SFC Michael Miller - Military Timeline

Camp Warrior, also referred to as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior and initially known as Camp Renegade was located at Kirkuk Air Base in northern Iraq. Kirkuk Air Base was approximately 240 kilom

Camp Warrior, also referred to as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Warrior and initially known as Camp Renegade was located at Kirkuk Air Base in northern Iraq. Kirkuk Air Base was approximately 240 kilometers north of Baghdad on the West side of the city of Kirkuk, some 1.6 kilometers away. The FOB was in addition to US personnel stationed at Kirkuk Air Base to manage operations there. Kirkuk Air Base was referred to, at least initially, by the informal nickname "Krabtown."

Task Force Ironhorse, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, based out of Vicenza, Italy secured the oil rich, ethnically diverse city of Kirkuk and surrounding areas in the northern portion of the Task Force area of operations. The gave the name Camp Renegade to their facilities there.

In mid-April 2003, the first contingent of the 5th Combat Communications Group communicators stepped off a C-130 on an airbase in Kirkuk, Iraq. The 12 members of the force were to bring state-of-the-art communications to this airbase held by the Iraqi government only weeks before. Only 3 Air Force aircraft landed previously bringing in the tanker airlift control element. Combat communications had arrived early in the fight. Kirkuk was devastated in the previous weeks by looters taking everything that could be removed. There was no electric power, running water or restrooms, and every glass window in every building was broken. With only 2 C-130s full of equipment the small group provided DSN, NIPRNET, and SIPRNET services to Air Force personnel. Initial services were provided in a communications cafe on the compound. The cafe instantly became the hub of activity on the base as members of every functional area flocked to the cafe. Airmen took their positions at the NIPRNET and SIPRNET consoles in order to do their work. Also early in the fight, air traffic control and landing systems flowed onto the base. Once sited, a tactical air navigation system was the first system to be set up. In a mere matter of hours the system was up and running through alignments and tests. Following soon after, an AN/MSN-7 mobile tower was set up, providing communications capability to air traffic controllers. Finally, an AN/TPN-19 mobile radar system was sited and installed. This was to be the first operational use of the AN/TPN-19 as an in-route center radar system. The mission was a big change from the typical terminal approach control normally conducted with the AN/TPN-19. In route or air center control was performed across the entire northern part of Iraq, which required the radar and air-ground radios to perform far beyond normal requirements. Kirkuk Air Base matured quickly the mission grew every day as northern Iraq increasingly depended on this resupply and airpower hub. The communication requirements continually grew and expanded into mission areas not traditionally provided by expeditionary communicators.

Members of the USAF's 506th Air Expeditionary Group based at Kirkuk Air Base and the US Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team at Camp Renegade teamed up to educate Kirkuk residents on public health issues, safety and the well-being of the city. Members of the Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams in Kirkuk had removed and destroyed more than one million pounds of ordnance.

Task Force 1-63rd Armor provided medical treatment to detainees at Camp Renegade, Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, in November 2003. 64th Military Police Company operated at Camp Renegade, the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Collection Facility inside Kirkuk Air Base, during late 2003.

Contractors worked into the evening to complete a dormitory that would house up to 1,664 airmen in 13 buildings with 6 to eight people to a room. Each dorm would feature its own latrine with 14 sinks, 8 toilets and 8 showers. The new dorms were scheduled to open on 1 December 2003. The units were originally purchased by US Air Forces in Europe and earmarked for construction at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, for Operation Northern Watch.

Nearly a year after parachuting into enemy territory, the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team was relieved of its area of operations by the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, the "Warriors," on 19 February 2004 during a transfer of authority ceremony. The facility where the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team had been operating out of was renamed for the new unit. Subsequently named Camp Warrior, the facility was also referred to as FOB Warrior. Located just outside the city of Kirkuk, about 140 miles north of Baghdad, Kirkuk Air Base was situated in the center of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division's area of operations, starting February 2004.

To many soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom II FOB Warrior was home. Task Force 1-21st Infantry and support elements from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, including the Brigade's headquarters were stationed there, where they conducted operations in and around Kirkuk. When their duty day was completed, they rested and slept in 4-person containers. The containers were an improvement from living in outdoor hooches and provided some measure of privacy and insulation against harsh weather elements. The containers were themselves equipped with a heater, air conditioner and electricity."

An AAFES exchange, gift shop, alterations and dry cleaning services, barber shops, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Taco Bell, internet and phone facilities, Green Beans Coffee Shop, pool, beauty parlor, a 24-hour gym, shuttle bus service, a dining facility that can seat up to 1,600 patrons and the 'Clamtina' club provide a variety of entertainment and accommodations for the Soldiers and Airmen residing here.

Everyday, hundreds of Third Country Nationals (TCNs) with their vehicles entered FOB Warrior. A large number of TCNs worked on base construction projects, while the rest were employed for life support activities such as linguist, laundry, barber, tailor, and the like. Due to the existing force protection stance, it was necessary to search every TCN and vehicle that entered the FOB. In addition, all TCNs had to be escorted throughout the FOB (the TCN escort mission was manning intensive that required augmentation of the forces assigned to it).

It was imperative that soldiers escorting these TCNs were rotated. If not, familiarity and closeness between Soldiers and TCNs could develop, which could be dangerous. TCNs could be a tool for the enemy in gathering intelligence. For instance, a TCN might ask about a rocket attack the previous night on the FOB and could show genuine concern. The unsuspecting escort, due to his familiarity with the TCN, might pass critical information, such as impact location, casualties, or other details. Unknowingly, the soldier just gave the TCN an accurate damage assessment. If this information was passed to the enemy, they could fire or adjust fire from the same firing position since they had been made aware of their firing effectiveness from last night. The friendliest TCNs were the ones wanting information. However, escorts had to be reminded to treat all TCNs with respect and dignity. TCNs also serve as an important tool to the US information operations campaign. TCNs worked on base and lived off post.

