Dear Friend,
First and foremost ... YES WOMEN DRIVE (AND VOTE)! now that I got that off my chest, I could answer the rest of your questions!
Camp Doha
Camp Doha is a warehouse complex north of Kuwait City which has been a major US base since the Gulf War. The Army uses Camp Doha, a former industrial warehouse complex converted to an Army installation after Kuwait's liberation from Iraq. Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-Kuwait), headquartered at Camp Doha, is responsible for RSOI and administrative support of Army forces deploying to Kuwait, oversight of the contract that maintains the brigade prepositioned fleet, and installation support for Camp Doha. Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait (Forward) (C/JTF-KU (Fwd)) is also based on Camp Doha. Established during Operation DESERT THUNDER I and continuously manned since February 1998, C/JTF-KU (Fwd) provides a forward command and control headquarters capable of rapid expansion to execute joint, combined, and coalition combat operations and maintains area situational awareness by daily coordination with the Air Force and Navy Joint Task Forces in Saudi Arabia and Baharain, respectively. C/JTF-KU (Fwd) also has tactical control of all Army forces deployed in Kuwait and US Marine forces when ashore in Kuwait.
On January 21, 2003 an American civilian was killed and another wounded in an ambush near Kuwait City. The two American men were civilian contractors working for the U-S military in Kuwait, according to a U-S embassy spokesman (John Moran) in the emirate.
The shooting occurred about nine o'clock in the morning, local time, just north of Kuwait City, at an intersection several kilometers from Camp Doha, where as many as ten thousand U-S troops are stationed to prepare for a possible attack on neighboring Iraq.
The two men were in a Toyota Landcruiser that was struck several times by gunfire. The driver was shot in the shoulder and the leg and is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital. His passenger was shot several times and died as a result of his wounds.
Authorities say it appears the gunman or gunmen may have been laying in wait in a nearby agricultural area, and ambushed the car as it was driving by. No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. A manhunt is underway.
The ARCENT-KU presence in Kuwait remains a deterrent to aggression and helps preserve peace in the region. ARCENT-KU serves as the forward-deployed base for Joint Task Force-Kuwait (JTF-Kuwait), providing command and control over all US Forces that deploy into Kuwait during a contingency.
US ARCENT–KU maintains a forward presence and exercises command control and force protection over assigned and attached Army forces in Kuwait. Its headquarters is located at Camp Doha, KU. Camp Doha, Kuwait, is a large logistics base located 20 miles west of Kuwait City that serves as the Army's forward presence in the Middle East. As of 2000 Camp Doha had a working population of over 2,000 personnel including US military personnel, as well as US, Kuwaiti, and third-country national contractor personnel.
ARCENT-KU also provides mission support to other US forces and agencies in the area of responsibility (AOR). The Directorate of Logistics (DOL) is the executive agent for all logistical actions, to include conducting reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOI) of units deploying to Kuwait.
ARCENT (Fwd) staff runs Camp Doha and has OPCON of forces; provides administrative and logistics support; commander is on 2 year tour, remaining staff on 1 year tours. A US Army Battalion rotates every 4 months, with a differing mix of mechanized/armor. CJTF-K provides tactical control of forces; established by 3d Army in February 1988, includes United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Combat Support Associates (CSA) has the support contract for Camp Doha, to include supply, maintenance of prepositioned equipment, force on force training, range control and camp security; 546 US and 787 Third Country National contract personnel. CSA maintains equipment for 7 battalions, plus a division slice.
The ADA Task Force maintains and services prepositioned sets of equipment stored at Camp Doha for contingency operations. Then the units deploy to join the equipment for defense of critical assets in Kuwait against theater ballistic missile threats using the PATRIOT missile systems. The main function here is the maintenance of the equipment sets to ensure that all of the components of the systems — from missiles and engines down to the tires are ready to roll on a moment's notice. The ADA Task Force soldiers constantly are doing systems checks to ensure that the systems are always ready.
Camp Doha is located next a huge water desalination plant and an electrical plant. There are four large smokestacks (nicknamed the Scud goal posts) that spew their contents across Doha.
History
Following Operation Desert Storm and the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991, Camp Doha emerged as the focal point for US Armed Forces in Kuwait. The threat of future aggression necessitated a presence of US forces to maintain security and stability in the Gulf region. As a result, US military forces began rotating into Kuwait providing security assistance, training exercises and performing necessary contingency planning. Among the first US Army units deployed to Camp Doha after Desert Storm were the 3rd Armored Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 8th Infantry Division.
Camp Doha's facilities, services and personnel rapidly grew from two small warehouses to its present 500-acre complex. The original facilities were operated by the Public Warehousing Company and the Kuwait Ports Authority. These installations were subsequently leased by the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and provided to the 3rd US Army to support base operations for post-Desert Storm redeployment operations. This mission was assigned to the Combat Equipment Group, Southwest Asia (CEGWA), based at King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia.
In June, 1991, four months after Operation Desert Storm had ended, the US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) deployed from Germany to occupy Camp Doha, near Kuwait City, to serve as a deterrent/rapid response force. The 11th ACR, with about 3,600 personnel, had not taken part in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. As of July 1991, the regiment was the only US ground combat unit remaining in the Gulf Theater. It replaced the 1st Brigade of the US Army’s 3rd Armor Division, the last US unit to have engaged in ground combat during Desert Storm. Due to the threat of renewed hostilities, the 11th ACR’s combat vehicles were kept "combat loaded" with ammunition, even in garrison, to reduce their response time in case of renewed hostilities with Iraq. An equal amount of ammunition was stored in MILVANS containers or conexes (large 20-foot or 40-foot metal transport containers) stored in the North Compound motor pool complex near the combat vehicle parking ramps.
