Camp Speicher
Majid al Tamimi Airbase, officially known as the Tikrit Air Academy and formerly as Al Sahra Airfield (under Saddam Hussein) is an air installation near Tikrit in northern Iraq. The installation is approximately 170 kilometers (105 mi) north of Baghdad and 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) west of the Tigris River. Prior to 2003, Al Sahra Airfield was the main base of the Iraqi Air Force Air Academy.[1] The Marines from Task Force Tripoli captured the base from the Iraqi Army during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq[2] and turned it over to the United States Army who used it as the headquarters of the United States Division–North (USD-N, formerly Multinational Division, North, (MND-N)). The airfield is served by two main runways measuring 9,600 feet (2,900 m) long with a shorter runway measuring 7,200-foot (2,200 m). The Americans named the airfield after Captain Michael Scott Speicher, a United States Navy pilot who was killed in action in Iraq during the Gulf War.
Tikrit Air Academy
Al Sahra Airfield
American presence (2003–2011)[edit]
Overview[edit]
During the start of the Iraq War in 2003, the main runway and some taxiways were cut by bomb hits, and the large main hangar structure was destroyed. The remains of the other large hangar next to it burned down in a large fire in July 2003. The original unit to take control of the base was Aco 14th Engineer BN, 555th Engineer Group, 1-10th Cavalry of the 4th Infantry Division. The base was then handed over to the 4th Aviation Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division in the second week of the war.
The Americans originally christened the base Forward Logistics Base (FLB) Sycamore,[4] but the name was later changed to Forward Operating Base Speicher[5] and then Contingency Operating Base Speicher.[6] The name was changed in honor of Scott Speicher, an American pilot who was shot down in 1991 during the Gulf War.[1]
American soldiers, civilians, and contractors had access to a variety of amenities over the course of the American presence at the base. The base had a large Post Exchange (PX), as well as several American fast food restaurants, including Subway, Burger King, and Pizza Hut.[7]