- Ali Air Base
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Coordinates: 30°56′08.73″N 46°05′24.40″E / 30.9357583°N 46.090111°E
Ali Air Base
Tallil AirBaseIATA: none – ICAO: ORTL – LID: TAL Summary Airport type Military: Airbase Operator U.S. Air Force Serves Nasiriyah Elevation AMSL 20 ft / 6 m Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 12L/30R 10,935 3,333 Concrete 12R/30L 9,991 3,045 Concrete no ILS Ali Air Base (ICAO: ORTL) is a military airbase located near Nasiriyah, Iraq. It is also known as Tallil Air Base. At present, the base is being used by United States Armed Forces. It is called Camp Adder by the U.S. Army; the name "Ali Air Base" is used chiefly by the U.S. Air Force; the installation, however, is still commonly referred to as "Tallil".
The base occupies 30 square kilometers and is protected by 22 kilometers of security perimeter. The ancient Babylonian city of Ur, known as the birthplace of Abraham, is located within the security perimeter for Ali Base, and its ancient ziggurat is visible from nearly every area of the base.
Contents
History
Talil Air Base was an Iraqi Air Force base and served as the home of a unit of Soviet-built MiG fighter aircraft as well as several Mi-24D (Hind-D) helicopter gunships. The aircraft could be serviced and stored in fortified concrete aircraft hangars located at either end of the main runway. These aircraft shelters, sometimes referred to as "trapezoids" or "Yugos", were built by Yugoslavian contractors sometime prior to 1985, and according to the Gulf War Air Power Survey, there were a total of 36 aircraft shelters in 1991.
During the 1991 Gulf War, the base and its fortified aircraft shelters were heavily damaged by Coalition bombing missions. After the ground campaign began, elements of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division took the base with little opposition. U.S. Combat Engineers then destroyed whatever serviceable aircraft and ordnance was missed during the earlier air campaign.
After the start of the Iraq War in 2003, Talil, now known as Ali Air Base, was used by the U.S. Air Force 332d Air Expeditionary Wing before moving to Balad Air Base in January 2004. The 407th Air Expeditionary Group, which operates C-130 Hercules cargo airplanes, have utilized the base and trained more than 100 Iraqi Airmen on how to maintain and fly the C-130 until February 2006. The trainees were then designated the Iraqi Air Force 23rd Squadron and relocated to Kirkuk Air Base.
Units from various Coalition groups have used designated sections of Ali Air Base during the course of the war. Camp Terendak was used by Australian troops until the Australian Battlegroup withdrawal on June 1, 2008. Romanian troops used Camp Dracula until the Romanian Army withdrew in the summer of 2009. Camp Dracula is now referred to as the "Regional Center of Excellence for Civil Capacity".
Ali Air Base is presently used primarily by U.S. forces, to include elements of the U.S. Army, Air Force, the Navy, and the Marine Corps. Camp Adder, used by the Army, is also the home to three Provincial Reconstruction Teams for the provinces of Dhi Qar, Muthanna, and Maysan. The Dhi Qar team is led by Italian personnel, while the Muthanna and Maysan teams are headed by U.S. State Department officers. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District manages these and most other construction projects, from start to finish, for the PRT Iraq wide.
Conditions
The base has various amenities for the troops stationed there, such as a large post exchange and restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell, and a Green Beans coffee shop, which have since closed as of October 7, 2011. Two dining facilities operated by KBR provide hot food for the troops, U.S. government civilians and contractors working on the base. The base also boasts a large chapel and a decent MWR facility. A private contractor, SniperHill, provides commercial internet service. The highest speed available is 256k, for the price of $110 per month.
Most personnel living on the installation now live in containerized housing units, affectionally known as CHU's, as opposed to conventional tent quarters.
Airfield
The airfield is served by two main runways measuring 12,000 and 9,700 feet. A modern air traffic control tower was completed in March 2010 to further increase the airfield's capabilities. An instrument landing system is currently being installed to provide CAT 1 service to the 30R approach and is planned to be operational by the end of April 2010. The airfield lighting system is also currently being upgraded as part of the airfield modernization program.
Operation Night Harvest
Operation Nigh Harvest was the uncovering of abandoned aircraft at Tallil AB. United States forces found a large junkyard of derelict Iraqi aircraft.[1]
- Photos: Airplane Graveyard
See also
References
External links
- Ali Times - 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
- 407th Air Expeditionary Group, GlobalSecurity.org
- photos
- Airport information for ORTL at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
United States tri-service Q-series UAV designations post-1962 See also: List of unmanned aerial vehicles
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