The OIF GenerationA field guide to the Iraq War and the generation that fought it
Bases / NATO-member coalition base

Camp Echo

Polish soldiers of the Civil Military Cooperation Group from Camp Echo provide security during a vehicle stop on the way to Hwaeer, 9 November 2006.
Polish soldiers of the Civil Military Cooperation Group from Camp Echo provide security during a vehicle stop on the way to Hwaeer, 9 November 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Dawn M. Price (public domain)

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Also known asCOS Echo; Contingency Operating Site Echo; Ad Diwaniyah airfield
LocationAl-Qadisiyah Province / Diwaniyah
TypeMultinational division headquarters base, later U.S. contingency operating site
CategoryNATO-member coalition base
Opened2004 as MND-CS headquarters (date the camp itself was first occupied not stated in sources consulted)
Closed or transferredPolish mission ended 4 October 2008 with control passing to U.S. troops; all U.S. personnel left by 17 December 2011
Coordinates31.98917, 44.92472  (31°59′21.0″N 44°55′29.0″E) — approximate
BaghdadCamp Echo
Gold star: Camp Echo. Small dots: other U.S. and NATO bases on this site.
GlobalSecurity.org: U.S. military bases in Iraq, November 2003The contemporary map of coalition bases compiled by GlobalSecurity.org, with its full index of Iraq facilities. View the November 2003 bases map · All GlobalSecurity Iraq maps

Overview

Camp Echo was a coalition base just outside Diwaniyah, the capital of Al-Qadisiyah Province, set inside an Iraqi army base with an airstrip. In 2004 the Polish-led Multinational Division Central-South moved its divisional headquarters there from Camp Babylon, and the camp remained the division's headquarters and Poland's main base in Iraq until October 2008.

The division drew troops from more than 20 countries over its life. Reporting from Camp Echo described it as a genuinely multinational base commanded by a Polish general, with soldiers from Slovakia, Latvia, Ukraine and Mongolia as well as more than 200 Americans. Polish civil-military cooperation teams based at the camp funded and inspected reconstruction projects around Diwaniyah, and Polish air traffic controllers ran the Ad Diwaniyah airstrip at Camp Echo from the fourth rotation onward.

The division increasingly shifted from patrols to training the Iraqi Army's 8th Division and Iraqi police and border forces; 2009 Army photo captions place the 8th Division's headquarters at Camp Echo. On 4 October 2008 Poland formally ended its Iraq mission at Camp Echo, handing control of its area to U.S. troops; Maj. Gen. Andrzej Malinowski, the last Polish commander, knelt and kissed the Operation Iraqi Freedom banner during the ceremony. The last Ukrainian contingent held its end-of-mission ceremony at the camp on 9 December 2008.

U.S. units then used the site as Contingency Operating Site Echo. Elements of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division trained 8th Iraqi Army Division soldiers there in 2009. At its peak the base housed about 2,600 soldiers.

In December 2011 the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division's 1st Brigade oversaw the closure of Camp Echo, the second-to-last U.S. base in Iraq to close. Convoy escorts from the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor, and the Army Reserve's 206th Transportation Company hauled out the remaining equipment, and all Americans had left by early on 17 December 2011.

Timeline

WhenWhat happened
2004Multinational Division Central-South headquarters moved from Camp Babylon to Camp Echo.
2005-04Polish CIMIC teams operating from Camp Echo to assess projects in Diwaniyah.
2007-04NPR described the base as commanded by a Polish general with Slovak, Latvian, Ukrainian and Mongolian soldiers.
2008-07-16Qadisiyah Province returned to Iraqi control in a ceremony in Ad Diwaniyah.
2008-10-04Poland formally ended its Iraq mission at Camp Echo and handed control of its area to U.S. troops.
2008-12-09End-of-mission ceremony for the Ukrainian contingent at Camp Echo.
20092nd BCT, 4th Infantry Division elements trained the 8th Iraqi Army Division at the camp.
2011-12-17All U.S. personnel left Camp Echo, the second-to-last U.S. base in Iraq to close.

Units stationed at Camp Echo

Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Camp Echo. This list is not complete; units rotated frequently and many smaller elements were never reported. Veterans can add their unit on the message board below.

