http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/kirkush.htm
A link to the home of IA 5th Division now. I suspect this FOB was so big because of the previous Iranina Iraqi war. Kinda like the 11th ACR in Germany except IA unit now. Video clip of border pass in prvious blog post, with narration. Baqubah is actually west of the facility, Balad ruz is closet town.
A link to the home of IA 5th Division now. I suspect this FOB was so big because of the previous Iranina Iraqi war. Kinda like the 11th ACR in Germany except IA unit now. Video clip of border pass in prvious blog post, with narration. Baqubah is actually west of the facility, Balad ruz is closet town.
Central Issue Facility (CIF) for two Iraqi divisions.
Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB)
The new Iraqi Army of 40,000 persons require basing facilities at 18 locations. Prospective Military Bases to re-construct include Kurkush (under Construction as of mid-Jan 2004)
Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB), Iraq (Mercator Grid Reference System 38SNC 22027 30374) is approximately 70 miles west of Baghdad, close to the Iranian border. Coalition officials are hoping security will improve when a new Iraqi army is formed. The first battalion of that new army graduated from training on 04 October 2003. Their training camp is near Kirkush, 90 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. Some 750 recruits lived and worked at the Kirkush base, a group of squat cement buildings standing in the desert far from the nearest town. The battalion began their 9 week training course on August 2, 2003. During their time in Kirkush, the trainees were instructed in a variety of subjects from the laws of war and codes of conduct to first aid and marksmanship. The first battalion will become part of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and work along side Coalition forces to protect Iraq's borders. A number of graduates will remain at the training base to become instructors for future battalions of the Iraqi Army. They will continue to receive advanced training focused on their specific mission, once assigned.
The training facility, located 130 kilometers northeast of Baghdad in Kirkush, is one of three sites located throughout Iraq that had begun construction by a Yugoslavian company more than a decade ago, prior to the first Persian Gulf War. However, after that conflict, with the onset of United Nations sanctions that curbed Saddam's military build-up, construction stopped. These facilities were left unused, undeveloped, and essentially abandoned for more than ten years. However, since they were still the property of Saddam's government, looting and stealing from these 'ghost-towns' was not a problem -- fear of Saddam kept these unfinished facilities secure.
The roughly 4 kilometer square area was designed to accommodate seven battalions worth of soldiers with roughly 200 buildings, which include barracks, kitchens, classrooms, administrative buildings, warehouses, maintenance facilities and everything you would expect at a military base. There is even the outline of foundations for family housing units that were never completed. Once the regime fell and the blanket of fear lifted, many of these building were looted for windows, doors, plumbing and electrical fixtures, or simply vandalized in reprisal against the old regime.
Because of the remote location of the facility, and with the lack of water and electrical utility connections from national systems, the Iraqi Contractor, Al Mansoor Construction Company, a state-owned enterprise, solved the needs for essential utility systems for the unfinished facility. Operators were having difficulty getting potable water brought to the site from the nearby town of Balad Ruz, 17 kilometers away. Generators were flown in by IAP, a company that had worked closely with the Corps of Engineers on other emergency response missions, to provide the necessary electricity to the site, especially in a country that is having difficult with their national grid.
The pace of the team was important for the facility to be ready to accept the first Iraqi recruits, roughly 700 soldiers (an entire battalion), at the beginning of August 2003 for a nine-week training program. Three thousand more are expected in November 2003. The clock was ticking for Iraq to develop their own security, and ticking faster for the team of Iraqi Engineers and the corps, which needed to provide these facilities for that army.
The new Iraqi Army of 40,000 persons require basing facilities at 18 locations. Prospective Military Bases to re-construct include Kurkush (under Construction as of mid-Jan 2004)
Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB), Iraq (Mercator Grid Reference System 38SNC 22027 30374) is approximately 70 miles west of Baghdad, close to the Iranian border. Coalition officials are hoping security will improve when a new Iraqi army is formed. The first battalion of that new army graduated from training on 04 October 2003. Their training camp is near Kirkush, 90 kilometers northwest of Baghdad. Some 750 recruits lived and worked at the Kirkush base, a group of squat cement buildings standing in the desert far from the nearest town. The battalion began their 9 week training course on August 2, 2003. During their time in Kirkush, the trainees were instructed in a variety of subjects from the laws of war and codes of conduct to first aid and marksmanship. The first battalion will become part of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division and work along side Coalition forces to protect Iraq's borders. A number of graduates will remain at the training base to become instructors for future battalions of the Iraqi Army. They will continue to receive advanced training focused on their specific mission, once assigned.
