Karshi-Khanabad Air Base

Karshi-Khanabad, better known as K2, is an air base in southeastern Uzbekistan, just east of Karshi. It is home to the 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade of the Uzbek Air Force.

Karshi-Khanabad Air Base
Summary
Airport typeMilitary
LocationKarshi, Uzbekistan
Elevation AMSL1,365 ft / 416 m
Coordinates38°50′06″N 065°55′12″E
Map
Karshi-Khanabad Air Base
Location of air base in Uzbekistan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,498 8,195 Concrete
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

History

From 1954 to 1981, the 735th Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Soviet Air Defence Force was stationed at the base.[3] It was equipped with Mig-15 (July 1950 – 1955), MiG-17 (1955-1969), and then Sukhoi Su-9 (Fishpot) aircraft (1961-1978).[4] The regiment replaced the Su-9 in 1978 with the MiG-23M (Flogger-B).[4]

In 1981 it was renamed the 735th Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment, and in 1984 the 735th Bomber Aviation Regiment. Until 1984 the regiment was equipped with the MiG-23M, and from 1984-1992 with the Su-24. The regiment was under control of the Air Forces of the Turkestan Military District from April 1980 to May 1988, and then under 49th Air Army and 73rd Air Army.

On June 30, 1992, control of the base passed from the dissolved Soviet Union to Uzbekistan. From 1992 changes began to affect the regiment before it was merged with other units into the 60th Separate Mixed Aviation Brigade.

Between 2001 and 2005 seven thousand United States Department of Defense personnel were assigned to the base,[5] also known as K2 and "Camp Stronghold Freedom", for support missions against al-Qaeda in neighbouring Afghanistan. The 416th Air Expeditionary Group was the host unit. On July 29, 2005, amid strained relations caused by the May 2005 unrest in Uzbekistan, the United States was told to vacate the base within six months. It was vacated by the United States in November 2005.[6][7][8]

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 1,365 feet (416 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 07/25 with a concrete surface measuring 2,498 by 40 metres (8,196 ft × 131 ft).[1]

Pollution

In November 2001, the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine-Europe performed an environmental baseline survey and found widespread jet fuel plumes, usually 1–3 meters under ground, most likely from a leaking Soviet-era underground fuel distribution system and smaller, localized areas of surface dirt contaminated with asbestos and low-level radioactive processed uranium, both from the destruction of Soviet missiles several years prior.[9]

United States Armed Forces veterans who served at the base while it was used by the U.S. military described "black goo" oozing out of the soil, appearing to be a mixture of solvents, oils and other chemicals. Noxious vapors were also reported, along with radiation warning signs and a nearby pond that glowed green. Rainwater would reportedly flood tents and appeared contaminated with various chemicals.[10] According to a 2015 Army study, 61 of the K2 veterans had been diagnosed with cancer or died of the disease, not counting the special operations forces.[11] The United States Department of Veteran's Affairs and U.S. Army Public Health Center had denied that an increased rate of cancers exists or that any contamination at the base posed any serious health problems.[9] The US military took steps to reduce possible sources of contamination, such as filling trenches with soil to create a cap to hold vapors underground, covering radioactive soil and asbestos,[9] which were criticized as ineffective by veterans.[11]

On November 18, 2020, the US House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on "Karshi-Khanabad: Honoring the Heroes of Camp Stronghold Freedom".[12] A fact sheet was released detailing the health risks at the camp:[13]

As of the November 2020 hearing, the Department of Veteran's Affairs denied that the illnesses suffered by veterans at K2 suffered were service-connected.

See also

References
  1. "World Aero Data: KARSHI KHANABAD -- UTSL". worldaerodata.com. DAFIF. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017.
  2. Airport information for Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan (UTSL / KSQ) at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. Michael Holm. "735th Bomber Aviation Regiment". ww2.dk. Archived from the original on February 11, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021. Karshi-Khanabad, Kashkadar'inskaya Oblast, 1954 - 1992 [38 50 09N, 65 55 19E]
  4. "Phaseout of FISHPOT in APVO Stranny Airfields USSR" (PDF). cia.gov. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency. February 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2021. Document Type: CREST. Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81T00380R000100980001-5
  5. Kime, Patricia (2020-02-27). "Post 9/11 veterans attribute deadly cancers to contaminants at US base in Uzbekistan". MilitaryTimes.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  6. "US asked to leave Uzbek airbase". BBC News. July 30, 2005. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020.
  7. "Last US plane leaves Uzbek base". BBC News. November 21, 2005. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020.
  8. "Ceremony to close US military base held in Uzbekistan". RIA Novosti. November 21, 2005.
  9. "Environmental Conditions at Karshi Khanabad (K-2) Air Base, Uzbekistan Information for Service Members and Veterans" (PDF). phc.amedd.army.mil. U.S. Army Public Health Center. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. Browne, Ryan (July 9, 2020). "Congress releases declassified Pentagon files showing deployed US troops were exposed to dangerous toxins". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  11. Copp, Tara (December 19, 2019). "Cancers strike veterans who deployed to Uzbek base where black goo oozed, ponds glowed". mcclatchydc.com. McClatchy.
  12. Stephen F. Lynch, Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security (November 18, 2020). "Karshi-Khanabad: Honoring the Heroes of Camp Stronghold Freedom - House Committee on Oversight and Reform". oversight.house.gov. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021. “The courageous Americans who served at K2 were among the first boots on the ground after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Today, many of them face devastating health conditions potentially tied to their service. They are looking for answers—answers our government has denied them for years. Our Subcommittee’s bipartisan investigation revealed clear evidence that K2 veterans were exposed to toxic and environmental hazards. Yet, the VA has refused to provide the full range of treatments and benefits these veterans deserve. I remain committed to advocating on behalf of our K2 heroes and look forward to hearing the VA and DOD’s plans to right this injustice.”
  13. "Fact Sheet: Declassified Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Documents" (PDF). oversight.house.gov. July 9, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2021. During subsurface soil testing in 2001, “[e]levated levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) were detected at numerous locations throughout Stronghold Freedom. A June 2002 Operational Health Risk Assessment estimated that “between 50% and 75% of personnel at Stronghold Freedom will be exposed to elevated levels of compounds in air,” and a September 2004 health assessment described the probability of exposure to PM10 levels as “frequent.” A few air samples also reported elevated levels of tetrachloroethylene. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry, “Studies in humans suggest that exposure to tetrachloroethylene might lead to a higher risk of getting bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” • According to a September 2004 health assessment, the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM) found that, although “less than 10% of personnel will experience [radiation] exposures above background” at Camp Stronghold Freedom, “the potential for daily contact with radiation exists for up to 100% of the assigned units.”

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