#UnitWhenRole at the baseSource
1Multinational Division Central-South headquarters (Polish-led)2004-October 2008Divisional headquarters for the Polish-led zone south of Baghdadlink
2Polish Military Contingent (rotations from the 16th Mechanised, 11th Armoured Cavalry, 1st Mechanised and 12th Mechanised Divisions)2004-2008Provided the bulk of MND-CS forces; strength fell from about 2,400 to 900link
3Polish Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Group2005-2006Funded, contracted and inspected reconstruction projects around Diwaniyahlink
4Polish air traffic control personnelfrom the 4th rotationControlled air traffic at the Ad Diwaniyah airstrip at Camp Echolink
5Ukrainian contingent, MND-CS (final element under Col. Henadii Lachkov)December 2005-9 December 2008Headquarters and military assistance personnel; end-of-mission ceremony held at Camp Echolink
6Latvian Army contingent, MND-CS2006Patrolled with Iraqi 8th Division soldiers in Diwaniyahlink
7Romanian engineer detachment (road construction platoon)dates not stated in sourceBuilt access roads in Camp Echolink
8Slovak, Latvian, Ukrainian and Mongolian contingents2007Coalition soldiers at the Polish-commanded baselink
9U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal unit, MND-CS2006EOD support to Polish and Iraqi searcheslink
10U.S. Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 03622008Trained Iraqi SWAT personnel at Camp Echolink
11Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division2009Shadow UAV and other training for the 8th Iraqi Army Division at Camp Echolink
12163rd Military Police Detachment (working dogs), attached to STB, 2nd BCT, 4th Infantry DivisionJanuary 2009Military working dog team at Camp Echolink
131st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Divisionmid-December 2011Unit in charge of closing Camp Echolink
141st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor, Minnesota Army National GuardDecember 2011Convoy security for the final equipment moves out of Camp Echolink
15206th Transportation Company, U.S. Army ReserveDecember 2011Hauled remaining equipment out of Camp Echolink
168th Iraqi Army Division2009Division headquarters at Camp Echo hosted mortar training by U.S. adviserslink

Notable events and facts

Photographs

The commander of the Ukrainian contingent kisses his country's flag at the end-of-mission ceremony at Camp Echo, 9 December 2008.
The commander of the Ukrainian contingent kisses his country's flag at the end-of-mission ceremony at Camp Echo, 9 December 2008. U.S. Army photo by Rodney Foliente (public domain)
Soldiers of the Polish CIMIC unit in a Honker vehicle leave Camp Echo for Al Diwaniyah, 3 April 2005.
Soldiers of the Polish CIMIC unit in a Honker vehicle leave Camp Echo for Al Diwaniyah, 3 April 2005. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Arthur Hamilton (public domain)
Romanian military engineers of a road construction platoon lay out an access road in Camp Echo, Ad Diwaniyah.
Romanian military engineers of a road construction platoon lay out an access road in Camp Echo, Ad Diwaniyah. Photo by MAPN (Romanian Ministry of National Defence), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Roll call: who served at Camp Echo

No names have been added yet. This roll call is built from the people who served here, one post at a time.

Add your name. Post on the message board below with your name (and rank, if you like), your unit, and the dates you were here, and check the box Add me to this base’s roll call. Each entry is reviewed before it is added. Posting with that box checked is your consent to be listed; ask on the board at any time to be removed or corrected.

Message board: Camp Echo

Served here? Share a memory, name your unit, or send a correction. Posts are reviewed before they appear. The full community board is on the Message Board page.

Sources

  1. Multinational Division Central-South (Wikipedia). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multinational_Division_Central-South
  2. Polish zone in Iraq (Wikipedia). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_zone_in_Iraq
  3. Camp Echo packs up in Iraq with little fanfare (Stars and Stripes, 17 December 2011). https://www.stripes.com/history/2011-12-17/camp-echo-packs-up-in-iraq-with-little-fanfare-
  4. Poland formally ends its Iraq mission (Associated Press via NBC News, 4 October 2008). https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27023061
  5. Fighting Shia-on-Shia Violence in Diwaniyah (NPR, 2007) - search excerpt. https://www.npr.org/2007/04/10/9492236/fighting-shia-on-shia-violence-in-diwaniyah
  6. Targeting U.S. Allies in Iraq (TIME) - search excerpt. https://time.com/archive/6941738/targeting-u-s-allies-in-iraq/
  7. Camp Echo - Ad Diwaniyah Airfield (ResearchGate figure) - search excerpt. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Camp-Echo-Ad-Diwaniyah-Airfield-source-authors-private
  8. Wikimedia Commons file descriptions for Camp Echo. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=%22Camp+Echo%22+Iraq&ns6=1