Former base for archive purpose only. Not active anymore
Camp Baharia is one of the multitudes of military installations owned by the United States of America in Iraq. It is located right in the closeness of Fallujah, in the Al Anbar province. The city is better known for hosting more than 200 different mosques. The base is operated by the United States Marine Corps. Although it doesn’t seem so, the base name has a tight connection with its operating force. In fact, the Marine Corps are referred to as mushaat al baharia in the Arabian language, hence the name. In free translation, the name describes the navy walkers.
Among the military troops and plenty of other officials, the base is often referred to as Dreamland. It was its original nickname and way more popular than its official name. The base reached such a high popularity that it was not ignored by the cinema world either. A 2006 film presents the life and missions of the units hosted on site, especially the 82-nd Airborne. The movie is called “Occupation: Dreamland” and was directed by Garrett Scott and Ian Olds.
History
Camp Baharia has a long history in the Iraqi world. Decades ago, the base was used by the Arab Socialist Ba’Ath Party as a resort. The party dissolved in 1966, so its activity ceased at this installation. Later on, the resort became a popular destination for two of Saddam Hussein’s sons – Qusay Hussein and Uday Hussein. They almost relocated there, as the resort was relaxing enough, but also had the status of a safe fortress. Both of them were murdered by the American forces in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq.
Soon after the invasion occurred, the American forces took over the installation. Two similar facilities were taken over in the same area. Camp Baharia was the smaller one. It was close to another complex called Mujahideen e Khalq, the MEK division. This was the most important military installation run by the United States of America in the area between 2003 and 2009. In 2003, it was renamed to Volturno and turned into a forward operating base, which means its primary mission turned completely tactical. Back then, the site was run by the United States Army. The current name was given in 2004, when the United States Marine Corps took over the installation.
Units
Camp Baharia is not among the old American facilities, but one of the latest ones, established in the recent invasion of Iraq. Multiple tenants and associate units came and left, but two of them were deployed for longer periods of time. The 82-nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was the primary unit until 2004, while the 2-nd Battalion 1-st Marines of the United States Marine Corps took over from 2004.
Facilities
The facilities at Camp Baharia are not among the most advanced ones, but they are decent enough to cover everyone’s needs. The most important one is a local store that gives access to a wide variety of products, such as beverages, food, clothes, electronics and other basic stuff.