• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Camp Bastion

Camp Bastion, built in 2006 is the main British outpost in Afghanistan and the headquaters of it's PRT, it's located in the middle of Helmand province. The camp, two other smaller bases and an airfield capable of handling C-130 Hercules, CH-47 Chinooks, and AH-64 Apaches were built at a cost of 50 million pounds. British Royal Engineers had built hangars, temporary portable aircraft arrestor equipment, oxygen and nitrogen production plants and an environmental conditioning, design, installation, and maintenance facility. Bastion's Role 2 Enhanced, 50-bed field hospital has facilities for the seriouly ill and injured, intensive care, high-dependency patients, surgery, physiotherapy, and dental, mental health, x-ray and laboratory provisions. The camp was home to 2000 troops and an adjacent base is occupied by 2000 Afghan National Army troops. Perimeter surveillance and protection was provided by radars that can detect human movement out to a distance of 20 miles.

On November 26, 2006 then Prime Minister Tony Blair flew into Camp Bastion to examine the facilities and speak to the soldiers there. Bastion was the largest British outpost built in a foreign country since World War II and Blair's visit was meant to comemorate the historic role it would play in building a secure future for Afghanistan and the United Kingdom.

As of May, 2008 the force protection element at Camp Bastion was the job of 140 soldiers from Imjin Company, Second Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment. As the Force Protection Company they had the the important task of ensuring the safety of thousands of personnel working at Bastion.

The soldiers carry out a variety of tasks which include patrolling the immediate area of the base, engaging with the local population, providing protection for the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), Helmand's combat air ambulance, and also as a reserve force ready to respond to incidents anywhere within their area of operations.

As of August, 2008 the Field Hospital at Camp Bastion had been one of the busiest in the world. Run by the United Kingdom Joint Forces Medical Group. It conatins a five-bed accident and emergency department equipped with two portable digital x-ray machines, a CT scanner and operating theater. The hospital could accomodate up to 25 casualties with an additional 8 spaces available in an intensive care unit.