On the morning of July 11, 1991, two of the 11th ACR’s three combat formations, called squadrons, were field-deployed, leaving behind a single squadron (plus support elements) to serve as a guard force. At approximately 10:20 A.M, a defective heater in a M992 ammunition carrier loaded with 155mm artillery shells caught on fire. Unit members tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the fire before being ordered to evacuate the North Compound. This evacuation was still underway when the burning M992 exploded at 11:00 AM, scattering artillery submunitions (bomblets) over nearby combat-loaded vehicles and ammunition stocks. This set off an hours-long series of blasts and fires that devastated the vehicles and equipment in the North Compound and scattered unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and debris over much of the remainder of the camp. The fires produced billowing black and white clouds of smoke that rose hundreds of feet into the air and drifted to the east-southeast, across portions of both the North and South Compounds, in the direction of Kuwait City. The fires had died down enough by mid-afternoon to allow a preliminary damage assessment. There were no fatalities; however, 49 US soldiers were injured, two seriously. The post-blast destruction was overwhelming. One hundred and two vehicles were damaged or destroyed, including four M1A1 tanks and numerous other combat vehicles. More than two dozen buildings sustained damage as well. Among the estimated $14 million in munitions that had been damaged or destroyed were 660 M829 120mm DU sabot rounds.
As a result, CEGWA began relocating equipment to Kuwait in order to reconstitute the regiment and transfer equipment to the 8th Infantry Division, deploying from Germany.
By November 1991, CEGWA completed the placement of equipment for a battalion-size training and contingency force at Camp Doha and had retrograded over 3,000 tactical vehicles to the United States. In November 1991, the Combat Equipment Group was redesignated as the United States Army-Kuwait, and the first commercial company, DynCorp International, was contracted to maintain the equipment set at Camp Doha.
Desert Storm retrograde operations were complete in April 1992, and in May, US Army Kuwait was redesignated as US Army Training and Security-Kuwait (ATRS-K). Its mission was to maintain the equipment in place to support the joint exercise program with Kuwait under the new Defense Cooperation Agreement. This made Camp Doha an important power projection platform for US Forces.
In August 1992, Iraq directly challenged Operation Southern Watch flights over its territory. This crisis prompted the establishment of Task Force-Kuwait at Camp Doha under 3rd Army's deputy commander. The US Army deployed a battalion task force to Kuwait to draw the prepositioned equipment at Camp Doha. The task force conducted exercises with Kuwaiti land forces and served as a ground deterrent force. This operation continued until April 1993. Later the same month, former President George Bush visited Kuwait and spoke to the deployed troops at Camp Doha.
In July of 1994, ATRS-K was re-designated as Area Support Group-Kuwait (ASG-K). Additionally, ITT Corporation became the commercial contractor responsible for maintenance of the prepositioned equipment. In October 1994, Iraq's provocative excursion toward the Kuwaiti border caused the activation of TF-Kuwait under Operation Vigilant Warrior. The US Army deployed a brigade from the 24th Infantry Division along the Kuwait-Iraq border. President Bill Clinton became the second US president to visit the troops in Kuwait during November 1994.
The ASG-K experience during Vigilant Warrior resulted in expansion of the equipment in place to support a full brigade combat team contingency and the recognition of Camp Doha as the model for other prepositioned installations world-wide. The refinement of contingency plans for command control of the theater resulted in the redesignation of Area Support Group-Kuwait as US Army Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-KU) in December 1994.
In August 1995, the revelation of Iraqi plans to attack Kuwait prompted Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL. TF-Kuwait was once again established and a brigade combat team was deployed to Kuwait. In addition to the equipment for a reinforced task force being issued from Camp Doha, Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL saw the deployment of a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Battery and a heavy brigade headquarters set. This diverse task force remained through the end of the crisis in December 1995. This marked the first issue of a complete brigade combat team equipment set from Camp Doha facilities alone.
In September 1996, Iraq intervened in the Kurdish conflict in the northern part of the country. This military action took place above the 36th parallel, the area defined by the United Nations as off limits to Iraqi forces. The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) conducted a series of air and missile attacks against selected targets in Iraq, called Operation Desert Strike. TF-Kuwait was activated and a brigade combat team from the 1st Cavalry Division was deployed to Kuwait until the crisis ended in December 1996.
Following Operation DESERT STRIKE, Kuwait agreed to a nearly continuous presence of a US battalion task force in Kuwait. These US Army INTRINSIC ACTION rotations and US Marine Corps EAGER MACE rotations conducted combined training with the Kuwaiti Land Forces and other coalition partners. In addition, Special Operations Forces conducted IRIS GOLD rotations to train and assist other Kuwaiti military units.
Camp Doha again saw a build up of forces in February 1998 for Operation DESERT THUNDER after Iraq refused access to UN inspectors on sensitive installations. Coalition Task Force-Kuwait, which consisted of forces from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom made Camp Doha its home. This small outpost in the Kuwaiti desert became the focal point for all US forces in theatre. 3d ID(M) was the main ground force during that period. The soldiers of the Rock of the Marne deployed and drew equipment for a heavy brigade combat team. 3d ID (M) also deployed elements of its aviation brigade and the division forward command post. Coalition members in conjunction with Kuwaiti Defense Forces, 3d ID (M), I Marine Expeditionary Force, 32d Army Air Missile Defense Command and Special Operations conducted joint training in the Kuwaiti desert to deter Iraqi aggression.
