Kirkush Military Training Base was a United States Army installation near the city of

Balad Ruz Balad Ruz () is a city located some 120 km (75 mi) northeast of Baghdad in the Diyala Governorate of Iraq. Balad Ruz has a radio station that was opened on December 18, 2006, known as Al Noor Radio Station, meaning "The Light" in Ar ...

Diyala Governorate Diyala Governorate ( ar, محافظة ديالى ) or Diyala Province is a governorate in central-eastern Iraq. Provincial government *Governor: Muthana al-Timimi *Deputy Governor: Mohammed Jassim al-Jubouri Council Geography Diyala Gov ...

, Iraq.

FOB Caldwell

Forward Operating Base Caldwell was named for United States Army Specialist Nathaniel A. Caldwell of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

, Nebraska who was killed on May 21, 2003 when the vehicle he was riding in at night rolled over while traveling at excessive speed in

Baghdad, Iraq Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the list of largest cities in the Arab world, second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the ...

. Caldwell was assigned to the

404th Aviation Support Battalion 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Until the US Army arrived, FOB Caldwell was an abandoned Iraqi military base. Construction had begun in the mid-1980s by the Czechoslovakian government and ceased in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The entire facility covers about and has several medium size groups of buildings called pods. A kilometer outside of Kirkush is a brick factory which has several black smoke stacks about high. FOB Caldwell was located in a complex that was within Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB), Iraq (Mercator Grid Reference System 38SNC 22027 30374) is approximately east of Baghdad, close to the Iranian border. Kirkush is located some 90 km northeast of Baghdad and 20 km from the Iranian border. Kirkush 3°43'10"N 045°17'24"E lies due east of

, Iraq.

Military units

Several US Army units lived and worked on FOB Caldwell and KMTB as a whole. Units that were located on FOB Caldwell proper included: * 1-10 CAV, 4th Inf DIV, 309th RAOC and 1-17 FA founded Camp Caldwell in June 2003 and relinquished command to 30th BCT in March 2004 * G Battery 202 ADA, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (United States), Early Warning Team 4, HHB 4-3 ADA

1st Infantry Division (United States) The 1st Infantry Division is a combined arms division of the United States Army, and is the oldest continuously serving division in the Regular Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917 during World War I. It was offi ...

(held it down in 2004) *

278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (United States) The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (278th ACR, "Third Tennessee"), previously the 117th Infantry Regiment, is an armored brigade combat team of the Tennessee Army National Guard with headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is the only National ...

* 1-32 Cavalry ( RSTA) * 5- 73rd Cavalry Regiment (United States) (-) earned the Presidential Unit Citation for operations conducted while assigned to FOB Caldwell * 2d Squadron,

3d Armored Cavalry Regiment The 3rd Cavalry Regiment, formerly 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment ("Brave Rifles") is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. The regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 May 1 ...

(-) earned the Valorous Unit Award for operations conducted while assigned to FOB Caldwell, November 2007 to October 2008. * B Btry 2/4 FA, MLRS, December 2007 to September 2008. * Task Force 3-66,

172nd Infantry Brigade (United States) The 172nd Infantry Brigade was a light infantry brigade of the United States Army stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska and later moved its headquarters to Grafenwöhr, Germany. An active duty separate brigade, it was part of V Corps and was on ...

, November 2008 to November 2009 ( OIF 08-10) (-) earned the

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

for operations while assigned to FOB Caldwell * 1st Cavalry Regiment 5th Squadron, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. * 5th Iraqi Army MiTT * 14th Combat Engineers 2003 * Garrison Support Unit Jolly Roger, founded 2006 * Logistics Military Assistance Teams (part of Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq) (U.S. Air Force/U.S. Army team providing logistics advice to Iraqi base commander) * 323rd Military Police Company (Toledo, Ohio),

18th Military Police Brigade The 18th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based in Vilseck, Germany, with subordinate battalions and companies stationed throughout Germany. It provides law enforcement and force protection duties to ...

. Provided installation security June 2003-December 2003 for the training of the first two battalions of the new Iraqi Army * 1st Squadron,

14th Cavalry Regiment The 14th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the United States Army. It has two squadrons that provide reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition for Stryker brigade combat teams. Constituted in 1901, it has served in conflicts ...

, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division, 2009–2010. Headquarters & Headquarters Troop (HHT). Support elements as well as an outpost for command with a Quick Reaction Force (QRF). Last to pass the torch to the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

. Coalition Military Training Team (CMATT) Advisors to the Base Operations, Iraqi CG, Base Defense Team 2005-2008 FOB Caldwell was dissolved into the larger KMTB on April 3, 2010 and turned over to the

5th Iraqi Army Division The 5th Division ('Iron Division') is a military formation of the Iraqi Army. The division is currently deployed in eastern Iraq – predominantly Diyala Governorate. Following the losses suffered by the Iraqi Army during fighting in the ISIL ...

References

Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB)
* {{coord missing, Iraq Installations of the United States Army in Iraq

FOB Caldwell

Military units

See also

References