I see you understand - but not long ago the very existence of certain of those programs was classified information. ¿Entiendes?

Yeh I know...

I am aware of the systems, but as I said "More effective counter-measures" because obviously if you look at the number of our KIA due to IEDs over the last two years.....the ones in place now are not working well enough.

The bad guys only have to get it right ONCE.....near misses dont constitute getting it right from their perspective.

Can we see in the dark?...I didnt know that Doc....must be all those carrots

Ah....Whats up Doc????

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Hi Ho Hi Ho

Right - and why we continue to work on 'em.

Doesn't take carrots when you've got the choice of white hot/black hot


And that last is why I never use 'Doc' in my screen names...

We have not recived the night vision or heat sensor technology yet....It hasnt been rowed over from the states at this time.

But thanks for the look into the future into the future

I was only joking on the rabbit thing Doc....no offense was intended.

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Hi Ho Hi Ho

Hah true if we had china and Russia and Korea on our side then its all over

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagram_Air_Base

The Bagram Air Base[1][2] - known and referred to by US military as Bagram Airfield[3] - (IATA: BPM, ICAO: OAIX) is a militarized airport and housing complex that is located next to the ancient city of Bagram, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in Parwan province of Afghanistan. It is often referred to as Bagram Air Base, however the senior mission commander at Bagram is an Army two-star general, making it an Army Airfield in US military parlance. The base is currently occupied and maintained by the 5th Aviation Battalion (Assault),and 6th Aviation Battalion (GSAB) of the United States Army, with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of the United States Air Force and other U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard, and their coalition partner units having sizable tenant populations.

Bagram Air Base has three large hangars, a control tower, and numerous support buildings. There are more than 32 acres (130,000 m²) of ramp space and five aircraft dispersal areas, with a total of over 110 revetments. Many support buildings and base housing built by the Red Army during their occupation were destroyed by years of fighting between various warring Afghan factions after the Soviets left. New barracks and office buildings are slowly being constructed at the present time. There is also Bagram Theater Internment Facility, a detention centre which has been criticized in the past for its abusive treatment of prisoners.[4]

The ICAO ID is OAIX and it is specifically at 34.944N, 69.259E at 1,492 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. The base had a single 3,003 metres (9,850 ft) runway built in 1976. A second runway, 3,500 metres (11,000 ft) long[5], was built and completed by the US military in late 2006, at a cost of USD$68 million. This new runway is 497 metres (1,630 ft) longer than the previous one and 280 millimetres (11 in) thicker, giving it the ability to land larger aircraft, such as the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III or the Boeing 747.[6]

Contents [hide]
1 History
1.1 Soviet occupation era
1.2 Civil War era
1.3 US and allied forces invasion era
1.3.1 Significant Bagram Air Base Attacks
1.4 Construction, expansion, and bribery charges
2 Bagram Theater Internment Facility
3 Gallery
4 See also
5 References
6 External links


[edit] History
The present runway, 10,000 foot long, was built in 1976.

[edit] Soviet occupation era
Bagram Air Base played a key role during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, serving as a base of operations for troops and supplies. Bagram was also the initial staging point for the invading Soviet forces at the beginning of the conflict, with a number of airborne divisions being deployed there. Aircraft based at Bagram, including the 368th Assault Aviation Regiment flying Su-25s, provided close air support for Soviet and Afghan troops in the field. The 368th Assault Aviation Regiment was stationed at Bagram from October 1986 to November 1987.[7] Some of the Soviet land forces based at Bagram included the 108th Motor Rifle Division and the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment of the 105th Airborne Division.

[edit] Civil War era

Destroyed aircraft line the runway, early 2002Following the withdrawal of the Soviet forces and the rise of the Mujahideen, Afghanistan plunged into civil war. Control of the base was contested from 1999 onward between the Northern Alliance and Taliban, often with each controlling territory on opposing ends of the base. Taliban forces were consistently within artillery and mortar range of the field, denying full possession of the strategic facility to the Northern Alliance. Press reports indicated that at times a Northern Alliance general was using the bombed-out control tower as an observation post and as a location to brief journalists, with his headquarters nearby.

Reports also indicated that Northern Alliance rocket attacks on Kabul had been staged from Bagram, possibly with Russian-made FROG-7 Rockets.