In December 1998, Iraq's failure to allow UNSCOM inspectors to effectively perform their mission and to comply with U.N. resolutions established following Desert Storm once again prompted the activation of an entire brigade combat team from 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. The two battalions, Task Force 4th Battalion, 64th Armor and 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, deployed along the border in support of Operation Desert Fox, Dec. 16 - 19.
Army Propositioned Set-5 (APS-5)
Army Prepositioned Stocks-5 (APS-5) at Camp Doha consist of a divisional Armor brigade task force with two Armor/Infantry balanced task forces and one pure Armor battalion. Combat support and combat service support units are also part of prepositioned stocks.
Camp Doha serves as a staging area for the Army Propositioned Set-5 (APS-5) fleet. The APS-5 fleet is comprised of specified weapons systems and subsystems that can support a forward deployed Heavy Brigade. The use of the fleet facilitates the realistic combat training of three active duty task force rotations annually. These rotations to Kuwait are referred to as "Intrinsic Action" rotations, and last for 120 days each. This massive warehouse complex is a heavily fortified super stash of everything a heavy brigade-sized task force would need to go to war. Among the gear:
* 100 M1A1 Abrams tanks.
* 30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
* 80 Armored Personnel Carriers.
* 12 Paladin 155mm Howitzers.
* 9 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
* 48 Armored Command Vehicles.
* 30 bulldozers and bridge layers.
* 150 trucks and Humvees.
On December 1, 1999, CSA (Combat Support Associates) became the commercial contractor responsible for maintenance of the prepositioned equipment located at Camp Doha. Combat Support Associates is a joint venture company dedicated to performing the Combat Support Service Contract - Kuwait (CSSC-K) until September of 2009. The three partners in this venture are AECOM Government Services (AGS), Inc. (formerly Holmes & Narver Services, Inc.), Research Analysis and Maintenance, Inc. (RAM), and SMI, International. AGS is the managing partner.
It would be extremely difficult for US Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-KU) to accomplish its mission without the unified efforts of military and contractor working together. The use of contractors greatly maximizes the ability of ARCENT-KU to meet its mission objectives. The RSOI process is labor intensive for all parties involved and is not accomplished without the use of civilian contractors.
The majority of the CSSC-K contract at Camp Doha is comprised of maintenance support requirements to ensure the operational readiness of the APS-5 fleet remains at 90 percent or better in the event of war in the Persian Gulf. The contractors that execute the CSSC-K contract are able to provide the above-mentioned services, as well as many others, at a rate that is cost effective for the government. Due to training, taskings, and other requirements that accompany uniformed service members, contractors often provide seamless logistical support with only a fraction of the distractions that military personnel face. As a result, the contractors in Kuwait are often times twice as productive as their military counterparts. This is due to the requirement of contractors to solely focus on meeting the requirements of their specified jobs.
In July 1999 Combat Support Associates, Orange, California, was awarded $2,956,014 as part of a $51,330,417 (base year total) cost-plus-award-fee contract, with an estimated cumulative total of $546,751,502 if all options are are exercised. The Kuwaiti government is reimbursing the Army for the cost of this contract. CSA is a new joint venture composed of several entities who have never performed together. For the 10-year contract, Holmes & Narver Inc. of Orange, CA, Research Analysis and Maintenance Inc. of El Paso, TX, and Space Mark Inc. of Colorado Springs, CO, formed a separate company, Combat Support Associates. This separate company performs maintenance and operating services for tanks and track vehicles at Camp Doha.
Holmes & Narver Services, a company of AECOM Technology Corporation, maintains a large presence in the Middle East with offices in Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. HNSI specializes in operations and maintenance (O&M) of military systems and equipment, facilities engineering, logistics, construction, and personnel services. They have extensive Middle East experience through their contract to support the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai and with ARAMCO and Boeing in Saudi Arabia through a Saudi limited liability company called Resource Sciences Arabia Ltd. Research Analysis and Maintenance, Inc. brings combat training and support experience gained from the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, as well as their strong information technologies capabilities from their work as the Technical Integration Engineering Services (TIES) contractor at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. At the NTC, RAM maintains all of the tracked and wheeled vehicles for the Operations Group, including communications equipment for the Observer/Controller task force. Space Mark, Inc. brings their experience in Department of Defense logistics systems, telecommunications systems, multimedia, training support, airfield operations, and environmental services. They provide training support to the US Army at Forts Richardson, Wainwright, and Greely, Alaska. SMI provides supply, warehouse, and transportation services at Patrick AFB, Florida, Los Angeles AFB and Edwards AFB, California, and the USAF Academy, Colorado. At Adak, on the Aleutian Island chain, SMI runs the entire base infrastructure
The contractor provides management and resources to perform base operations and tactical and non-tactical equipment maintenance, and related support services. Work is performed at Camp Doha, Kuwait, and is expected to be completed by 30 September 2008. The Military Traffic Management Command, USA Central Command-Kuwait, Camp Doha, is the contracting activity. The agency's source selection official selected Combat Support Associates for award over ITT Federal Services International Corporation, notwithstanding ITT's lower proposed cost, because the selection official concluded that ITT's proposed costs were not reliable. However, this conclusion was not based on any actual analysis of the costs proposed by ITT and other offerors in their best and final offers ("BAFOs"). The previous contract for base operations at Camp Doha did not require that all contract employees be paid in accordance with Kuwaiti labor law, and that the new contract does.