The training facility, located 130 kilometers northeast of Baghdad in Kirkush, is one of three sites located throughout Iraq that had begun construction by a Yugoslavian company more than a decade ago, prior to the first Persian Gulf War. However, after that conflict, with the onset of United Nations sanctions that curbed Saddam's military build-up, construction stopped. These facilities were left unused, undeveloped, and essentially abandoned for more than ten years. However, since they were still the property of Saddam's government, looting and stealing from these 'ghost-towns' was not a problem -- fear of Saddam kept these unfinished facilities secure.
The roughly 4 kilometer square area was designed to accommodate seven battalions worth of soldiers with roughly 200 buildings, which include barracks, kitchens, classrooms, administrative buildings, warehouses, maintenance facilities and everything you would expect at a military base. There is even the outline of foundations for family housing units that were never completed. Once the regime fell and the blanket of fear lifted, many of these building were looted for windows, doors, plumbing and electrical fixtures, or simply vandalized in reprisal against the old regime.
Because of the remote location of the facility, and with the lack of water and electrical utility connections from national systems, the Iraqi Contractor, Al Mansoor Construction Company, a state-owned enterprise, solved the needs for essential utility systems for the unfinished facility. Operators were having difficulty getting potable water brought to the site from the nearby town of Balad Ruz, 17 kilometers away. Generators were flown in by IAP, a company that had worked closely with the Corps of Engineers on other emergency response missions, to provide the necessary electricity to the site, especially in a country that is having difficult with their national grid.
The pace of the team was important for the facility to be ready to accept the first Iraqi recruits, roughly 700 soldiers (an entire battalion), at the beginning of August 2003 for a nine-week training program. Three thousand more are expected in November 2003. The clock was ticking for Iraq to develop their own security, and ticking faster for the team of Iraqi Engineers and the corps, which needed to provide these facilities for that army.
From: Army Logistician Date: 9/1/2005
The central issue facility (CIF) at Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB) in Iraq is tasked with equipping two divisions of the Iraqi Army with weapons, vehicles, communications equipment, and individual gear such as uniforms, boots, body armor, and hygiene kits.
The KMTB CIF, located 56 miles northeast of Baghdad, is one of four such facilities that are operated by the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) J-4 (Logistics). The other CIFs are at Al Kisik, An Numaniyah, and Taji.
In a recent 1-month period, the six-man team at the KMTB CIF issued over 25,000 uniforms, 12,586 pairs of boots and 4,997 sets of body armor. In the same period, Iraqi soldiers also received 1,039 AK-47 assault rifles, 364 pistols, 5 fuel tankers, 53 other vehicles, 24 general-purpose medium tents, 80 Russian-made UAZ utility trailers, and nearly 660,000 rounds of ammunition. The team credits the 26 Iraqi civilians that work with them for helping them keep the pace, especially with distribution of weapons and vehicles
The central issue facility (CIF) at Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB) in Iraq is tasked with equipping two divisions of the Iraqi Army with weapons, vehicles, communications equipment, and individual gear such as uniforms, boots, body armor, and hygiene kits.
The KMTB CIF, located 56 miles northeast of Baghdad, is one of four such facilities that are operated by the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) J-4 (Logistics). The other CIFs are at Al Kisik, An Numaniyah, and Taji.
In a recent 1-month period, the six-man team at the KMTB CIF issued over 25,000 uniforms, 12,586 pairs of boots and 4,997 sets of body armor. In the same period, Iraqi soldiers also received 1,039 AK-47 assault rifles, 364 pistols, 5 fuel tankers, 53 other vehicles, 24 general-purpose medium tents, 80 Russian-made UAZ utility trailers, and nearly 660,000 rounds of ammunition. The team credits the 26 Iraqi civilians that work with them for helping them keep the pace, especially with distribution of weapons and vehicles
