Camp Bondsteel
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42°22′N 21°15′E / 42.367°N 21.250°E
Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in Kosovo and indeed in the Balkans. Located near the city of Ferizaj in the eastern part of Kosovo, the base serves as the NATO headquarters for KFOR's Multinational Task Force East (MNTF-E). The base is named after Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient United States Army Staff Sergeant James L. Bondsteel.
Camp Bondsteel was constructed by the 94th Engineer Construction Battalion together with the private Kellogg, Brown and Root Corporation (KBR) under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers. KBR is also the prime contractor for the operation of the camp. The camp is built mainly of wooden, semi permanent SEA (South East Asia) huts and is surrounded by a 2.5 meter high earthen wall. The camp occupies 955 acres or 3,865,000 square meters of land[1]. To construct the base two hills were lopped off and the valley between them was filled with the resulting material.
Camp Bondsteel has been known to have stationed a variety of military inventory, from attack helicopters, the AH-64, and other armored land vehicles.
Facilities
Camp Bondsteel has many facilities on base for use by the soldiers and civilian employees who live and work there. The post exchange (PX) is the largest military exchange in south eastern Europe and contains all the necessities and more that someone may need while in Kosovo, including TVs, phones, books, DVDs, CDs, small furniture, video games, computers, clothes, shoes, food, and more, all in its two story building. The base also has, arguably, the best hospital in Kosovo; a movie theater; three gyms; two recreation buildings that have phones, computers with internet connection, pool tables, video games and more; two chapels with various religious services and other activities; two large dining facilities; a fire station; a military police station; the Laura Bush education center where classes are offered through the University of Maryland University College and Central Texas College; two cappuccino bars, a Burger King, Taco Bell, and an Anthony's Pizza pizzeria; two barber shops; two laundry facilities employing local nationals who do the laundry for those living on base; two press shops; a sewing shop; two massage shops employing mostly Thai women who conduct various massages and are regulated by military officials; a shoppette that sells snacks and drinks, some DVDs and CDs, some office products, magazines, and essential personal hygiene items; various local vendors who sell Kosovo souvenirs and products; softball and football fields; and more.
Controversies
The United States Army has been criticised for using the base as a detention facility, and for the conditions faced by the detainees there. In November 2005, Alvaro Gil-Robles, the human rights envoy of the Council of Europe, described the camp as a "smaller version of Guantanamo" following a visit. In response, the US Army stated that there were no secret detention facilities in the Camp. While there is a facility on Camp Bondsteel that was used in the past to hold detainees from the war in Kosovo, Turkey, Iraq, and Afganistan. However, such criticism may be unwarranted as the Bondsteel Detention Facility has mostly been empty and unutilized.
Additionally, critics have claimed that Camp Bondsteel is the largest U.S. military base in Europe.[citation needed] This is not correct as Bondsteel is 955 acres as compared to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, which is over 3,000 acres in size.