The contractor provides all services necessary for mission accomplishment, and is reimbursed by the government. Contractor performance is graded on a monthly basis by Contract Officer Representatives (COR). Military members that are experienced in the specified area or service rendered are appointed to serve as CORs. For example, a Quartermaster CPT with 4 years of service would normally serve as the COR for Class I-IV operations. The COR grades the contractor’s performance, ranging from 0-100 percent, by using a checklist. The checklist includes both objective and subjective measures to assess contractor performance during the previous month. Department of the Army Pamphlets and Regulations serve as the source of objective criteria used to grade the contractor’s ability to meet mission objectives. The COR is required to maintain an extremely professional working relationship with his counterpart on the contractor side of the house. The contractor counterpart serves as a direct link between the government and the contract labor force on a daily basis. According to the nature of the CSSC-K, the contractor must perform any function or service the COR requires, provided the request is in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW) included in the contract. The very nature of this contract engenders teamwork.
Quality of Life
Personnel serving a six-month tour or longer are authorized housing in the trailer parks. The trailers are two-unit living areas with two quarters sharing one latrine. Not all the trailers have latrines, however they are all air-conditioned. Service members who are here as part of an IA rotation will be housed in open bay billets, with standard Army bunks and wall lockers.
On-post activities include the Camp Doha Gym, MWR Video Checkout and Theater, Uncle Frosty's, the Self-Help Store and the Marble Palace. The Camp Doha Gym recently underwent a major facilities upgrade. The gym offers: Nautilus equipment, stair climbers, free weights, two saunas, universal life cycles, two racquetball courts, aerobics and martial arts room. The gym also offers personalized instructions and aerobics and martial arts classes. The MWR Video Checkout and Theater hosts approximately 2000 movies on video, which can be rented, free of charge. The theater also shows six free movies a day with free popcorn and water. Movies are provided to MWR through the Army and Air Force Exchanges Service, Europe.
Servicemembers and civilians working on and around Camp Doha can expect to have all of the normal services available, plus more. Camp Doha has everything from woodworking to surfing the Internet. You can bask in the sun or pump it up in the gym.
The local finance office offers check cashing and foreign currency exchange. On-post activities include the Camp Doha Gym, MWR Video Checkout and Theater, Uncle Frosty's, the Self-Help Store and the Marble Palace. The Camp Doha Gym recently underwent a major facilities upgrade. The gym offers: Nautilus equipment, stair climbers, free weights, two saunas, universal life cycles, two racquetball courts, aerobics and martial arts room. The gym also offers personalized instructions and aerobics and martial arts classes.
The MWR Video Checkout and Theater hosts approximately 2000 movies on video, which can be rented, free of charge. The theater also shows six free movies a day with all the free popcorn and water you can consume. Movies are provided to MWR through the Army and Air Force Exchanges Service, Europe. Servicemembers can enjoy a meal in the best Dining Facility in the Middle East. For a change of pace, Uncle Frosty's Oasis, a one-stop relaxation point on base camp, provides a short-order menu consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, soft drinks and ice cream. The food and drinks are provided free to military members and Department of the Army Civilians.
Uncle Frosty's has ping pong tables, pool tables, darts and all the video games you want. Along with having several monitors throughout the Oasis, there's one large screen projection TV that shows several movies a night. Frosty's also hosts DoD shows. The Self-Help store has most of the carpentry tools you need to build most anything out of wood. Yes, they even have wood. If not the self help offers a safety certification course every week. The store provides all your common building materials, free of cost, to individuals wishing to make "do-it-yourself" projects.
The Marble Palace is a great place to be. Not only can you lounge around the pool or lay out on the beach; it also supports foosball, pool, ping-pong, miniature golf, volleyball, tennis, soccer, basketball and horseshoes. The on-post library hosts a myriad of more than 32,000 books from children's all the way up to studying for the CLEP test. Monthly passes to downtown restaurants include Fuddrucker's and the La Palma Restaurant at the Safir International Hotel. Passes to Entertainment City, the Aqua Park and the Messilah Beach Hotel are also available.
The Education Center offers a variety of testing and college courses. Counselors are available to assist in setting and fulfilling your educational goals. MWR Tours and Travel offer several cultural tours of places like the Grand Mosque, museums, shopping tours, dining out, drag races, camel races, bowling, fishing tours, ice-skating and more.
The concessions stands include a gold shop, photo shop, gift shop, tailor shop, carpet shop and two barbershops. There is also a food court with pizza, ice cream and more. Servicemembers on Doha can even get free laundry at the Quartermaster laundry facility.
ARCENT - Kuwait
Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-Kuwait), headquartered at Camp Doha, is responsible for RSOI and administrative support of Army forces deploying to Kuwait, oversight of the contract that maintains the brigade prepositioned fleet, and installation support for Camp Doha.
