Camp Fallujah
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| Also known as | MEK Compound; FOB St. Mere |
|---|---|
| Location | Outside Fallujah, Anbar Governorate |
| Type | Forward operating base / Marine headquarters camp |
| Category | U.S. installation in Iraq |
| Opened | 2003 (U.S. use) |
| Closed or transferred | 12 January 2009, signed over by Multi-National Force-West to Government of Iraq control |
| Coordinates | 33.31500, 43.88306 (33°18′54.0″N 43°52′59.0″E) |
Overview
Camp Fallujah was a large compound near Fallujah that had been built for the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident group based in Iraq. A U.S. government satellite image from January 2000 described the site as a new headquarters complex begun in late 1998, covering about six square kilometers with lakes, farmland, barracks and administrative buildings.
After the MEK surrendered, it turned the compound over to the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment on 11 May 2003. The 82nd Airborne Division took over in August 2003 and named it Forward Operating Base St. Mere. On 24 March 2004, the I Marine Expeditionary Force assumed control and renamed it Camp Fallujah to associate it with the nearby city.
Camp Fallujah became a central Marine headquarters and logistics base for Anbar Province. Artillery fired from the camp in 2004, and Marine welders there armored more than 115 vehicles during the height of the Fallujah fighting. Marine logistics battalions, Seabee construction regiments, wing support squadrons and a field surgical unit were all based there. On 28 February 2006 the camp hosted a transfer-of-authority ceremony attended by Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Iraqi Army division commanders.
In February 2008, when I Marine Expeditionary Force took charge of Anbar, the camp held nearly 8,000 service members. As forces moved out of urban areas under the U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement, Multi-National Force-West removed more than 32,000 barriers, 95,000 metric tons of scrap metal and 900 housing units. Maj. Gen. Martin W. Post signed the camp over to the Government of Iraq on 12 January 2009. U.S. advisers still trained there with Iraqi forces in 2010, and the compound later served as headquarters of the Iraqi Army 1st Division.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1998-2000 | Iraq built a new headquarters complex for the MEK near Fallujah. |
| May 2003 | The MEK turned the compound over to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment on 11 May. |
| Aug 2003 | The 82nd Airborne Division took over and named it FOB St. Mere. |
| Mar 2004 | I Marine Expeditionary Force took control on 24 March and renamed it Camp Fallujah. |
| 2004 | Marine artillery fired from the camp, and Marine welders armored vehicles during the battles for Fallujah. |
| Feb 2006 | Transfer-of-authority ceremony with Gen. George W. Casey Jr., 2nd Marine Division and Iraqi Army division commanders. |
| Feb 2008 | Nearly 8,000 service members lived on the camp when I MEF took charge of Anbar. |
| Jan 2009 | Multi-National Force-West signed Camp Fallujah over to the Government of Iraq on 12 January. |
| Oct 2010 | U.S. Army advisers of the 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division trained on ranges at Camp Fallujah. |
Units stationed at Camp Fallujah
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Camp Fallujah. 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.
| # | Unit | When | Role at the base | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment | May - August 2003 | Received the compound from the MEK; called it the MEK Compound | link |
| 2 | 82nd Airborne Division | August 2003 - March 2004 | Operated the site as FOB St. Mere | link |
| 3 | I Marine Expeditionary Force | From 24 March 2004; again from February 2008 | Took control and renamed it Camp Fallujah; later returned to take charge of Anbar | link |
| 4 | Combat Service Support Company 122 | December 2004 | Welded armor onto more than 115 vehicles used in Fallujah operations | link |
| 5 | I Marine Expeditionary Force Engineer Group (Seabees) | January 2005 | Engineering and construction support to Marines and coalition forces | link |
| 6 | Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (Forward) | April 2005 | Motor transport | link |
| 7 | II Marine Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) | 2005 | Headquarters motor transport and support | link |
| 8 | 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment | June 2005 | Infantry; checkpoints and searches in the Fallujah area | link |
| 9 | Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 | June 2005 | Built a forward arming and refueling point on the camp | link |
| 10 | 30th Naval Construction Regiment (Forward) | 2006-2007 | Seabee construction across Anbar; about 1,300 sailors and Marines in 2007 | link |
| 11 | 2nd Marine Division / II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) | 2006 | Commanded by Maj. Gen. Richard A. Huck at the February 2006 transfer-of-authority ceremony | link |
| 12 | Company C, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group | 2006 | Route repair of IED craters | link |
| 13 | Field Resuscitative Surgical System 3 | 2006 | Camp Fallujah surgical facility | link |
| 14 | Multi-National Force-West | Until January 2009 | Closed the camp and signed it over to the Government of Iraq | link |
| 15 | Stability Transition Team, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division | October 2010 | Advisers who trained on ranges at Camp Fallujah after the handover | link |
Notable events and facts
- The compound was originally built by the Iraqi government as a headquarters for the Iranian dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq.
- Camp Fallujah sat next to the other major U.S. base in Fallujah, Camp Baharia, a former Ba'athist resort known as 'Dreamland.'
- Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen administered an oath of enlistment to a 30th Naval Construction Regiment Seabee at Camp Fallujah on 2 January 2006.
- The camp housed nearly 8,000 service members in February 2008.
- Closing the camp required more than 6,400 tractor-trailer loads of barriers, scrap and housing units, completed on 10 January 2009.
Photographs
Roll call: who served at Camp Fallujah
No names have been added yet. This roll call is built from the people who served here, one post at a time.
Message board: Camp Fallujah
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
- Camp Fallujah - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fallujah
- MNF-W signs over Camp Fallujah to GoI control (MNC-I release via GlobalSecurity.org, 12 January 2009). https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iraq/2009/01/iraq-090112-mnfi01.htm
- Wikimedia Commons: USMC-10278 (transfer of authority, Camp Fallujah). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-10278.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: USMC-15629 (CSSC-122 armor welding). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-15629.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: MRAP firing drill in Iraq. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MRAP_firing_drill_in_Iraq.jpg