Shindand Air Base
Shindand Air Base شينډنډ هوايي ډګر | |||||||||||
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 Breaking dusk, a C-130 takes off from Shindand Air Base in 2012 | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Military | ||||||||||
| Owner |  Afghanistan | ||||||||||
| Operator | Afghan Air Force Resolute Support Mission | ||||||||||
| Serves | Northwestern Afghanistan | ||||||||||
| Location | Shindand, Afghanistan | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,780 ft / 1,152 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 33°23′32″N 062°15′40″E / 33.39222°N 62.26111°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  OAH Location of airport in Afghanistan | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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Source: AIP Afghanistan[1] | |||||||||||
Shindand Air Base (IATA: OAH, ICAO: OASD) is located in the western part of Afghanistan in the Shindand District of Herat Province, 7 miles northeast of the city of Shindand. The runway has a concrete surface. An all weather asphalt road connects it with the Kandahar–Herat Highway, part of Highway 1 (the national ring road). The base is of great strategic importance being just 75 miles from the border of Iran.[2] It is capable of housing over one hundred military aircraft.
It is one of the largest Afghan Air Force bases, and is also used in small part by the NATO Resolute Support Mission. The United States Air Force's 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group was based at Shindand AB supporting the ISAF and NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan mission.[3] The base may also have been used in the past by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for surveillance missions over western Afghanistan that have included use of the RQ-170 drone.[4]
"Construction of a perimeter fence at Shindand Air Base tripled the size of the base and included 52 guard towers. Force protection was a major component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) military construction program in Afghanistan."[5] Shindand also hosts the 3rd Wing of the Afghan Air Force (AAF).[6]
History
The Soviet military began building an airfield near the village of Shindand in 1961 and made heavy use of the base during the Soviet war in Afghanistan which ended in 1989.[2] It was captured by the Taliban forces in 1997, and the runway sustained massive damage during bombing when coalition forces initially entered Afghanistan in 2002. It was recaptured by elements of the 3rd Brigade, Central Corps, Afghan National Army, with advisors from the U.S. Army, on 14 and 15 August 2004. Elements of the 3/4 CAV of the 25th Infantry Division arrived two weeks later to reinforce this force.
In 2010, the runway was refurbished so that it is able to support all Afghan Air Force (AAF) aircraft currently in use and opens western Afghanistan to larger fixed wing aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster III.[7]
Airmen from the 809th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron constructed facilities to bed down the MQ-1B Predator unmanned aircraft system for the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing. The RED HORSE personnel built two separate sets of parking aprons, aircraft shelters, and maintenance facilities at this location and installed all of the needed utilities.[8] The unit also created helicopter parking in 2010.
In mid 2011 an expansion of the base was completed which tripled its size. Construction was scheduled to begin on a new 1.3-mile NATO training runway in early 2012.[9] But this has been canceled or suspended.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have recently added an additional 56,000 square meters of apron and taxiways capable of handling large strategic lift aircraft such as C-17s, eliminating the required two-hour runway closure time that was usually required with each C-17 arrival. Also added were a 1,200 sq meter cargo terminal, a 790 sq meter passenger terminal and a fire suppression system with nearly 600,000 liters of water have also been added to the air base.[10][11]
Supplying U.S. Army soldiers in Regional Command West, in March 2011 529th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion was replaced by the 298th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.[12][13] In early January 2012 the 298th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion was replaced by the 365th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (Mississippi Army Reserve).[14][15]
Base security prior to summer 2011 is ill recorded but believed to consist primarily of base taxing. An Air Force Security Forces ESFS was not officially stood up, but nevertheless manned by a HQ unit of the 820th BDG and airmen sourced from several bases around summer 2011. In December 2011, members of Bravo Battery, 1/134 Field Artillery, were sourced to take the Base Defense mission mixed with a reduced contingent of Air Force Security Forces to create Task Force Griffin. Consisting of 240 Army and Air Force personnel and 350 Afghan security contractors conducting base defense operations in western Afghanistan
- Responsible for the safety and security of 5600 military and civilian personnel and over $1.5 billion worth of military equipment and facilities
- Responsible for over $100 million worth of vehicles and equipment
- Oversaw a base defense mission that included Entry Control Point operations, 24-hour perimeter defense, law enforcement and a special security detachment supporting the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
- Unit was selected to be the core of a new task force put together on short notice to undergo retraining for a last minute change of mission. Integrated over 100 new personnel into a new task force and completed mission retraining in less than 30 days.