ARCENT-Kuwait has been the focal point for U.S. Armed Forces in Kuwait since the end of Operation Desert Storm in February 1991. ARCENT-Kuwait's mission is to maintain a forward presence and exercise command, control and force protection over assigned and attached Army forces in Kuwait. ARCENT-Kuwait also provides logistical, installation and contract support for the Kuwait area of responsibility. Soldiers and units assigned to this area of responsibility conduct multi-service and multi-national operations and exercises.
The country of Kuwait is a beautiful area with a rich history and culture and very friendly, hospitable people. Living in Kuwait is an interesting and rewarding experience for U.S. personnel. Americans are very welcome in Kuwait and opportunities for friendly relationships are abundant.
The ARCENT-KU presence in Kuwait remains a deterrent to aggression and helps preserve peace in the region. ARCENT-KU serves as the forward-deployed base for Joint Task Force-Kuwait (JTF-Kuwait), providing command and control over all U.S. Forces that deploy into Kuwait during a contingency. ARCENT-KU continues to perfect the Reception, Staging, Onward movement and Integration (RSOI) process for the rest of the U.S. Army.
Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration is a rigorous event for soldiers who have just traveled many hours on a crowded airplane. Hours after touching down, units account for and pick up pre-positioned weapon systems, equipment and supplies and head to the desert. RSOI readies battalion-to brigade-sized task force elements to fight shortly after arriving in Kuwait. Since the Gulf War, RSOI has become one of the most important missions for ARCENT-Kuwait.
ARCENT - KU maintains a forward presence and exercises command, control and force protection over assigned and attached Army forces in Kuwait. It provides mission support to other US forces and agencies in Kuwait. An important part of the ARCENT - KU mission is that of RSOI or reception, staging, onward movement and integration of forces and equipment deploying to Kuwait. ARCENT - KU is prepared to conduct rapid movement of personnel, equipment and supplies in support of ARCENT Operations. ARCENT - KU also provides logistical, installation and contract support for the Kuwait area of responsibility. Soldiers and units assigned to this AOR conduct multi-service and multi-national operations and exercises.
The RSOI process melds pre-positioned TOE (Table of Organizational Equipment) equipment with an arriving unit. Once in country, the RSOI process equips and arms battalion to brigade-sized Task Force elements or greater within a short period of time. Pre-positioned equipment includes M1A1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles as well as other armor, tank, artillery and engineer sets. Reception starts when soldiers or equipment land at one of Kuwait's ports of debarkation. Equipment, bags and supplies are palletized and prepared for convoy to Camp Doha's drawing lot. At the drawing lot, soldiers draw their equipment. This stage is not finished until all units have completed the draw and uploaded all combat equipment. All equipment receives preventive maintenance checks and services prior to departing.
Onward movement begins with convoy operations to the marshaling area. Supplies and equipment are loaded onto trucks, and tracked vehicles are loaded onto heavy equipment transports. The convoys then move to their positions in the desert to begin training or contingency operations. This phase ends with the downloading of assets and tactical road march to the Kabal. The final phase, integration, is the tactical fusion of the arriving units into the Kuwait defensive plan. Training - at the individual and unit level - takes place at the multi-service and multi-national level.
Camp Arifjan [Camden Yards]
28°54'N 48°11'E
Camp Arifjan is a new $200 million state-of-the-art facility built courtesy of the Kuwaiti government. This new army base has literally risen out of the sand. The base will provide permanent support facilities for American troops in Kuwait, replacing temporary facilities that have been used since the Gulf War.
The Army component of US Central Command (USCENTCOM), US Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT), maintains a forward presence in the region. Government-to-government agreements were negotiated with the Qatar and Kuwait to allow the prepositioning of military assets. The Army has met major milestones in its security strategy in the Middle East by completing a prepositioning facility in Qatar, and by the rapid pace of construction on a new installation in Kuwait. These facilities support USCENTCOM's efforts to protect US interests in this region in accordance with the National Security Strategy. US forces use these facilities under a variety of agreements, which include host nation involvement with providing and managing the facilities.
A new prepositioning facility is under construction by the Kuwait government at Arifjan, south of Kuwait City [Arifjan is also known as Araifjan, Arefjan and Urayfijan]. When complete, the facility will replace Camp Doha, a former industrial warehouse complex that has been converted for use as an Army installation. Camp Doha was leased by the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and provided to the Army to support its three major missions in Kuwait -- to maintain prepositioned equipment, supplies and materials; direct joint exercises with the Kuwait armed forces; and ensure the security of Kuwait. Camp Doha was intended as a temporary facility until the permanent installation was designed and built at Arifjan. A full brigade set of equipment is stored at Camp Doha, much of it outside. The new facility will have most of the equipment sets stored in large warehouses, similar to the ones built in Qatar, to protect them from the harsh desert environment.
While troops jokingly call the pair of tall smokestacks near Camp Doha the "Scud goal posts," commanders have had to install makeshift measures around the facility to keep troops protected from terrorist threats. All that will change when the Army shifts its operations to a new facility now being built south of Kuwait City near the village of Arifjan and the headquarters of a Kuwait armored brigade. It will be absolutely state of the art, from force protection to life support. For starters, troops will live in actual barracks instead of the beehives carved out of the warehouses. Instead of hanging Kevlar netting across windows to protect against blasts, the new facility will use shatterproof Mylar glass. Armored vehicles will get special maintenance bays for the contracted mechanics who keep the equipment at one of the highest availability rates in the Army.
