Man, to see Camp Victory go is quite the thing. That FOB was such a huge and important base in the war, and everyone that ever worked or served in Iraq has probably cycled through that base at one point or another.
The thing I would be interested in is what are they going to do with the T-Wall art? On all of these bases over there, units cycled through year after year, and many of them painted some really cool unit logos on T-Walls (protective cement barriers, shaped like ‘T’s) That art would make for a great coffee table book, that’s for sure. lol
As to it’s future? Maybe the Iraqis will turn it into an amusement park, or maybe keep it as a base? Only time will tell.
So farewell Camp Victory. You will forever be a memory in the minds of thousands of veterans and contractors who lived there….-Matt
U.S. Military Hands Camp Victory Over to Iraqis
December 02, 2011
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The U.S. military says it has handed over Camp Victory, a sprawling base at the edge of Baghdad that used to be the headquarters for the U.S. military, to the Iraqi government.
The handover of the sprawling complex of grandiose former palaces of Saddam Hussein, encircled by 27 miles of blast walls, comes as American troops prepare to pull out by the end of the month after nearly nine years.
“The Victory Base Complex was officially signed over to the receivership of the Iraqi government this morning [Friday]. The base is no longer under U.S. control and is now under the full authority of the government of Iraq,” Col. Barry Johnson, a spokesman for the U.S. forces in Iraq, was quoted as saying by AFP.
He added, “There was no ceremony, just a signing of paperwork akin to the closing of a home sale.”
U.S. vice president Joe Biden spoke Thursday at one of the palaces during a ceremony to mark the imminent U.S. withdrawal, which Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has dubbed “the day of fulfilling the promise.”
The Iraqi claimants to the compound are numerous, and the ideas for its use are many, ranging from the somber — military barracks, Hussein museums and cultural centers — to the more business-minded, such as five-star hotels or an amusement park, The Wall Street Journal reported.