Camp Leatherneck

Camp Leatherneck
Gereshk District in Afghanistan

Original Camp Leatherneck sign at entrance
Camp Leatherneck
Shown within Afghanistan
Coordinates 31°51′50″N 064°12′29″E / 31.86389°N 64.20806°E / 31.86389; 64.20806Coordinates: 31°51′50″N 064°12′29″E / 31.86389°N 64.20806°E / 31.86389; 64.20806
Type Camp
Site information
Owner  Afghanistan
Operator Afghan Ministry of Defense
United States Armed Forces
Site history
Built 2008 (2008)
In use 2008-Present
Battles/wars Operation Strike of the Sword

Camp Leatherneck is a 1,600 acre Afghan Armed Forces base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.[1][2] The site is mostly in Washir District and is conjoined with Camp Bastion, the main British military base in Afghanistan.

Control of the site was transferred from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the Afghan Armed Forces on October 26, 2014.[3]

History

Camp Leatherneck was master-planned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Europe District FEST-A Team from Wiesbaden, Germany in October/November 2008.[4] Upon arrival to Kandahar, the team was tasked by the Theater Engineer of U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) to find a suitable location in Helmand Province for 2K-15K troops. The primary purpose for the base was to house troops for a majority of an estimated 26,000 increase of forces.[5] Throughout all of southern Afghanistan, bases were all at or above capacity leading to the paramount need for a large centrally located base for the surge. The site was chosen primarily to take advantage of the adjacent British Airfield on Camp Bastion and to provide much needed protection to the primary east-west corridor of Highway 1 in Helmand Province.

The 25th Naval Construction Regiment (25th NCR) was the primary construction unit with construction oversight and the command element that the FEST Design team was later attached during the initial stages of construction. The units responsible for the overall construction work in 2008 under the 25th NCR was the Naval Mobile Construction Battalions Five, Seven and Seventy-Four.[6][7][8] Camp Leatherneck was built in a modular fashion to maximize the efficiency of construction locations to provide housing and work space as surge forces flowed into theater. The base layout was designed in modular ‘blocks’, so the base could have forces on the ground as construction continued in adjacent compartments. All aspects of the design were focused on the speed for construction and with the understanding that the number of troops was unknown. Initially dubbed Tombstone II as an expansion of a smaller Special Forces Camp adjacent to the ANA Shorabak base, it was eventually renamed Camp Leatherneck once it was formerly announced that I Marine Expeditionary Force would move to southern Afghanistan and determined the main force occupying the base in 2009. The authorization to move forces was not given until after new Commander-in-Chief Inauguration of President Obama in early 2009.[9]

A U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter flies over a Seabee project site in January 2011

From Design to Initial Occupancy of Forces was only four months with a late-November 2008 ground-breaking. Although construction was continued by the Marines for several years to improve facilities, the overall basecamp was functional and operational in less than six months for over 12,000 troops and an equal number of civilian contractors prior to their arrival.[10] Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived in March 2009[9] to establish Command and Control of Camp Leatherneck and prepare for the arrival of I Marine Expeditionary Force to assume the role as the Regional Command Southwest who ultimately replaced the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in March 2010.[11]

National Geographic Explorer profiled the base in a 2010 episode.

On 16 May 2010, the Supply Management Unit lot had a fire that burned for over 8 hours, causing extensive damage. Marine Wing Support Squadron 274's CFR (Crash Fire Rescue) and British firefighters from Camp Bastion were responsible for extinguishing the blaze. Through the fire Camp Leatherneck was also hit with one of their most intense sandstorms to date.

In 2011, security responsibilities for Camp Leatherneck and the surrounding area were assumed by Task Force Belleau Wood, commanded by US Marine Colonel Michael Sweeney.[12]

In 2012, the adjacent Camp Bastion was attacked by Taliban forces, killing two Americans and significantly damaging American aircraft.

In 2013, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, John F. Sopko, stated that $34 million had been spent on a 64,000-square-foot facility that "presumably will never be used".[13]

On October 26, 2014, U.S. Marines and British combat troops officially marked the end of their operations in Afghanistan, transferring Camps Leatherneck and Bastion to Afghan control. As national anthems from the three countries played, service members from all three countries stood at attention. The Marine flags were ceremoniously furled and cased, in recognition of the end of mission.[14]

Environmental issues

When the Camp was turned over to Afghan control in 2014, 420,000 bottles of water, "which if lined up end to end would stretch for more than 50 miles" were left behind.[15] About ten thousand MREs (meals, ready-to-eat) were incinerated "that might have been used to feed Afghan troops, but were nearing their expiration date".

More than 7,500 computers were destroyed or removed, the television sets remained.[15]

Units

Aviation units

Key

Units

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

  1. ↑ "Google News & images". Google.com. 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  2. ↑ Andrew Grey (2009-05-07). "Reuters News". Uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  3. ↑ "UK ends Afghan combat operations". BBC. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  4. ↑ (PDF) 2 (3). Afghanistan Engineer District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. March 2009. p. 15 http://www.aed.usace.army.mil/FreedomBuilder/March-2009.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "DoD Announces Iraq Deployments of Additional Major Units". Salem-News.Com. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  6. ↑ http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=68433 Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet
  7. ↑ http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=69405 Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet
  8. ↑ Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet
  9. 1 2 "President Orders 12,000 Soldiers, Marines to Afghanistan". Emilitary.org. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  10. ↑ http://themilitaryengineer.com/tme_past_issues/2009-06-NovDecTME-SM.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/09/30/article/nc_marines_paratroopers_will_deploy_to_iraq
  12. ↑ http://www.dvidshub.net/news/81718/task-force-belleau-wood#.UuLy1WQo7x4
  13. ↑ "Military dumps $34M into Afghanistan HQ that US forces won't use". Fox News. 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-12-08.
  14. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-marines-end-afghanistan-operations-prepare-to-come-home/
  15. 1 2 Tim Craig (11 November 2014). "Marine pullout offers preview of what U.S. leaves behind for Afghan troops". The Washington Post (The Washington Post). Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  16. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. July 2014. p. 25.
  17. ↑ "Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 transfers authority to MWSS-274 as last wing support unit in Afghanistan". DVIDS. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

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