The Arifjan installation is a joint project between the engineering organizations of USCENTCOM, ARCENT, Army Corps of Engineers Transatlantic Programs Center [TAC], and Kuwait's Military Engineering Projects (MEP) office, the engineering arm of the Kuwait Ministry of Defense. TAC did major portions of the design, while MEP handled other designs. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) designed the facilities to support US Army operations, and provided quality assurance services to Kuwait's Defence Ministry during construction of the installation at the Arifjan base which will be used by US forces.
For construction purposes, the Kuwait government divided the facility into four packages and has awarded three construction contracts, according to Ron Rhodes, chief of TAC's Arifjan Quality Assurance (QA) Office. The packages are: Zone I, administrative and quality of life facilities. Awarded July 1999, estimated completion spring 2002 (TAC design). Zone II, industrial area, with warehousing, maintenance, and storage facilities. Awarded July 1999, estimated completion fall 2001 (TAC design). Zone III, ammunition storage area. Construction complete (MEP design). Zone IV, infrastructure (roads and utilities). Awaiting award (MEP design).
The Arifjan QA Office, with nine TAC team members, is responsible for assisting MEP's resident engineer staffs for each of the zones. They advise and assist the Kuwait resident engineers in accordance with their procedures. Their role is to provide construction management and quality assurance advice and to interpret specifications that involve literally hundreds of submittal reviews and requests for technical information. They also assist in joint inspections and, ultimately, turnover to the Army.
Besides the ongoing construction, ARCENT has identified additional needs at Arifjan. TAC is designing an enhancement package that includes expanded administrative and housing areas, operational facilities, and furniture and furnishings, according to project manager Donn Booker.
Although the move was canceled in August, 1999, the Doha-Arifjan, Kuwait Installation Transition and Movement SOW showed how LOGCAP contractor assistance can result in a plan to systematically move and transition all installation personnel and materiel from Camp Doha to a newly erected Arifjan installation. During these moves, personnel life support had to be maintained with a force capability to defend and counter-attack, if necessary.
The Kabals
A kabal [an Arabic word for fortress] is a square patch of desert, about a mile on each side, with 10-foot-tall berms bulldozed to form the perimeter. The Kabals are located less than 50 miles from the Iraqi border. The Kuwaiti government has cordoned off the northern part of its country, an area of more than 1,600 square miles, where American and coalition forces are based and are training [the entire size of Kuwait is roughly 6,900 square miles].
As of late 2002 most of the troops in Kuwait lived at five kabals, desert outposts with dining facilities, air-conditioned sleeping tents, recreation facilities and storage for weapons, tanks and their armored vehicles. The kabals are named New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia [the "Diamond Head" and "Hunter" are apparently inactive]. The kabals are beige cities of tents protected by a 10-foot-high sand berm. Each camp contains large areas of tents housing roughly a half-dozen soldiers apiece, mess halls, rows of portable toilets, trailers with sinks and showers and a gym. Soldiers assigned to remote sites must maintain 24-hour operations. Some units are less than 30 miles from the Iraqi border. Tents were equipped with telephones, and for recreation, there are a variety of movies, games and a computer café.
As America prepared for war with Iraq, by early 2003 it had massed troops, helicopters and armor at bases on the Kuwait border, anchored by Camp Victory at the south and Camp Udairi in the north. In between were camps Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
"Kabals" are the designation for some field locations in Kuwait. When soldiers land in Kuwait they pick up equipment from Camp Doha, a US military base near Kuwait City. They drive their tanks, Bradleys and Humvees nearly two hours into the desert and set up camp. The kabals are built by bulldozing mounds of sand into walls; the walls usually form a circle that is several miles in diameter. Each kabal has one or two entrances that are guarded by soldiers, and other soldiers are placed on guard duty around the perimeter or in towers. Establishing Kabals is manpower- and supply-intensive, requiring many convoys of Class IV (construction and barrier materiel) and contracted items. Combat Regeneration and Reorganization [CR2] is the redeployment of equipment, vehicles and soldiers from the Kabal.
The kabals were established shortly after Operation Desert Storm as part of a U.S. mission to protect Kuwait with a battle-ready battalion and to train service members for possible future wars against Iraq. It was where service members with M-16’s slung over their shoulders simulate real-life wartime situations, testing their skills at tracking and shooting down enemies approaching the tiny, oil-rich country.
Establishing Kabals was manpower- and supply-intensive, requiring many convoys of Class IV (construction and barrier materiel) and contracted items. In response to mounting tensions between the United States and Iraq, the 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT), 3d Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, GA, received an alert to deploy to Kuwait, 16 Feb 98. Multiple convoys from Camp Doha, Kuwait City and Saudi Arabia arrived at Ready Kabal daily with various supplies such as field latrines, plywood, sandbags and SCUD missile bunkers. The 203d FSB FLE had relocated most of its assets from Battle Kabal (home of Task Force 1-30 Infantry) to Ready Kabal to prepare for the 1st BCT’s arrival. Three other Kabals were under development at the same time as Ready Kabal: Power Kabal for Task Force 3-69 Armor, Glory Kabal for Task Force 1-41 Field Artillery, and Baylor Kabal for Task Force 3-7 Infantry. Battle Kabal for Task Force 1-30 Infantry was fairly mature because of Operation Intrinsic Action. Two LOGPACs (morning and evening) were pushed every day from Camp Doha to Ready Kabal. Camp Doha was the MSB or CSB throughout the deployment.