- Streamlined operations enabling the task force to support more missions without an increase in manning
- Increased the operational readiness of the vehicle fleet of 75 vehicles by 50%
On 27 Feb. 2012, advisers renamed the 'base-in-a-box' portion of the base to Camp Estelle, in dedication to Air Force Major Raymond Estelle II, who lost his life April 27, 2011, during a shooting incident at the Afghan Command and Control Center in the Afghanistan air force headquarters at the North Kabul International Airport.[16]
Summer of 2012 the 3rd Battalion, C & D Company 144th Infantry regiment from the 56th BCT, 36 Infantry Division deployed to Afghanistan (RC West) as Task Force Bowie. TF Bowie provided Battalion Command Base Security, including but not limited to presences/combat patrols, assessment missions, checkpoint control and flight line security for Shindand Airbase and surrounding areas.
In 2013, the 1st Battalion, 214th Field Artillery Regiment, deployed to Shindand as Task Force Granite. Task Force Granite was responsible for base security. They provided Base Security Battalion Command, and carried out patrol and assessment missions, checkpoint control and flight line security for the base.[17]
The USACE has overseen about $111.6 million worth of construction at Shindand Air Base. A strategic airlift apron, taxiway, passenger terminal and cargo terminal project costing $18.2 million was also completed in 2011 at Shindand. Further, a rotary-wing apron, about 133,000 square yards in size, storage facilities, solid waste management and wastewater treatment plants and an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance apron. At Shindand, USACE oversaw a total of 12 MILCON contracts, one of which included 28 aircraft shelters. "The last of the hangars were finished this month and we've only got one MILCON project left on Shindand," said Abourially.[5] A wastewater treatment plant for the base was completed in January 2013.[18] The Shindand Hospital was also built outside the base, which has 28 beds and provide much needed medical care for the people of Shindand.
The U.S. military Crash, Fire, and Rescue which had officially started up in 2012, closed in November 2014.[19]
Shindand is now home to the 3rd Wing of the Afghan Air Force, which conducts flight training operations.[20]
See also
References
- ^ AIP Afghanistan - Important Information Archived 2016-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b http://www.stripes.com/news/sprawling-air-base-in-western-afghanistan-reflects-hopes-perils-of-massive-buildup-1.169947
- ^ 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group Warriors of the Month award winners, 29 Dec 2010
- ^ John Walcott, "Iran Shows Downed Spy Drone as U.S. Assesses Technology Loss Archived 2012-02-09 at the Wayback Machine," Bloomberg Businessweek (December 9, 2011).
- ^ a b "USACE's military construction program in southern Afghanistan winds down". Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ http://www.438aew.afcent.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=18253
- ^ Western Afghanistan Air Base Ready for Partners to Take Flight
- ^ 219th RED HORSE Squadron Returns from Deployment
- ^ Lt. Col. Joe DelCampo, Shindand Air Base triples in size, 12 July 2011; alt link [1]
- ^ South District turns over Shindand strategic airlift apron, cargo and passenger terminals Archived 2013-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, 14 Jan 2012
- ^ Shindand AB ushers in new strategic taxiway
- ^ Petty Officer 1st Class John Pearl, 298th CSSB Takes Command in Afghanistan
- ^ 298th CSSB Takes Command in Afghanistan
- ^ Task Force Choctaw assumes sustainment mission in West
- ^ 298th RIP/TOA Ceremony
- ^ Shindand AB dedicates area to fallen air advisor
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-08. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "New wastewater treatmentplant promotespublic healthat FOB Shindand". Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/ShindandCRFA
- ^ International Security Assistance Force, Shindand Undergraduate Pilot Training Class, 2013, accessed 2015.
External links
