Camp Shorabak (formerly Camp Bastion) is a former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

airbase An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

, located northwest of the city of

Lashkargah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The camp was situated in a remote desert area, far from population centres. The camp was built by the

in 2005-06, and on 27 October 2014 the

handed over control to the

Afghan Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense (, , , ) is the cabinet ministry of Afghanistan responsible for overseeing the Afghan Armed Forces (currently referred to as the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces). The ministry is located in Kabul. The Democratic Republic p ...

. Between 2005 and October 2014 it was the logistics hub for

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

(ISAF) operations in Helmand during the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

and

Operation Herrick Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assi ...

, and it was capable of accommodating over 32,000 people. It was the largest British overseas

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

built since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The base was also home to troops from other states, including the United States and Denmark. Shorabak contained the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

(ANA) camp (also called Camp Shorabak), and also held

Camp Leatherneck Camp Leatherneck was a 1,600 acre United States Marine Corps base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The site was mostly in Washir District and was conjoined with Camp Bastion, which was the main British military base in Afghanistan and Camp S ...

until 2014. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan in July–August 2021; the camp is now under control by the Taliban.

History

Camp Bastion Memorial Wall Vigil MOD 45158077

Camp Shorabak was known as Camp Bastion until 2014. It was a tactical landing zone set up by two air traffic controllers from the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

's Tactical Air Traffic Control Unit. This provided a vital and strategic insertion point in

during the western intervention in the

. The camp started out with just a few tents in 2005. However, from early 2006 personnel from

39 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers 39 Engineer Regiment (39 Engr Regt) is a battalion-sized regiment of the British Army formed in 1951 and based in Kinloss, Scotland, Kinloss in Scotland. History It was in Kenya in the early 1950s, up until 1955, and elements took part in anti-M ...

and various contracting firms, all under the supervision of 62 Works Group Royal Engineers started to build the base with more robust facilities. In November 2006, the then British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

visited Camp Bastion, and, while addressing a gathering of British troops, described it as an "extraordinary piece of desert ... where the fate of world security in the early 21st century is going to be decided". Four miles long by two miles wide, the camp had a busy airfield and a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile ...

and originally had full accommodation for 2,000 people. The base was originally named by the Commanding Officer of 62 Works Group (RE) based upon name of the gabions used to form the compounds walls;

Hesco Bastion The Concertainer, known colloquially as the Hesco barrier or Hesco bastion, with HESCO being the brand name of the manufacturer, is a modern gabion primarily used for flood control and military fortifications. It is made of a collapsible wire m ...

. The first camp to be built was Camp 251 which housed the construction force and they were housed in tents. The first runway capable of handling C-17s direct from the United Kingdom opened in Camp Bastion on 3 December 2007. The base had previously been divided into a number of different sections (bastions). Bastions 1 and 2 were the first, with Bastion 2 containing Camp Barber (US) and Camp Viking (DK). Bastion 0 was added in around 2010 and housed the contractors and Bastion 3 was used for in-theatre training. Camp Bastion included Bastion Airfield, Bastion Garrison and

along with Rowe Lines. By September 2014 it was reported that both Bastion 2 and 3 had reverted to desert. Camp Bastion airfield and heliport handled up to 600 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft movements every day in 2011, operating combat, medical and logistics flights. Its air traffic controllers were integral to the support of the UK's operations in southern Afghanistan and the Air Traffic Control Squadron at Camp Bastion was the first to recruit and train US Marines to UK air traffic control standards. In February 2014, snow fell in Camp Bastion for the first time since the base was established, eight years earlier. The camp was handed over to the control of the Afghan security forces on 26 October 2014.Drwiega, Andrew.
Combat Operations Cease from Camp Bastion-Leatherneck
" ''Aviation Today'', 28 October 2014. Accessed: 29 October 2014. On 27 November 2014, insurgents infiltrated Camp Bastion. As of Sunday 30 November, the Afghan National Army had not fully driven out the "Taliban" fighters. At least five ANA soldiers were killed in the attack. Upon completion of British and US military withdrawal from Camp Bastion, it was renamed Camp Shorabak as this was the name of the Afghan base situated there. In December 2015, it was announced that a small contingency of British troops would return to Camp Shorabak in an advisory role, due to the Taliban overrun of