The Kabals were where some of the most forward-deployed troops in Kuwait live and work during their rotation. The soldiers lived in large air-conditioned tents, and they are provided basic amenities such as trailers with showers and latrines, a tent with recreational equipment, a shoppette and a chapel tent. Every two weeks, finance, personnel and Red Cross representatives visited the area to make sure the soldiers have what they need.
ARCENT-KU continued to perfect the Reception, Staging, Onward movement and Integration (RSOI) process for the rest of the US Army. The RSOI process melded pre-positioned TOE (Table of Organizational Equipment) equipment with an arriving unit. Once in country, the RSOI process equiped and arms battalion to brigade-sized Task Force elements or greater within a short period of time. Pre-positioned equipment included M1A1 Abrams tanks and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles as well as other armor, tank, artillery and engineer sets. Reception starts when soldiers or equipment land at one of Kuwait's ports of debarkation. Equipment, bags and supplies were palletized and prepared for convoy to Camp Doha's drawing lot. At the drawing lot, soldiers drew their equipment. This stage was not finished until all units had completed the draw and uploaded all combat equipment. All equipment received preventive maintenance checks and services prior to departing. Onward movement beganswith convoy operations to the marshaling area. Supplies and equipment are loaded onto trucks, and tracked vehicles are loaded onto heavy equipment transports. The convoys then moved to their positions in the desert to begin training or contingency operations. This phase ends with the downloading of assets and tactical road march to the Kabal. The final phase, integration, is the tactical fusion of the arriving units into the Kuwait defensive plan. Training - at the individual and unit level - takes place at the multi-service and multi-national level.
During the February 1998 Operation Desert Thunder the 203d FSB FLE relocated most of its assets from Battle Kabal (home of Task Force 1-30 Infantry) to Ready Kabal to prepare for the 1st BCT’s arrival. Three other Kabals were under development at the same time as Ready Kabal: Power Kabal for Task Force 3-69 Armor, Glory Kabal for Task Force 1-41 Field Artillery, and Baylor Kabal for Task Force 3-7 Infantry. Battle Kabal for Task Force 1-30 Infantry was fairly mature because of Operation Intrinsic Action. Two LOGPACs (logistics packages of supplies) deployed daily to Ready Kabal for resupply. The LOGPACs primarily consisted of Class I (rations), bottled water, Class II (general supplies) Class III petroleum, Class IV (construction and barrier materiel), Class VI (personal demand items or sundry packs), and Class IX (repair parts). Each LOGPAC traveled about 80 kilometers (49 miles) in 2 hours on a combination of hardened and sandy trails to Ready Kabal with a Military Police escort. Ready Kabal was at the end of the truck convoy’s route that had other stops along the way. The soldiers of the 1st BCT and the 3d FSB remained in Kuwait as a deterrent to Iraqi threats until mid-July 1998, when Operation Intrinsic Action began.
During Desert Spring 2002, the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division (Mech), operated from Camps New York and Virginia. Camp Virginia is a logistics and medical base. Camp Pennsylvania is the location that Task Force 1-64 of the 3rd Mech's 2nd BDE Combat Team operates from.
On July 31, 2003 a wind-driven fire raced across a section of Camp Champion, consuming 21 tents in about 20 minutes before it was stopped by military and Kuwaiti firefighters. The fire, still under investigation, apparently was caused by faulty wiring in an empty tent. The tent was in the "sterilized" section of the camp, called such because it is where U.S. Customs agents-usually specially-trained military police-check for contraband items as redeploying soldiers process through before leaving theater on return to home station. There have been several tent fires in Kuwait and Iraq, most involving contractor-supplied tents that do not have the same flame-retardant material that the military-issued tents have.
An incomplete list of tent fires in theater included the following: In Camp Victory, Kuwait, 11 tents burned in a fire, displacing 600 soldiers. Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait lost seven tents in January. At Camp Udari, a dining facility composed of three tents burned to the ground after a welder's spark set it aflame. In Iraq, a tent at Camp Commando burned down. At Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, the British lost a tent, and a tent in the Truckville section of the camp burned down. Camp Virginia lost a tent to fire, displacing 80 soldiers and destroying their belongings. Camp Patriot lost three tents and Camp Coyote lost several tents. The Kuwaiti Naval Base also has had a tent fire involving the U.S. military. Most fires have started due to improper electrical wiring connections.
Kuwait Facilities
A US consulate was opened at Kuwait in October 1951 and was elevated to embassy status at the time of Kuwait's independence 10 years later. The United States supports Kuwait's sovereignty, security, and independence as well as closer cooperation among the GCC countries.
In 1987, cooperation between the United States and Kuwait increased due to the implementation of the maritime protection regime to ensure freedom of navigation through the Gulf for 11 Kuwaiti tankers that were reflagged with US markings.
The US-Kuwaiti partnership reached dramatic new levels of cooperation after the Iraqi invasion. The United States assumed a leading role in the implementation of Operation Desert Shield. The United States led the UN Security Council to demand Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and authorize the use of force, if necessary, to remove Iraqi forces from the occupied country. The United States played a major role in the evolution of Desert Shield into Desert Storm, the multinational military operation to liberate the State of Kuwait.
Eventually, the US provided the bulk of the troops and equipment that were used by the multinational coalition that liberated Kuwait. The US-Kuwaiti relationship has remained strong in the post-war period.