[edit] US and allied forces invasion era
During the US-led invasion of Afghanistan the base was secured by a team from the British special force Special Boat Service. By early December 2001 troops from the 10th Mountain Division shared the base with Special Operations Command officers from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg. The British force consisted of Bravo and Charlie Companies from 40 Commando Royal Marines. As of mid-December 2001 more than 300 US troops, mainly with the 10th Mountain Division, were providing force protection at Bagram. The troops patrolled the base perimeter, guarded the front gate, and cleared the runway of explosive ordnance. As of early January 2002 the number of 10th Mountain Division troops had grown to about 400 soldiers.

As of late January 2002, there were somewhat over 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan, of which about 3,000 were at Kandahar airport, and about 500 were stationed at Bagram Air Base. The runway was repaired by US, Italian and Polish military personnel.

As of mid-June 2002, Bagram Air Base was serving as home to more than 7,000 US and other armed services. Numerous tent areas house the troops based there, including one named Viper City.


US President George W. Bush and wife Laura Bush arrived to Bagram Air Base in Air Force One on March 1, 2006.By November 2003 B-huts, 18-by-36-foot structures made of plywood designed to hold eight troops,[8] were replacing the standard shelter option for troops. There were several hundred, with plans to build close to 800 of them. The plans were to have nearly 1,200 structures built by 2006, but completion of the project was expected much earlier; possibly by July 2004. The increased construction fell under US Central Command standards of temporary housing and allowed for the building of B-huts on base, not to show permanence, but to raise the standard for troops serving here. The wooden structures have no concrete foundation thus not considered permanent housing, just an upgrade from the tents, the only option Bagram personnel and troops had seen previously. The small homes offer troops protection from environmental conditions including wind, snow, sand and cold. During 2005, a USO facility was built and named after former pro football player and United States Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

By 2007 Bagram has become the size of a small town, with traffic jams and many commercial shops selling goods such as clothes to food. The base itself is situated high up in the mountains and sees temperatures drop to −20 °F (−28.9 °C). Due to the height and snow storms commercial aircraft have difficulty landing there, and older aircraft often rely on very experienced crews in order to be able to land there.

[edit] Significant Bagram Air Base Attacks
Wikinews has related news: Taliban target US Vice President Cheney with suicide bomb attack
Main article: 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing

Veterans Day at Bagram Air Base, 2008The 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing was a suicide attack that killed up to 23 people and injured 20 more at the base, while Dick Cheney, the vice-president of the United States, was visiting. The attack occurred inside one of the security gates surrounding the heavily guarded base.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack and said Cheney was the target. Another Taliban spokesman later said that Osama Bin Laden planned the attack, and reiterated that Cheney was the intended target. This claim is supported by the relatively limited number of large suicide bombings carried out in Afghanistan, combined with the intensity of this attack, and the fact that Cheney was at the base.

Cheney was unhurt in the attack. Among the dead were a US soldier, PFC Daniel Zizumbo, a US contractor, Geraldine Marquez-Rincon, a South Korean soldier, and 20 Afghan workers at the base.

On March 4th, 2009, a car bomb exploded just outside Bagram Air Base wounding three civilian workers.[9]

On June 21, 2009, two US soldiers were killed and at least six other personnel were wounded during an early morning rocket attack. [10]

Most incidents don't receive press coverage. It was reported in Newsweek.com that "Bagram came under daily rocket attack" in 2002. [11] Landmines have also been a serious concern around Bagram. [12]

[View of the base from the air traffic control tower's catwalk
View of the Base from the same catwalk after a rainstorm
The 755th Air Expeditionary Group Explosive Ordinance Disposal team stands by at a safe distance from a controlled burn on the flightline. The team waited until the smoke had completely cleared before approaching the extinguished Soviet bomb and gave the "all clear."

__________________
“The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

Colin Powell

IAVA - Iraq/Afghanistan Vets of America member

Are they still at DEFCON 1 at Bagram?

US Army Engagement Konar Province Afghanistan

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"If you're going through hell, keep going". Winston Churchill

LOL.... All sarcasm aside, the base was hit up a few times by motors... saw a documentary onthe hospital there and it was motored when filming...

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"Barrel High, Powder Dry!"

"Illic est haud effrego ex Veneratio"