FOB Delta
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| Also known as | Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base; al-Kut Air Base; Abu Obaida Air Base; Camp Delta; Contingency Operating Base Delta; Contingency Operating Station Delta; FOB Al Kut; Camp Chesty; "FOB of Choice" (nickname) |
|---|---|
| Location | Wasit Governorate, near Kut, on the Tigris River |
| Type | Former Iraqi air base used as a forward operating base (later contingency operating base) |
| Category | U.S. installation in Iraq |
| Opened | Built 1973 as an Iraqi Air Force base; in U.S. use from 2003 (April 2003 per the Wikipedia list of U.S. installations) |
| Closed or transferred | October 2011, transferred to Iraqi control |
| Coordinates | 32.50556, 45.82472 (32°30′20.0″N 45°49′29.0″E) — approximate |
Overview
FOB Delta occupied the former Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base (al-Kut Air Base) near Kut in Wasit Governorate. Built in 1973, it was one of several Iraqi airfields rebuilt under the "Super-Base" program of the mid-1970s, with hardened aircraft shelters, and under the Iraqi Air Force it hosted a wing of Su-20/22 squadrons plus an air-defense squadron. During the Saddam era the base was known as Abu Obaida Air Base.
Iraqi forces abandoned the base during the 2003 invasion, and the U.S. Army took it over. Through the occupation it was called Forward Operating Base Delta or Camp Delta. In 2011 the name became Contingency Operating Base Delta.
In 2005 Delta was one of six bases picked to become an "enduring" FOB. Its long runways, its position on the Tigris near Iran and its own water treatment plant drawing on the river were all part of the reason. By 2008 the runways could take every U.S. aircraft except the C-5, and upgrades were under way to admit that aircraft too.
In early 2008 Delta was a multinational base. Troops from Poland, Lithuania, Georgia, El Salvador, Kazakhstan and Romania served there alongside roughly 200 Americans. Between May 2008 and February 2009 the U.S. military spent about $70 million on construction, and the American population grew to about 2,000, most of them with the 41st Fires Brigade. The base also hosted an Iraqi police academy, and U.S. Air Force advisers helped the Iraqi Air Force set up operations in its own section of the base.
After the 41st Fires Brigade left in 2009, the base was held by smaller U.S. units. Its final U.S. tenant was the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, which arrived in June 2011 and stayed until the base was handed to Iraqi control in October 2011. The airfield was later used by the Iraqi Army Aviation Corps.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1973 | The airfield was built for the Iraqi Air Force; it was later hardened under the "Super-Base" program. |
| 1991 | The base was heavily hit by the RAF during Operation Desert Storm, then repaired. |
| 2003 | Iraqi forces abandoned the base, and U.S. forces took it over as FOB Delta (April 2003 per the Wikipedia installations list). |
| 2005 | Delta was selected as one of six "enduring" forward operating bases. |
| 2008 | The base was home to Polish, Lithuanian, Georgian, Salvadoran, Kazakh and Romanian troops; in August, El Salvador's Battalion Cuscatlán rotations X and XI held a transfer of authority there. |
| 2008-09 | About $70 million of construction began in May 2008. U.S. troop strength rose from about 200 to about 2,000, and the Iraqi Air Force expanded operations on the base with help from coalition air advisers. |
| Aug 2009 | 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment took over from the 41st Fires Brigade. |
| 2010 | 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment (3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division) was listed at Contingency Operating Station Delta. |
| Jun 2011 | 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment arrived at what was then called COB Delta. |
| Oct 2011 | U.S. forces left, and the base was transferred to Iraqi control. |
Units stationed at FOB Delta
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from FOB Delta. 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 | 41st Fires Brigade | 2008 – August 2009 | Main U.S. unit on the base (about 1,200 soldiers in early 2009); its commander described the shift toward Iraqi control of Delta. | link |
| 2 | 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment (172nd Infantry Brigade) | August 2009 onward | Took over the base from the 41st Fires Brigade. | link |
| 3 | 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division | 2010 (listed September 2010) | Stationed at Contingency Operating Station Delta, Kut. | link |
| 4 | 6th 'Saber' Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division (U.S. Division-South) | June – October 2011 | Final U.S. unit based at COB Delta before the handover. | link |
| 5 | 214th Fires Brigade | 2008 | Brigade public affairs staff photographed Iraqi army training and coalition ceremonies at FOB Delta in May and August 2008. | link |
| 6 | Military Transition Team, 1st Battalion, 32nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division | May 2008 | U.S. advisers who oversaw Iraqi army rifle range training at FOB Delta. | link |
| 7 | Battalion Cuscatlán (El Salvador), rotations X and XI | 2008 (transfer of authority 26 August 2008) | Salvadoran coalition contingent based at FOB Delta. | link |
| 8 | Romanian coalition forces | 2008 – 2009 | Romanian troops remained at Delta into early 2009, after most other coalition contingents had left. | link |
| 9 | Coalition Air Force Transition Team detachment (Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq) | Summer 2008 – 2009 | U.S. Air Force air advisers who helped the Iraqi Air Force set up operations at the base. | link |
| 10 | Iraqi Air Force (Al Kut detachment) | 2008 – 2009 | Expanded operations at FOB Delta, with Mi-17 helicopters and an ISR ground station planned. | link |
| 11 | 252nd Military Police Company, Tennessee Army National Guard | December 2009 | Military police company stationed at FOB Delta and visited by its parent brigade commander. | link |
Notable events and facts
- Delta was chosen in 2005 as one of six "enduring" bases meant to stay open after others closed. By 2009 officials were calling it a "warming" FOB.
- A garrison commander said in 2008 that Delta had once been slated to house 8,500 soldiers by mid-2009, but the plan was scaled back.
- The base's water treatment facility drew from the Tigris River and produced more water than the base used.
- In 2008 the base hosted contingents from six coalition countries: Poland, Lithuania, Georgia, El Salvador, Kazakhstan and Romania.
- Stars and Stripes reported that the last U.S. service member killed in combat in Wasit province before early 2009 died in December 2007.
Photographs
Roll call: who served at FOB Delta
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Message board: FOB Delta
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Sources
- Ubaydah Bin Al Jarrah Air Base - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubaydah_Bin_Al_Jarrah_Air_Base
- FOB Delta not just enduring – it's growing (Stars and Stripes, Feb. 7, 2009). https://www.stripes.com/news/2009-02-07/fob-delta-not-just-enduring-its-growing-1988344.ht
- U.S. Air Force helps Iraqi air force expand operations in Al Kut (DVIDS, Jan. 9, 2009). https://www.dvidshub.net/news/28673/us-air-force-helps-iraqi-air-force-expand-operations-a
- List of United States military installations in Iraq - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_installations_in_Iraq
- U.S. Military Units In Iraq (Musings on Iraq, Sept. 2010). http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/2010/09/us-military-units-in-iraq.html
- Wikimedia Commons: Iraqi Soldiers Train at FOB Delta. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iraqi_Soldiers_Train_at_FOB_Delta_DVIDS90782.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: Salvadoran colonels at FOB Delta, 2008. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salvadoran_colonels_César_Acosta_and_Walter_Aréval
- Wikimedia Commons: Operation Iraqi Freedom DVIDS235137. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Operation_Iraqi_Freedom_DVIDS235137.jpg