The United States has provided military and defense technical assistance to Kuwait from both foreign military sales (FMS) and commercial sources. All transactions have been made by direct cash sale. The US Office of Military Cooperation in Kuwait is attached to the American Embassy and manages the FMS program. US military sales to Kuwait total $5.5 billion over the last 10 years. Principal US military systems currently purchased by the Kuwait Defense Forces are Patriot missile system, F-18 Hornet fighters, and the M1A2 Main Battle Tank.
The Army component of US Central Command (USCENTCOM), US Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT), maintains a forward presence in the region. Government-to-government agreements were negotiated with the Qatar and Kuwait to allow the prepositioning of military assets. The Army has met major milestones in its security strategy in the Middle East by completing a prepositioning facility in Qatar, and by the rapid pace of construction on a new installation in Kuwait. These facilities support USCENTCOM's efforts to protect US interests in this region in accordance with the National Security Strategy. US forces use these facilities under a variety of agreements, which include host nation involvement with providing and managing the facilities.
In Kuwait, field exchanges are becoming more permanent. In February 2003, Army and Air Force Exchange Service [AAFES] operated exchanges for the Army at Camp Doha and two nearby air bases. Tactical field exchanges — 40-foot trailers stocked with merchandise — were quickly added to the half-dozen Army staging camps north of Kuwait City, he said. By mid-2003 those trailers had been replaced by 3,000-square-foot prefabricated buildings. At Camp Arifjan, the Army’s large logistical hub south of Kuwait City, AAFES operates a 24-hour exchange from a 10,000-square-foot festival tent. In Kuwait, business has been steady as troops heading north to Iraq stock up on favorites such as Gatorade, baby wipes, tobacco products and snacks, De Moss said. Then, troops redeploying from Iraq, no doubt craving one thing or another, hit the PX while waiting to ship home.
It’s called the surge. The annual, heightened period of activity from December through April when tens of thousands of US and coalition forces travel through Kuwait on their way to and from Iraq. The influx of troops and equipment pushes Kuwait’s U.S. military camps to their capacities, creating an atmosphere with all the activity, anticipation and long lines of a busy amusement park.
But there’s a method to the seeming madness. Despite their sometimes haphazard appearance, the ebb and flow of these troop rotations, the largest since World War II, is meticulously orchestrated by command cell staff of Kuwait’s desert camps. Serving as innkeepers, landlords, and entertainment coordinators, they react to the constantly-evolving conditions on the ground to keep the gateway between the United States and the central front in the war on terror running smoothly.
Defense Energy Supply Center announced a one year contract for the period 1 March 2005 through February 28, 2005 (with two (2) six (6) month option periods). DESC reserves the right to reduce/delete transport trucks and change, add or modify transport truck origin points in Kuwait and delivery locations in Kuwait and Iraq as necessary. The services to be performed include transporting JP8 from the Mina Abdullah Truck Fill Stand (TFS) to Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait, Camp Buehring, Kuwait and Cedar II in Tallil, Iraq. DESC required 324 transport tank trucks with a minimum of 8,000 USG capacity and drivers to support military operations of up to 1,070,000 USG of Turbine Fuel, Aviation (JP8) per day from the Mina Abdullah Truck Fill Stand to Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Ali Al Saleem, Kuwait and Cedar II, Tallil, Iraq. Trucks are required 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Trucks delivering to Ali Al Saleem should plan for two turns per day, approximately 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) from the Mina Abdullah Truck Fill stand. Trucks delivering to Camp Buehring should plan on one turn per day, approximately 80 to 110 miles (129 to 177 kilometers) from the Mina Abdullah Truck Fill Stand. Trucks delivering to Cedar II/ Tallil, Iraq should plan for at least a two-day turn around time, approximately 235 miles (378 kilometers) from the Mina Abdullah Truck Fill Stand.
The United States is currently Kuwait's largest supplier, and Kuwait is the fifth-largest market in the Middle East for US goods and services. Since the Gulf war, Kuwaiti attitudes toward Americans and American products have been excellent. US exports to Kuwait totaled $787 billion in 2000. Provided their prices are reasonable, US firms have a competitive advantage in many areas requiring advanced technology, such as oil field equipment and services, electric power generation and distribution equipment, telecommunications gear, consumer goods, and military equipment. In 1993, Kuwait publicly announced abandonment of the secondary and tertiary aspects of the Arab boycott of Israel (those aspects affecting US firms).
Kuwait also is an important partner in the current US-led campaign against terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas.
Kuwait has two modern ports -- Mina Al Shuwaikh and Mina Shuaiba -- which handle most of the country's imported goods. Both are equipped with facilities to manage most kinds of cargo. The small ports at Mina Shuaiba and Mina Abd Allah [Mina Abdulla] are also used for the export of oil products.
Kuwait is working to regain its role as a transshipment point in the region following the significant drop in world trade with Iraq after the Gulf War. In 1996, the government authorized the establishment of a free trade zone in Shuwaikh port, which was inaugurated in November 1999. Over 80 percent of available space has been leased. Recently the GOK also reduced some port fees in an effort to encourage use of Kuwait as a transshipment point.
Kuwait is a small country and many of the challenges of distribution of goods and services found in other, larger countries do not exist in Kuwait. Kuwait International Airport is located south of the city and is easily accessed by expressway. It has a number of regular flights to destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Asia and can handle the world's largest aircraft. Kuwait's road system is well developed, with modern multi-lane expressways linking all areas of the country. There are no railways in the country.
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