Sangin Sangin () is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at altitude, to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the cent ...

district in

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

province. The base was initially home to the Afghan National Army and during Operation Herrick 7 2nd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment's Battlegroup HQ. Before the 2021 Taliban takeover, home to 4th Kandak, 3rd Brigade, 205th Corps. The ring road, watchtowers and large parts of Bastion I still remain to be maintained.

United Kingdom

Aviation

The main user of the camp was the United Kingdom which based a number of rotary and a few fixed-wing aircraft. During June 2011 a brand new air traffic control tower was opened which was built by 170 Engineer Group, with Fixed Communications Infrastructure installed by 241 Sig Sqn, 10 Sig Regt. The main aviation unit was No. 903 Expeditionary Air Wing which was responsible for the operation of the airfield and operated the

Raytheon Sentinel The Raytheon Sentinel is a retired airborne battlefield and ground surveillance aircraft formerly operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). While based on the Bombardier Global Express ultra long-range business jet, the prime contractor for the ...

R1 - Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) along with

Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome eng ...

ASACs and Thales Watchkeepers.

Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan) The Joint Aviation Command (JAC), previously known as Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of all three services of the British Armed Forces and unmanned aerial vehicles of the Br ...

operated

AgustaWestland Apache The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helico ...

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

, Westland Sea Kings, Boeing Chinooks of No. 1310 Flight RAF and AgustaWestland Merlins of

No. 1419 Flight RAF No. 1419 (Tactical Support) Flight RAF was a Flight (military unit), flight within the Royal Air Force. History Second World War No. 419 (Special Duties) Flight was formed at RAF North Weald on 21 August 1940. It moved to RAF Stradishall where ...

. Both RAF Flights performed troop and cargo moves but the Chinook also carried the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) and Incident Response Teams (IRT).

Ground based

The UK had a large number of major units based here: * Afghanistan Media Operations Cell * Crew Training School (for vehicles) * EOD & Search Task Force * Joint Force Support (Afghanistan) which included: ** Joint Force Medical Group. ** Joint Media Operations Centre. ** Joint Theatre Education Centre. ** Theatre Military Working Dogs Support Unit. ** Theatre Logistic Group. A number of smaller units were also deployed here including: * Base Security **No 2 Tactical Police Sqn,

Royal Air Force Police The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington, and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK def ...

** OP H 19 - A Company - The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland * Joint ISTAR Group (brigade surveillance and reconnaissance support) ** OP H 19 - 9th/12th Royal Lancers * Units based at Bastion ** OP H 7 - 40 Commando Battlegroup HQ ** OP H 10/11 - 2nd Royal Tank Regiment (Egypt Squadron) ** OP H 13 - 16 Air Assault Medical Regiment - Elements of 19, 23 & 181 Medical Support Squadrons. ** OP H 19 - 4 SCOTS ** OP H 20 - 26th Regiment RA The base was protected by the Bastion Force Protection Wing as part of the multi-national Task Force Belleau Wood. During August 2013 the Headquarters of Task Force Helmand moved from

Lashkar Gah Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...

to Bastion. In 2013, a training school for Afghan troops was opened. By March 2014, the population of the camp had reduced to 4,000 UK service personnel, as preparations were well-underway for UK military withdrawal from Helmand in October 2014. During the dismantling of the base the scrap metal was taken away by ProCon Building Materials Trading LLC.

United States

The United States Military used part of Bastion Airfield for their aircraft and they had their own camp within Camp Bastion until 26 October 2014. The last unit was the

2nd Marine Aircraft Wing The 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (2nd MAW) is the major East Coast of the United States, east coast aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered in Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Wing provides the ...

