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Ali Al Salem Air Base (IATA: OKAS) is an airfield situated in Kuwait approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. The airfield is owned by the Kuwaiti Government and during Operation Telic hosted the Royal Air Force, American aircraft and US Marines along with their thousands of support staff. Since that operation, the base has been returned to the control of the Kuwaiti Government.

The RAF operated out of AAS from late 1998, just before Operation Desert Fox. The RAF detachment consisted of various non-formed units and a rotating Squadron of Panavia Tornado GR4s. The base was rapidly expanded in early 2003 to base the Joint Helicopter Command assets prior to start of Operation Telic aka Iraqi Freedom.

During the war, the RAF amalgamated five Tornado GR4 Squadrons based at AAS to form the Ali Al Salem Combat Air Wing, commanded by Wing Commander Paddy Teakle OBE (OC 31 'Goldstars' Squadron). He was awarded the DSO for his leadership.

The RAF had relocated to Al Udeid Air Base, Doha, Qatar by 2004.

This base now hosts several United States Air Force tenant units. Their ongoing mission is in support of Iraqi Freedom. Their main task is to refuel, repair and provide general support for aircraft in transit to Iraq.

In 1990 the base was the first to be over run by Saddam's troops. The fighting lasted for less than thirty minutes. Most of the Kuwaiti military fled instead of fighting. A hand full of Kuwaiti regulars, staff officers and the base general stayed to fight. The Kuwaiti General was hung from the base flag pole by Saddam's troops. New flag poles have been installed and the old one remains but are unused. The rest of the generals staff was lined up one behind each other, to conserve bullets, outside the old Kuwaiti officers club and shot. The bullet holes are still in the wall but the building is not used.

Prior to 1990, the French, under contract, built large reinforced concrete hardened aircraft storage (HAS) bunkers for the Kuwaiti Air Force. The French told the Kuwaitis that the structures were impenetrable. After Iraq took over the base, they moved the Kuwaiti aircraft and parked the Iraqi aircraft in the hangars. The French impenetrable claim turned out wrong when the US and allied forces, in the opening hours of desert storm, punched through the concrete bunkers. The Kuwaitis are still involved in legal suits over the "impenetrable clause of the contract." The French claim that they had no way of foreseeing that the US had invented bunker busters - some say that the French intended for the bunkers to protect against Soviet-procured Iraqi weapons. You can see one of the "HAS" bunkers and the destruction done by the bunker busters on this page.

Ali Al Salem air base is currently home to "The Rock" US AFB, Ali Al Salem Kuwaiti Air Base and the Army LSA (Life Support Area). The Army LSA is used as a transient point for soldiers/airmen going in and out of the Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain) and Africa (namely Djibouti). US Navy Customs also works from a compound within the LSA, their mission is to provide customs and agricultural inspections for all soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and civilians returning to the United States. USAF Security forces Airmen do daily convoys near and within Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Being the closest Air base to the border of Iraq, "The Rock" provides a key location for allied forces to provide support for troops in southern Iraq.

External links

• Template:WAD
• Map from MultiMap
• Satellite image from TerraServer
• Account of the base commander's role in the 1990 invasion
• Ali Al Salem at GlobalSecurity.org

• Military airbases
• Airports in Kuwait