Joint Base Balad

Infobox Airport
name = Joint Base Balad (Balad South East)
nativename =
nativename-a =
nativename-r =

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image-width =
caption =
IATA =
ICAO = ORBD
type = Military
owner =
operator = United States Air Force
city-served =
location = Operation Iraqi Freedom
elevation-f = 161
elevation-m = 49
coordinates = Coord|33|56|00|N|044|22|00|E|type:airport|display=inline,title
website =
metric-elev =
metric-rwy =
r1-number = 14/32
r1-length-f = 11,490
r1-length-m = 3,503
r1-surface = Concrete
r2-number = 12/30
r2-length-f = 11,495
r2-length-m = 3,504
r2-surface = Concrete
stat-year =
stat1-header =
stat1-data =
stat2-header =
stat2-data =
footnotes =

Joint Base Balad [ [http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123103084 Renamed U.S. military base in Iraq reflects joint status] ] , formerly Balad Air Base and Logistics Support Area Anaconda, or simply LSA Anaconda - formerly known as Al-Bakir Air Base ( _ar. قاعدة البكر الجوية)Fact|date=February 2008 and known in popular media as Camp Anaconda - is one of the largest American military bases in Iraq. The Army's 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) and the Air Force's 332d Air Expeditionary Wing is headquartered at JBB. It was decided that the facility share one name, even though for many reasons and for its many occupants, it has differing names. Balad is the central logistical hub for forces in Iraq and the busiest air base in the world operated by the United States Department of Defense and is currently the second busiest airport in the world. ["Morning Edition", NPR. Broadcast 28 September 2007. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14793321] ] The base is so large and has so many occupants that it has its own 16-page, weekly newspaper, the [http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=pubs/pubs_show.php&id=140/ Expeditionary Times] ( [http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=pubs/pubs_show.php&id=12/ Anaconda Times] before the base name change), which serves residents of the base, as well as all logistical servicemembers in Iraq and their families at home. The newspaper is staffed solely by Army journalists, usually the sustainment command's public affairs detachment, as well as a print team from a mobile public affairs detachment. Camp Anaconda has also been more colloquially-termed "Life Support Area Anaconda" [cite news | first=Phillip | last=Carter | coauthors= | title=The Thin Green Line | date=October 18, 2006 | publisher= | url =http://www.slate.com/id/2151742/ | work =Slate.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-25 | language = ] or "Mortaritaville" [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Balad Airbase | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/balad-ab.htm | work =globalsecurity.org | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-25 | language = ] or the "Big Snake". Joint Base Balad is also used extensively by aircraft of the Royal Air Force, which have operated a wide range of types (rotary and fixed wing) from the base, in support of ongoing missions in the country.

Location

Located near Balad, Iraq in the Sunni Triangle convert|68|mi|km north of Baghdad, its concrete walls house 28,000 soldiers and 8,000 civilian contractors.Fact|date=April 2007 Unlike most bases in Iraq, LSA Anaconda offers amenities including a movie theater, fast food courts, dance lessons, an olympic size swimming pool, and an indoor swimming pool. The base is a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting American troops in Iraq.

Conditions

In 2004, several mortar rounds were fired per day [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Letters to the editor for Wednesday, October | date=October 27, 2004 | publisher= | url =http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=24803&archive=true| work =Stars and Stripes | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-25 | language = ] , usually hitting the empty space between the runways, although there were isolated injuries and fatalities. By mid-2006, this rate had dropped about 40% [cite news | first=Anita | last=Powell | coauthors= | title=Attacks on the decrease at LSA Anaconda, aka 'Mortaritaville' | date= July 22, 2006 | publisher= | url =http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=37883&archive=true | work =Stars and Stripes | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-25 | language = ] . Due to these attacks, the soldiers and airmen refer to the base as "Mortaritaville", though this name is shared with other bases in Iraq. The base is thought to be one of four "super-bases" planned by the Pentagon once US forces are replaced by Iraqi forces on the front lines. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=U.S. Prepares 'Super Base' in Iraq | date= April 23, 2006 | publisher= | url =http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/4/23/214827.shtml | work =Newsmax.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-07-25 | language = ]

Hospital

LSA Anaconda is also home to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Airbase, a Level I trauma center which boasts a 96% survival rate for wounded Americans and Iraqis alike. [cite news | first=Michael | last=Mason | coauthors= | title=Dead Men Walking | date=March, 2007 | publisher=Discover | url =http://discovermagazine.com/2007/mar/dead-men-walking/]

ee also

* 2007 Balad aircraft crash
* Post-invasion Iraq

References

External links

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/balad.htm Balad] from GlobalSecurity.org
* [http://www.balad.afnews.af.mil/ 332d Expeditionary Air Wing's public website]
* [http://www.epluribusmedia.org/features/2007/20070304_contingency_contracting.html Iraq, Contingency Contracting and the Defense Base Act]
* [http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=pubs/pubs_show.php&id=140/ Expeditionary Times]
* [http://www.dvidshub.net/index.php?script=pubs/pubs_show.php&id=12/ Anaconda Times]