(Forward) which began operating from April 2014. It consisted of: * Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 467 (HMLA-467) which operated Bell AH-1W SuperCobras and

Bell UH-1Y Venom The Bell UH-1Y Venom (also called Super Huey) is a twin-engine, 4-blade, medium-sized utility helicopter built by Bell Helicopter under the H-1 upgrade program of the United States Marine Corps. One of the latest members of the numerous Bell H ...

s. * Marine Wing Support Squadron 274 (MWSS-274) from 7 April 2014. Marine Wing Suppprt Squadron-371(February 2009-October) laid aluminum matting in Camp Bastion and throughout Helmand Province. On 14 September 2012 Camp Bastion was attacked by a unit of 15

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

fighters. The base was defended by pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel from Marine Attack Squadron 211 and

No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment is a field squadron of the RAF Regiment in the Royal Air Force. Its mission is protection of RAF bases from ground attack. History The history of No. 51 Squadron goes back to 1947 when it was formed at RAF Celle ne ...

. Base security had been reduced in the weeks leading up to the attack, and the Taliban unit was able to damage or destroy eight USMC

AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primaril ...

jets before all were killed or captured. Two Marines died in the fighting.

Other countries

While the base was run by the United Kingdom, Camp Bastion was used by a number of other countries including Denmark (until 20 May 2014),

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

(until 9 May 2014) and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

(until 28 April 2014).

Hospital

Medical Facility at Camp Bastion MOD 45150812

Camp Bastion's Hospital was built by 170 Engineer Group and was operated by regular and reserve personnel of the British Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force of the Joint Force Medical Group, as well as medical assets from the US Army. Medical staff included orthopaedic surgeons, general surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and medics. The hospital was the location to which wounded military personnel from the British, US and other ISAF forces in Helmand Province were evacuated from the battlefield for treatment, supported by

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

, Navy, and Air Force medics, or from which they were further evacuated to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Afghan civilians were also treated at the hospital for injuries sustained in war including victims of improvised explosive device attacks. The hospital was closed down on 22 September 2014. A number of units were deployed to Afghanistan and worked at the hospital: * OP H 4 - 22 Field Hospital (Hospital Squadron) * OP H 5 - Royal Navy Hospital Squadron * OP H 6A - 212 (Yorkshire) Field Hospital * OP H 6B -

208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital was a unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps within the Army Reserve of the British Army. History The hospital was formed upon the formation of the TAVR in 1967, from the amalgamation of 8th (Liverpool) General Hospit ...

* OP H 7A - 201 (Northern) Field Hospital * OP H 7B - 243 (The Wessex) Field Hospital * OP H 8A - 203 (Welsh) Field Hospital * OP H 8B -

204 (North Irish) Field Hospital 204 (North Irish) Field Hospital was a unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps within the Army Reserve of the British Army. History The hospital was formed upon the formation of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) in 1967, as the 204 (Nor ...

* OP H 9 - Royal Navy Hospital Squadron * OP H 10A - 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital * OP H 10B - Danish Field Hospital * OP H 11 - 33 Field Hospital * OP H 11A - 256 Field Hospital * OP H 11B - 205 Field Hospital * OP H 12 - 34 Field Hospital * OP H 13A -

207 (Manchester) Field Hospital 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital was a unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps within the Army Reserve of the British Army. History The hospital was formed upon the formation of the TAVR in 1967, from the amalgamation of 7th (Manchester) General Hos ...

