Camp Castor
The Camp Castor (also Kamp Castor) is a military base in West Africa who are close to the Malian city of Gao (about 100,000 inhabitants), directly at the airport Gao is.
The warehouse
The Dutch set up Kamp Castor on the 800,000 m² area provided for the various camps directly at the airport. A solar-diesel hybrid system with rechargeable batteries for energy storage was installed for the energy supply; up to 85 percent of the water is recycled. For safety reasons, lines and the like are installed underground. The buildings and warehouses are either air-conditioned tents, normal ISO containers or special containers with armor to protect against attacks. The Bundeswehr used its own modular special containers when expanding the camp.
logistics
The transport of people and materials to the camp starts in Germany ( Cologne / Bonn airport # military part ) to Bamako airport and from there, usually by plane, to Gao. With the Antonow An-124 transport aircraft rented by NATO ( SALIS ) for air transport tasks , the Bundeswehr can even transport large, bulky goods such as B. Combat helicopters, fly directly from Germany to Gao.
history
After the Netherlands took part in the UN MINUSMA mission in April 2014 with 380 soldiers , Dutch soldiers set up Kamp Castor. Among other things, they stationed special forces and helicopters there. At the turn of the year 2016/17, the seven helicopters - three Boeing-Vertol CH-47 transport helicopters and four Boeing AH-64 combat helicopters - were withdrawn and the number of troops reduced.
Special units from Denmark and the Czech Republic were also stationed in the camp .
The first German soldiers arrived at Camp Castor in February 2016, more then in April and June, and took over some tasks from the Dutch, later also leading the camp. The first German helicopters were on site in January 2017, and more followed in March 2017. A MANTIS system for detecting indirect attacks from the air was installed and has been operational since January 24, 2018. This not only protects Camp Castor, but also the neighboring camps. However, only the control center and several sensor units are installed, but not the guns. An IAI Heron reconnaissance drone leased from Germany from the neighboring airport has been in operation since the beginning of November 2016 .
The German helicopters stationed at Camp Castor were replaced by helicopters from other nations in 2018.
geography
The camp is located east of the Niger River , about 5 km from the bank. The Wabaria Bridge (also known as the Wabary Bridge) ( 16 ° 12 ′ N , 0 ° 2 ′ W ) has been a permanent link across the river since 2006 . The bridge is part of the N15 (National Road 15) which ends here and where several highways begin ( list of highways in Mali ): the R8 (along the river to the north), the N17 (along the river to the south) and the N18 ( towards the MINUSMA camp in Kidal, which is constantly suffering from attacks, and on to Algeria). The bridge was instrumental in the retaking of Gao on May 25-27. January 2013, during the French Opération Serval .
The region lies on the edge of the Sahara desert , in the Sahel zone , which is why sandstorms are also to be expected. In June 2017 there was such a sandstorm when a wall of dust “rolled over the warehouse” with wind speeds of up to 106 km / h. This was followed by a thunderstorm with heavy rain and the temperatures dropped from 41 ° to 23 ° Celsius.
A warning is given in the camp about the yellow Mediterranean scorpion, one of the most poisonous scorpions in the world. There are also poisonous, small snakes and the large but non-toxic camel spiders that hunt scorpions .
In Gao there is still a field camp of the Malian Army ( FAMA ) at the airport and in the north of Gao there is a camp of the former Tuareg rebels of the Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA). There was a suicide attack there on January 18, 2017, in which over 60 people were killed and more than 100 people were injured, some seriously. At that time, a meeting took place there, which was about the then planned joint patrols in the northern regions of Mali. Furthermore, one of the very large “supercamps” of the UN for the various UN contingents is located in Gao and further away there is a French camp ( Opération Barkhane ).
Incidents and deaths
Not only the Bundeswehr had to complain of deaths in a helicopter crash, the Dutch also lost an Apache helicopter in March 2015 that attempted an emergency landing near Gao for unknown reasons and crashed in the process. Two soldiers died.
In the media
The Bundeswehr started a YouTube series entitled “Mali” in October 2017, in which the everyday life of some Bundeswehr soldiers of the 5th contingent in Camp Castor is shown. 40 episodes of around 10 minutes each are broadcast. The series was recorded for over eight months. There is also a so-called "MaliBot", a messenger bot integrated into Facebook.
Web links
- YouTube.com, Federal Ministry of Defense: MALI | Follow us into action , Oct. to Nov. 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ EST-Floattech: World's first military 100% electric deployable power unit
- ↑ Bundeswehr.de: "Living in a box": Hardened containers for the troops in action , from March 4, 2016.
- ↑ augengeradeaus.net: Netherlands send special forces and attack helicopters to Mali , from November 1, 2013
- ↑ government.nl: UN mission in Mali appreciative of Dutch contribution , from April 18, 2016
- ↑ Federal Ministry of Defense: MANTIS - Protection at the highest level , from January 26, 2018
- ↑ Youtube, Bundeswehr: The Bundeswehr with Heron 1 in Mali: the first reconnaissance flight in the country of operation , video from December 7, 2016
- ↑ BMVg: The weather in Mali - always good for surprises , from June 16, 2017
- ↑ Youtube, Bild Reporter: Bundeswehr in Mali - Scorpion hunters on patrol , from June 21, 2016
- ↑ Konrad Adenauer Foundation: Flash Report Mali: Assassination attempt in Gao , from January 20, 2017
- ↑ rp-online.de: Netherlands dismayed: Two blue helmets killed in Mali , from March 18, 2015
Coordinates: 16 ° 14 ′ 50 ″ N , 0 ° 1 ′ 10 ″ W.