Balad Air Base

Balad Air Base, located roughly 80 km north of Baghdad, served as one of the largest US military installations in Iraq between 2003 and 2011. Known successively as Logistics Support Area Anaconda and Joint Base Balad, it functioned as the primary logistics hub for US forces in the country and at its operational peak was reportedly the busiest military airfield in the world. Both the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing and the 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) were headquartered here. After the US withdrawal in December 2011, the Iraqi Air Force took over the facility, which remains an active military airbase closed to the public.