* OP H 13B - 212 (Yorkshire) Field Hospital * OP H 14 - Royal Navy Hospital Squadron * OP H 15A -

* OP H 15B - 201 (Northern) Field Hospital * OP H 16 - 22 Field Hospital * OP H 17A - 243 (The Wessex) Field Hospital * OP H 17B -

* OP H 18 - 33 Field Hospital * OP H 19A - 203 (Welsh) Field Hospital * OP H 19B - 202 (Midlands) Field Hospital * OP H 20 - 34 Field Hospital

Accidents and incidents

The base has been attacked several times including on 14 September 2012, when two

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

(USMC) service personnel were killed and six USMC

McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft that constitutes the second generation of the Harrier family, capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL). The aircraft is primari ...

s were destroyed and two were "significantly damaged." Three refuelling stations were also destroyed, with six soft-skin aircraft hangars damaged. Of the 15 Taliban attackers, 14 were killed and 1 captured. In May 2013 the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

obtained documents showing that up to 85 Afghan nationals were being detained at Camp Shorabak.

Philip Hammond Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2016 to 2019 and Foreign Secretary from 2014 to 2016, having previously served as Defence ...

, the then defence secretary, confirmed that the UK was holding "80 or 90 Afghan detainees" at the base. The

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

maintained the detention of the Afghans is legal. On 1 March 2019, Taliban

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

s and gunmen made an early morning attack on Afghan forces at Camp Shorabak, killing 23, following another round of talks between U.S. and Taliban negotiators. According to an American military spokesman,

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

advisers (who suffered no casualties) helped Afghan troops repel the attack.

Commanders

* Group Captain Tony Innes (January 2013 – 2014) ** Deputy: Wing Commander John Lyle (June 2013 – December 2013) * Group Captain Jeff Portlock (August 2012 – January 2013) * Group Captain Dave Waddington (unknown – August 2012) * Group Captain Al Gillespie * Group Captain Scott Notman (February–September 2011) ** Deputy: Wing Commander Gordon Pell (July 2011 – January 2012) * Group Captain Guy van den Berg (October 2010 – February 2011) ** Deputy: Wing Commander Guy Edwards (January 2011 – July 2011) ** Garrison Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer Class 1 Cox * Group Captain John Cunningham (unknown – September 2010) ** Deputy: Wing Commander Rich Yates (unknown – January 2011) * Colonel Angus Mathie (December 2009 – June 2010)

In media

Camp Shorabak has been featured in several documentaries, often focusing on medical evacuations. * ''The Air Hospital'' (

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

) - aired 25 March 2010. * ''Frontline Medicine'' (

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

) - aired 20 and 27 November 2011. * ''Extraordinary Dogs'' (

Documentary Channel A documentary channel is a specialty channel which focuses on broadcasting documentaries. Some documentary channels further specialize by dedicating their television programming to specific types of documentaries or documentaries in a specific ar ...

). * ''

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

: Frontline Afghanistan'' (

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

) - aired 28 January 2013. * ''Gary Barlow: Journey to Afghanistan'' ( ITV) - aired 23 December 2013. * ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

'' (BBC2) - aired 9 February 2014. * ''The Billion Pound Base: Dismantling Camp Bastion'' (Channel 4) - aired 7 December 2014. * ''The One Show - Afghanistan: Coming Home'' (BBC1) - Series of films on redeployment of 2RTR soldiers and equipment from Camp Bastion. Filmed in September/November 2013. Narrated by Dan Snow and Tony Livesey. - aired January 2014. *"

Our Girl ''Our Girl'' is a British television military drama series written and created by Tony Grounds broadcast on BBC One from 2013 until 2020. The series began with a feature-length television pilot first broadcast on 24 March 2013 starring Lacey T ...

BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

). *"Road Warriors" (ITV) featuring 4 Logistic Support Regiment RLC

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

24 September 2012 BBC News, "Inside Camp Bastion" Guardian report on Camp Bastion 2011
* ttps://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29473419 Photographer Robert Wilson inside Camp Bastion {{Helmand Province 2006 establishments in Afghanistan 2006 in the United Kingdom Helmand Province Human rights in Afghanistan Installations of the British Army Internment camps Military installations of Denmark Military bases of the United Kingdom in Afghanistan Prisons in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) sites Bases

Military installations established in 2006