Logistics Support Area Anaconda
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While called by many names, the Anaconda/Balad Facility (also called Logistics Support Area Anaconda (LSA Anaconda or "Camp Anaconda" - sometimes informally, "Life Support Area Anaconda"[1] ) or "Mortaritaville"[2]) is one of the largest American military bases in Iraq. It is also commonly referred to as Balad Air Base in the US Air Force. It was decided that the facility share one name, even though for many reasons and for its many occupants, it has differing names.
Located at Balad in the Sunni Triangle 68 miles north of Baghdad, its concrete walls house 28,000 soldiers and 8,000 civilian contractors. Unlike most bases in Iraq, Camp Anaconda offers amenities including movie theaters, fast food courts, and dance lessons. The base is a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting American troops in Iraq.[citation needed]
It has been referred to in the news as "Mortaritaville" by the soldiers occupying it, owing to the large numbers of mortar attacks it receives from Iraqi insurgents. On 2 January 2004 a soldier from the Fourth Infantry Division was killed in a mortar attack there. In May 2004, a Filipino worker was also killed in a mortar attack.[citation needed] Although the soldiers stationed at Camp Anaconda like to claim the nickname "Mortaritaville", this term was originally the nickname of another post in Iraq, Logistics Base Seitz.
In 2004, a few mortar rounds were fired per day [3], usually hitting the empty space between the runways, although there were isolated injuries and fatalities. By mid-2006, this had rate had dropped about 40% [4].
With 27,500 landings and takeoffs a month, Camp Anaconda flight operations are comparable to the airport of a busy city. For reference, Atlanta's Hartsfield airport often exceeds 80,000 flight ops per month, each with ten to one hundred times as many average passengers per takeoff or landing.[5]
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.[citation needed]
Note: Accurate information about LSA Anaconda is elusive because it is a violation of operational security for U.S. Servicemembers to divulge even seemingly unimportant facts on unsecured media.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Units deployed to LSA Anacoda or Balad AB
- Task Force Mustang -- 36th Combat Aviation Brigade
- 2d Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment
- 1st Battalion, 131st Aviation Regiment
- 449th Aviation Support Battalion, 36th Combat Aviation Brigade
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