Camp Habbaniyah
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| Also known as | RAF Habbaniya; RAF Dhibban; Habbaniyah Airbase; Camp Manhattan |
|---|---|
| Location | Habbaniyah, between Fallujah and Ramadi, Anbar Governorate |
| Type | Forward operating base / training center |
| Category | U.S. installation in Iraq |
| Opened | 2003 (U.S. use; British station built from 1934) |
| Closed or transferred | U.S. Army and civilian contractors departed in December 2008, with Marines staying on for perimeter security; Multi-National Force-West listed Habbaniyah among Anbar bases already turned over to Iraq by 12 January 2009 |
| Coordinates | 33.38250, 43.57325 (33°22′57.0″N 43°34′23.7″E) |
Overview
Camp Habbaniyah occupied the former Royal Air Force station at Habbaniya, about 55 miles west of Baghdad on the Euphrates near Lake Habbaniyah. The RAF developed the station from 1934 and operated it from 1936 until 31 May 1959. It was besieged by Iraqi forces in May 1941, and after the British departure it became an Iraqi Air Force base.
After 2003, U.S. forces and the new Iraqi Army used the old airfield as a forward operating base. In late 2003 the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, fighting under the 82nd Airborne Division, placed its 1st Battalion, 34th Armor at the site, then called Base Camp Manhattan. Iraqi trainees took classes in a concrete aircraft hangar there.
Marine units later ran combat operations from the camp, covering ground from the outskirts of Fallujah to the outskirts of Ramadi. Troops lived in barracks built by the British decades earlier and used the old hangars for vehicle maintenance. The 2nd Marine Division Training Center taught Iraqi soldiers weapons instruction courses on the base.
From 2006 the camp grew into a regional training and support center and the headquarters of the Iraqi Army's 1st Division, with an Iraqi police academy also on site. The U.S. Army and civilian contractors left in December 2008, while U.S. Marines remained to provide additional perimeter security for the Iraqi Army.
A Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Habbaniya holds 289 British and Commonwealth graves; British service members and media visited it for Remembrance Day ceremonies in 2007.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1934-1959 | RAF Habbaniya developed and operated; besieged in May 1941; RAF withdrew on 31 May 1959. |
| 2003 | 1st BCT, 1st Infantry Division took over the Ramadi-Habbaniyah area from the 3rd ACR on 26 September; 1st Battalion, 34th Armor based at Camp Manhattan. |
| 2003 | On 2 November a CH-47 Chinook that had taken off from Habbaniyah was shot down near Amiriyah, killing 15 U.S. soldiers. |
| 2005 | The 2nd Marine Division Training Center ran small-arms instructor courses for Iraqi soldiers; 8th Engineer Support Battalion built firing ranges. |
| 2006 | 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines moved west from Fallujah to Habbaniyah in late May, followed by 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines; Company A, 2nd Tank Battalion provided highway security. |
| 2006-08 | The camp grew into a regional training center and headquarters for the Iraqi Army 1st Division. |
| 2007 | 1st Battalion, 1st Marines built bunkers for observation posts and trained Iraqi provincial security personnel. |
| 2008 | The U.S. Army and civilian contractors departed in December; Marines remained for perimeter security. |
| 2009 | On 16 April a suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi officer attacked Iraqi soldiers at a base canteen. |
Units stationed at Camp Habbaniyah
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Camp Habbaniyah. 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 | 1st Battalion, 34th Armor (Task Force 1-34), 1st Infantry Division | Late 2003 - 2004 | Armor battalion based at Camp Manhattan in Habbaniyah | link |
| 2 | 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division | September 2003 - 2004 | Took over the Ramadi and Habbaniyah area from the 3rd ACR, fighting as part of the 82nd Airborne Division | link |
| 3 | 12th Aviation Brigade | November 2003 | CH-47 lost on 2 November 2003 had taken off from the air base at Habbaniyah | link |
| 4 | 2nd Marine Division Training Center | 2005 | Taught the Iraqi Small Arms Weapons Instructor Course | link |
| 5 | Heavy Equipment Platoon, 8th Engineer Support Battalion | November 2005 | Built rifle ranges on the camp | link |
| 6 | 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment | From late May 2006 | Infantry battalion operating along the highways near Habbaniyah after moving from Fallujah | link |
| 7 | Company A, 2nd Tank Battalion (Regimental Combat Team 5) | 2006 | M1A1 tanks providing route security around Habbaniyah | link |
| 8 | 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment | 2006 | Seven-month deployment in the Habbaniyah area, with supporting EOD team | link |
| 9 | 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (Regimental Combat Team 6) | 2007 | Built observation-post bunkers and trained Iraqi provincial security personnel | link |
| 10 | 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) dental team | Not specified | Provided dental care to Iraqi Army soldiers aboard the camp | link |
| 11 | Iraqi Army 1st Division | From 2006 | Division headquarters at Camp Habbaniyah | link |
Notable events and facts
- U.S. Marines at Camp Habbaniyah lived in barracks built by the British decades earlier and serviced tanks inside the old hangars.
- The CH-47 Chinook shot down near Amiriyah on 2 November 2003, killing 15 U.S. soldiers, had departed from the air base at Habbaniyah.
- The base entrance at Camp Manhattan used a vehicle search lot and a slalom of concrete barriers to deter car bombs.
- A May 2007 photograph showed the Habbaniyah Olympic pool in a derelict state.
- On 16 April 2009, a suicide bomber dressed as an Iraqi lieutenant detonated a bomb among Iraqi soldiers at a base canteen.
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at Habbaniya contains 289 burials, and its markers were replaced in 2019.
Photographs
Roll call: who served at Camp Habbaniyah
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 Habbaniyah
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Sources
- RAF Habbaniya - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Habbaniya
- Habbaniyah Airbase - GlobalSecurity.org. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/habbaniyah.htm
- 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
- Tanks support Darkhorse grunts in Habbaniyah - DVIDS. https://www.dvidshub.net/news/7050/tanks-support-darkhorse-grunts-habbaniyah
- Wikimedia Commons: Iraq RPK Machine Gun. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iraq_RPK_Machine_Gun.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: USMC-18279 (3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines at Camp Habbaniyah). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-18279.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: USMC-06825 (1st Battalion, 1st Marines training course). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-06825.jpg