Victory Base Complex
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| Also known as | VBC; Camp Victory complex |
|---|---|
| Location | Around Baghdad International Airport, western Baghdad |
| Type | Cluster of U.S. installations (headquarters, logistics, detention, air base) |
| Category | U.S. installation in Iraq |
| Opened | 2003 |
| Closed or transferred | 1 December 2011, transferred to the Government of Iraq; part of the complex became the State Department's Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center |
| Coordinates | 33.24382, 44.21998 (33°14′37.8″N 44°13′11.9″E) |
Overview
The Victory Base Complex was a cluster of U.S. military installations surrounding Baghdad International Airport. Its main component was Camp Victory, home of the Al-Faw Palace, which served as headquarters of Multi-National Corps-Iraq and later United States Forces-Iraq.
Other camps inside the complex included Camp Liberty (originally Camp Victory North), Camp Striker, Camp Slayer, Camp Cropper, Camp Dublin, FOB Ferdinand, Logistics Base Seitz and Sather Air Base. Together they handled command, logistics, aviation and detention functions for the coalition.
Much of the complex occupied former presidential grounds. Western intelligence used conflicting names for the palace areas east, north and south of the airport, variously calling them the Radwaniyah and Abu Ghurayb presidential sites. Camp Slayer held the Radwaniyah complex, with man-made lakes, the Ba'ath Party house, the unfinished 'Victory Over America' palace and the Perfume Palace, which housed the Iraq Survey Group until 2005.
Camp Striker was established in 2003 by the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, the 'Strike Hard' brigade. It had what was described as the second-largest dining facility in Iraq. Camp Dublin hosted the Iraqi Federal Police Special Training Academy, where an Italian Carabinieri contingent trained Iraqi police under the NATO Training Mission-Iraq until 2011, and FOB Ferdinand was set up on Camp Liberty in 2007 for U.S. and Iraqi special forces.
In 2007 and 2008 a ring of Americans and Nepalese used fake identification and forged documents to steal millions of gallons of fuel from the Victory Fuel Point and Camp Liberty depots, which led to federal prosecutions. On 1 December 2011 the United States handed the complex over to the Government of Iraq. Part of it became the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, which supported the U.S. Embassy.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2003 | U.S. forces occupied the airport and surrounding palace grounds; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division established Camp Striker. |
| 2004 | Camp Victory North was renamed Camp Liberty in mid-September as part of an effort to give Baghdad bases friendlier names. |
| 2005 | Camp Slayer's Perfume Palace served as Iraq Survey Group headquarters until this year; Sather Air Base was named on 8 April. |
| 2007 | FOB Ferdinand was created on Camp Liberty for U.S. Army and Iraqi special forces; Camp Striker's main road was paved in November. |
| 2007-08 | Organized thieves stole fuel from the Victory Fuel Point and Camp Liberty depots, leading to federal charges in 2008-2010. |
| 2009 | The VBC garrison commander fixed the official spelling of Camp 'Striker' in January. |
| 2011 | Italy withdrew its Carabinieri training contingent from Camp Dublin; the complex was transferred to the Government of Iraq on 1 December. |
Units stationed at Victory Base Complex
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Victory Base Complex. 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 | Multi-National Corps-Iraq (headquarters) | until 2010 | Headquartered in the Al-Faw Palace on Camp Victory | link |
| 2 | United States Forces-Iraq (headquarters) | 2010 - December 2011 | Headquartered in the Al-Faw Palace on Camp Victory | link |
| 3 | 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division ('Strike Hard' Brigade) | 2003 | Established Camp Striker | link |
| 4 | Iraq Survey Group | until 2005 | Headquartered at the Perfume Palace on Camp Slayer | link |
| 5 | U.S. Army Special Forces and Iraqi Special Forces | from 2007 | Operated from FOB Ferdinand on Camp Liberty | link |
| 6 | Italian Carabinieri contingent, NATO Training Mission-Iraq | until 2011 | Gendarmerie training for the Iraqi Federal Police at Camp Dublin | link |
| 7 | Iraqi Federal Police Special Training Academy | until 2011 | Headquartered at Camp Dublin | link |
| 8 | 447th Air Expeditionary Group (U.S. Air Force) | April 2003 - 2011 | Operated Sather Air Base and the military aerial port serving the complex | link |
| 9 | 115th Military Police Battalion (Headquarters and Headquarters Company) | April 2003 | Established the Camp Cropper detention facility | link |
| 10 | 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division | December 2005 | Soldiers stationed at Camp Liberty | link |
| 11 | III Corps | 2010 | Commander served as U.S. Forces-Iraq deputy commanding general for operations; visited Camp Cropper on the complex | link |
| 12 | 108th Military Police Company, USF-I Provost Marshal's Office | 2010 | Military police at Camp Cropper on the Victory Base Complex | link |
| 13 | 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (United States Division-Center) | 2011 | Soldiers recognized at Camp Liberty by the USF-I commander in August 2011 | link |
Notable events and facts
- The Perfume Palace on Camp Slayer was spared during the 2003 bombing campaign because its circular dome resembled a mosque.
- The Victory Over America Palace, begun after the 1991 Gulf War, was hit in 2003 and left unfinished with a collapsed construction crane.
- A Saddam-era children's playhouse on Camp Slayer became known to U.S. troops as the 'Flintstone House.'
- Fuel thieves posing with fake military ID stole at least 10 million gallons from depots on the complex in 2007-2008, according to a 2009 federal indictment.
- Vice President Joe Biden attended a ceremony at the Al-Faw Palace on 1 December 2011, the day the complex was handed to Iraq.
Photographs
Roll call: who served at Victory Base Complex
No names have been added yet. This roll call is built from the people who served here, one post at a time.
Message board: Victory Base Complex
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Sources
- Victory Base Complex - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Base_Complex
- Camp Victory - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Victory
- Camp Liberty - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Liberty
- Camp Cropper - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Cropper
- Abu Ghurayb Presidential Site - GlobalSecurity.org. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/abu_ghurayb-cc.htm
- The gateway to Iraq - U.S. Air Forces Central. https://www.afcent.af.mil/News/Article/222084/the-gateway-to-iraq/
- Wikimedia Commons: Joe Biden visits Victory Base Complex, Baghdad, Iraq (2011-12-01) 01. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_visits_Victory_Base_Complex,_Baghdad,_Ir
- Wikimedia Commons: Joe Biden visits Victory Base Complex, Baghdad, Iraq (2011-12-01) 02. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_visits_Victory_Base_Complex,_Baghdad,_Ir
- Wikimedia Commons: Joe Biden visits Camp Victory, Baghdad, Iraq (2010-09-01) 02. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_visits_Camp_Victory,_Baghdad,_Iraq_(2010
- Wikimedia Commons: Lt. Gen. Cone visits Camp Cropper DVIDS328605. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lt._Gen._Cone_visits_Camp_Cropper_DVIDS328605.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: Mitch Allan Iraq. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitch_Allan_Iraq.jpg
- Wikimedia Commons: USF-I commander recognizes 'Dagger' Brigade soldiers (DVIDS). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_Forces_–_Iraq_commander_recognizes_'