Joint Base Balad

Joint Base Balad
Characteristics
ICAO code	ORBD
IATA code	no
Coordinates	33 ° 56 ′ 0 ″ N , 44 ° 22 ′ 0 ″ E Coordinates: 33 ° 56 ′ 0 ″ N , 44 ° 22 ′ 0 ″ E
Height above MSL	49 m (161 ft ) ; ;

Joint Base Balad , formerly Balad Air Base and later Logistics Support Area Anaconda ( LSA Anaconda or Camp Anaconda ) was one of the largest American military bases in Iraq until the withdrawal of American troops in December 2011 . The 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) of the US Army and the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing of the US Air Force had their headquarters there. The base was the central logistics center of the US armed forces in Iraq and at times the most active military airfield in the US worldwide.

The base

Dick Cheney speaking at the base in 2008

The airport tower from the inside

The base is about 110 kilometers north of Baghdad , in the so-called Sunni Triangle near Balad . In contrast to most other military bases, there are swimming pools, a cinema or fast food restaurants. The base is a popular destination for celebrities and politicians visiting Iraq. The military hospital attached to the base boasts a 96% survival rate for admitted American and Iraqi troops.

The base was an almost daily target of mortar attacks , especially in 2004 , which mostly only hit the open spaces between the runways . However, there were occasional injuries and deaths as a result of the attacks. By mid- 2006 , the rate of attacks had dropped by around 40%. Due to the frequent attacks, the base is also known as "Mortaritaville" among soldiers, but this name was used for other bases.

Incidents

On January 9, 2007, a Moldovan charter plane of the type Antonov An-26 B-100 of the AerianTur-M ( registration number ER-26068) crashed 2.5 km from the air base's runway. 34 of the 35 inmates were killed.
On September 19, 2009, a US Army Sikorsky UH-60 A helicopter crashed on approach in adverse weather conditions. One of the thirteen inmates was killed.

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Web links

Commons : Joint Base Balad - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

^ Accident report AN-26 ER-26068 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 24, 2016.
↑ accident report UH-60 79-23272 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase (English), accessed on 24 March 2016th

[1] Accident report AN-26 ER-26068 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 24, 2016.

[2] t report UH-60 79-23272 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase (English), accessed on 24 March 2016th