally happen at the checkpoints on the outer base perimeter. These attacks usually occur during hours of darkness.

Bagram Theater Internment Facility

Main article: Bagram Theater Internment Facility

Bagram Air Base is the main detention facility for persons detained by US forces in Afghanistan.

The detention facility has housed as many as 500 people regarded as enemy combatants at a time. They are mostly held in a building deep in the heart of the base. The detainees have included senior members of al-Qaeda and alleged al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters. In July 2005, about 450 alleged militants and journalists were being detained there. Apart from US military and intelligence personnel, the only people officially allowed inside the prison building are Red Cross representatives who inspect the facility once every two weeks.

The detainees have no access to any legal process.

The Detention Center at Bagram has been heavily criticized for its torture and prisoner abuse. In 2005, the New York Times reported that two detainees had been beaten to death by guards in December 2002. Amnesty International has used the word "torture" to describe treatment at the detention center.

Many of the officers and soldiers interviewed by US Army investigators in the subsequent criminal investigation said the large majority of detainees at Bagram were compliant and reasonably well treated. However, some interrogators routinely administered harsh treatment which included alleged beatings, sleep deprivation, sexual humiliation, shackling to ceilings, and threats with guard dogs. Amnesty International has criticized the US government for using dogs in this way at the detention center.

In July 2005, four suspected al-Qaeda militants escaped from Bagram detention center.

Heathe Craig Joint Theater Hospital

Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital, at Bagram Air Base.

The Heathe N. Craig Joint Theater Hospital on the base is 50 bed military hospital named after Heathe N. Craig an American medic who died while trying to save a wounded comrade. According to DoD interviews with medical staff at the hospital its modern facilities rival the facilities at modern hospitals in the United States. It replaces a small, less modern facility.

Craig was trying to evacuate a wounded Afghan Soldier into a helicopter, when the winch line broke, SSG Craig and his patient both fell to their deaths.

Accidents and incidents

• On 1 March 2010, ACT Airlines Airbus A300 TC-ACB sustained substantial damage when the port undercarriage collapsed on landing.

See also

• List of airports in Afghanistan
• Kandahar International Airport
• Transit Center at Manas (Manas Air Base)
• Provincial Reconstruction Team
• International Security Assistance Force
• Afghanistan War order of battle
• Bagram torture and prisoner abuse

External links

• 455th AEW's Bagram Airfield Official Site
• Bagram Airbase at GlobalSecurity.org
  • Global Security Numerous maps and photos from the sky as of 13 August 2001
• runway dimensions
• The Prisoner, NOW on PBS
• 15 May 2005 News "Slowly, but steadily, a slew of construction projects is providing troops with better housing and improved work areas as well as a handful of new shops for eating and entertainment."
• "Cheney targeted in Taliban attack". Aljazeera.net.
• Human Rights First; Undue Process: An Examination of Detention and Trials of Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan in April 2009 (2009)
• Human Rights First; Arbitrary Justice: Trial of Guantánamo and Bagram Detainees in Afghanistan