Forward Operating Base Caldwell

Forward Operating Base Caldwell was a United States Army base.

Origin
Forward Operating Base Caldwell was named for United States Army Specialist Nathaniel A. Caldwell of Omaha, Nebraska who was killed in action on May 21, 2003 while responding to a civilian call when his vehicle rolled over in Baghdad, Iraq. Caldwell was assigned to the 404th Aviation Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Location
FOB Caldwell was located in a complex that was within Kirkush Military Training Base (KMTB), Iraq (Mercator Grid Reference System 38SNC 22027 30374) is approximately 70 mi east of Baghdad, close to the Iranian border. Kirkush is located some 90 km northeast of Baghdad and 20 km from the Iranian border. Kir Kush [Kirkhush, 33°43'10"N 045°17'24"E ] is not a city but is a reference that Iraqis use or the general area the base was located in. It lies due east of Balad Ruz, Iraq.

History
Until the US Army arrived, it was an abandoned Iraqi military facility. Construction had begun in the mid-1980s by the Czechoslovakian government and ceased in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The entire facility covers about 100 acre and has several medium size groups of buildings called pods. A kilometer outside of Kirkush is a brick factory which has several black smoke stacks about 50 ft high.

Military units
Several US Army units lived and worked on FOB Caldwell and KMTB as a whole. Notable units that were on FOB Caldwell proper:
 * 1-10 CAV, 4th Inf DIV, 309th RAOC and 1-17 FA founded Camp Caldwell in June 2003 and relinquished command to 30th BCT in March 2004
 * G Btry 202 ADA, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (United States), Early Warning Team 4, HHB 4-3 ADA 1st Infantry Division (United States) (held it down in 2004)
 * 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (United States)
 * 1-32 Cavalry (RSTA)
 * 5-73rd Cavalry Regiment (United States) (-) earned the Presidential Unit Citation for operations conducted while assigned to FOB Caldwell
 * 2d Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (-) earned the Valorous Unit Award for operations conducted while assigned to FOB Caldwell, November 2007 to October 2008.
 * B Btry 2/4 FA, MLRS, December 2007 to September 2008.
 * 1st Cavalry Regiment 5th Squadron, Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
 * 5th Iraqi Army MiTT
 * 14th Combat Engineers 2003
 * Garrison Support Unit Jolly Roger, founded 2006
 * Logistics Military Assistance Teams (part of Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq) (U.S. Air Force/U.S. Army team providing logistics advice to Iraqi base commander)
 * 323rd Military Police Company (Toledo, Ohio), 18th MP BDE. Provided installation security June 2003-December 2003 for the training of the first two battalions of the new Iraqi Army.

Current use
FOB Caldwell was dissolved into the larger KMTB on April 3, 2010 and turned over to the 5th Iraqi Army Division.