Former base for archive purpose only. Not active anymore
Combat Outpost Shocker is a military installation run by the US Coalition in Iraq. The facility is located in Zurbatiyah, Wasit. Zurbatiyah is one of the busiest ports of entry in Iraq. It is close to the borders with Iran. The United States of America picked the location in case the Iranian forces thought about stepping in the Iraqi conflict against them. However, no such cases occurred. Instead, the city is extremely peaceful. Hundreds of Iranians go through this port of entry while looking after the holy cities in Iraq.
Mission
When designed and raised up, COP Shocker had a clear purpose that is still maintained today. The base doesn’t have a very long history, it was built in the latest years of the Iraqi invasion. It was established about seven kilometers from the Iranian borders. The tensioned relationships between Iran and the United States of America were the main reasons for this unusual location. The Americans tried to take in consideration any potential complications in their invasion. One of the possible scenarios implied the involvement of Iran to help the Iraqi people against the invasion. This base was supposed to be one of the first fighting centers in case of such a problem. However, this thought remained an assumption only. No unusual happenings occurred.
These days, the mission of COP Shocker has not changed at all. The Iraqi forces have been partially defeated. The Americans installed a favorable government, while Saddam Hussein is dead. Therefore, most of the troops are now being withdrawn from Iraq. However, the suspicions over Iran are still up. The American officials still believe the Iranians provide training camps and facilities for the Iraqi forces. There are no reasons to support this theory though.
History
The history of COP Shocker is not very old and doesn’t include any notable events. The installation was commissioned in October, 2007. The building plans and design were created by one of the United States Army captains, James Van Thach. It was one of the latest military installations set up by the United States of America. Most of them were raised in the early years of the invasion, around 2004. In order to better deal with a potential Iranian invasion, the Americans decided to set up the base close to a different Iraqi installation – the 3-rd Region Department of Border Enforcement. The two installations shared some of their facilities and operated in a tight collaboration.
These days, the activity at COP Shocker is relatively low. The Iraqi invasion is slowly drawing to an end, especially since the American objective was fulfilled. The military troops are officially withdrawing and most bases are handed over to the new Iraqi government. The same will happen with this one at some point.
Units
At this time, there are three units hosted at COP Shocker – the Border Military personnel, the Border Patrol officers and last, but not least, a canine unit responsible for the identification of potential immigrants. The immigration is not quite the most important problem, but the border with Iran is a very problematic place according to the Americans.
