Tuz Khurmatu Air Base

Al-Asad Air Base is a former Iraqi Air Force base in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Iraq. It was captured by Coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Overview
Tuz Khurmatu Air Base was a primary air base for the Iraqi Air Force. At each end of the main 9,800' runway are a dozen hardened aircraft shelters known as "Trapezoids" or "Yugos" which were built by Yugoslavian contractors some time prior to 1985 with multiple runways and taxiways, patterned after their Russian counterparts.

The base was heavily attacked by Coalition airpower during Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003, and seized by Coalition ground forces. After its capture, the former airfield became a United States Army Forward Operating Base.

1st Lt. David Bernstein and Pfc. John Hart, soldiers in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, were killed when their convoy came under attack from rocket-propelled grenades and machinegun fire. Bernstein and Hart were in the last vehicle in a quick reaction force convoy. They got cut off from the rest of the convoy when guerilla fighters shot a RPG at their vehicle causing the driver, Spc. Joshua Sams, Charlie Company, to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a dirt berm. The vehicle came to a stop on top of Sams' arm. Bernstein, mortally wounded from a gunshot wound to the leg, crawled over to Sams' side under direct fire, and pushed on the gas pedal with his hand, moving the vehicle forward off of Sams' arm. Bernstein collapsed shortly afterward and died. The RPG explosion killed Hart who was in the back of the humvee.

Located on a desolate, flat range of ankle-high shrubbery about 10 miles from the city of Tuz, Forward Operating Base Bernstein is the headquarters for Task Force 1-14 Infantry. The bunkers and hangars on FOB Bernstein are now used as a base of operations for the battalion-sized task force working out of 2nd Brigade Combat Team's Area of Operations South. The task force's mission is to defeat anti-coalition efforts and isolate its area of operations from external threats. The task force is composed of soldiers from several units with many different military occupational specialties. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 14th Inf. Regiment; Battery C, 2nd Bn., 11th Field Artillery Rgt.; Btry. B, 1st Bn., 62nd Air Defense Artillery Rgt.; Company B, 65th Engineer Bn.; Co. B, 125th Signal Bn., 225th Forward Support Bn., and Enlisted Tactical Air Control personnel from the Air Force have all conducted operations out of FOB Bernstein.

As February 2004 came to a close, the 1st Battalion 14th Infantry [Task Force Golden Dragons] was solidly planted in Iraq and was fully engaged in all aspects of military operations. The first operation was the 600 mile tactical convoy through Iraq to the Forward Operating Base (and new home) near the city of Tuz. The operation took four days and tested discipline to stay ever ready for contact the entire time. Upon arrival at Tuz, the unit conducted a relief in place with the 1st BN, 508th Infantry (from 173d ABN in Italy). Initially, anti-coalition forces attacked the camp with rocket fire. A portion of the BN is located roughly 40 km north in FOB GRANT. A small part of HHC and company supply sergeants are located in Kirkuk with the Brigade headquarters. The Battalion's area of operations is large - roughly 150 km by 75 km. The living conditions are a little austere but certainly adequate. Every soldier lives in a hard site with heat and AC, but limited e-mail and phone access.

The first part of the "Golden Dragons' Iraq Tour 2004" was a mission in the Mosul region. The Golden Dragons were originally supposed to be attached to I Corps' Stryker Brigade Combat Team for 60 days in an operation to capture high-value targets. Ten days into that operation they were redirected to head south to engage Sadr militia fighters in Najaf. Two weeks later, they all returned to FOB Bernstein.

As part of the expanding "Golden Dragons' Iraq Tour 2004," soldiers of Task Force 1-14 Infantry moved again. This time it would be different from their previous Mosul and Najaf missions in April 2004, since they would not leave any assets or return to FOB Bernstein. Instead, soldiers from TF 1-14 INF would be stationed up north at Kirkuk Air Base, while TF 1-120 INF of the North Carolina National Guard would take over FOB Bernstein.

Reported in November of 2004 - the medical needs of troops based at FOB Bernstein are well taken care of; 20 medics work out of the Battalion Aid Station, and at least 10 are on duty at any one time. Culinary needs are not forgotten either with the base's Freedom Restaurant turning out chicken kebabs and rotisserie chicken for the troops.

In January 2006 The "Cobra" 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division took control of FOB Bernstein and responsibility for the security of the surrounding region