Closely related to the TCN escort mission was the defense of the only TCN access gate onto the FOB. Although FOB Warrior was primarily defended by the Air Force Security Forces, the Headquarters platoon had taken ownership of defending one gate. At any given morning, close to 600 TCNs and 200 vehicles entered the FOB through this gate. When the outgoing unit transferred the TCN escort mission, US forces immediately saw the need to improve the defense of the TCN access gate. The enemy has been targeting local nationals working with or supporting coalition forces. The presences of an Iraqi National Guard compound just down the road made this gate an even more lucrative target.

To counter the VBIED threat FOB Warrior had installed a second drop arm from the main gate. This provided a 200-meter blast stand off. In addition, a 30-foot guard tower was built to over watch gate operations and all avenues of approach.

There was a 40-bed hospital tent facility at Forward Operating Base Warrior. As of September 2005, the staff consisted of 4 doctors and 4 physician assistants with the 116th Brigade Combat Team, Virginia Army National Guard. Serious injuries, requiring more than 3 days of care, meant the soldier got shipped out to Germany or the States for care there.

The mission of the 506th Air Expeditionary Group (AEG) at Kirkuk Air Base was to facilitate the reconstruction, operation and maintenance of the base in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and other US Central Command (CENTCOM) contingency plans. Kirkuk was a key element in the coalition effort of the reconstruction of Iraq. Kirkuk Regional Air Base also served as a logistical hub for US Army and Special Operation Forces. In addition, the 506th AEG provided ground-based military air warning and control, and civil Air Traffic Control services for all of northern Iraq.

By 2006, Airmen with the 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron had installed more than 45,000 feet of cable to 55 facilities at Kirkuk Air Base to support telephone and computer network communications for deployed forces.

On 10 June 1999, the UN Security Council adopted a detailed resolution that outlined the civil administration and peacekeeping responsibilities in Kosovo and paved the way for peaceful settlement of t

On 10 June 1999, the UN Security Council adopted a detailed resolution that outlined the civil administration and peacekeeping responsibilities in Kosovo and paved the way for peaceful settlement of the conflict and the safe return home of hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanian refugees and displaced persons. The resolution was passed under Chapter VII of the UN Charter which allowed the security forces to carry weapons to protect themselves and use force in carrying out the resolution's directives. The resolution "authorizes member states and relevant international organizations to establish the international security presence in Kosovo" as set out in the military agreement between NATO and the FRY. That peacekeeping operation was meant to enforce the cease-fire, demilitarize the KLA and other Kosovo Albanian groups, and establish a secure environment for the return of the refugees.

The force had a unified NATO chain of command under the political direction of the North Atlantic Council in consultation with non-NATO force contributors. The NATO countries were united that in the absence of the NATO Joint Guardian force at the core of any international security presence in Kosovo, the refugees would not return and the other NATO objectives would not be met. A NATO force at the core of an international security presence was regarded as the magnet to attract the refugees back. In the absence of a NATO force with American participation, it was the view of the US Government that it was unrealistic to think the Kosovar Albanians would disarm the KLA, something of great interest to Russia. The US believed that if NATO forces deployed, the rationale for the Kosovar Liberation Army having an armed force to protect itself against Serbs would disappear. The Rambouillet envisaged something like 2,500 Serb military and 2,500 police for a year, though with the commencement of Operation Allied Force NATO required all of those forces going, in views of the probability that the Kosovar Albanians would not come home to a situation where those same forces remain at their posts. NATO envisaged the standing up of thousands of Kosovar Albanian police, including possibly people from the KLA, who would be trained by the international community and could serve police functions.

NATO did not contemplate a partition of Kosovo. It had been unofficially suggested that one possible solution was a de facto partition of Kosovo whereby the Russians would patrol the north, the mineral-rich areas, and NATO would patrol the south.

Before Allied Force began operating, NATO had plans to put in a peacekeeping force of 28,000 people. Of that, 4,000 people would have been Americans. By mid-May 1999 NATO had reassessed its Op Plan for the Joint Guardian mission to see to what degree they would need reinforcement beyond the level that was originally foreseen for the KFOR [Kosovo force] international security presence in Kosovo. NATO had 16,000 troops deployed in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia trained for their mission as well as dealing with the enormous refugee inflow. Certain reinforcements from the UK and from Germany were arrived as of mid-May.

The NATO pre-deployment in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was conducted to be in a position to move very quickly into Kosovo to set up an initial military command structure and an initial infrastructure to get the basic functions going. The goal was not only for other NATO troops to come in quickly but also for the transition authority and for the humanitarian relief organizations, which in the very early stages would need a great deal of military back-up, to establish themselves by the time the NATO core element was on the ground in Kosovo.

On 20 December 1996, NATO transitioned its operation in support of the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia and Herzegovina from implementation to stabilization. As a result, Operation Joint Endeavor ended

On 20 December 1996, NATO transitioned its operation in support of the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia and Herzegovina from implementation to stabilization. As a result, Operation Joint Endeavor ended and Operation Joint Guard began. NATO's Implementation Force (IFOR) was similarly replaced by a Stabilization Force (SFOR). The US Task Force Eagle, comprised at that time of 20,000 soldiers led by elements of the 1st Infantry Division, continued to be the US component of the NATO mission. On 20 June 1998, the decision was made to scale down the size of SFOR and NATO transitioned from Operation Joint Guard to Operation Joint Forge.