Camp Doha
Camp Doha is a warehouse complex north of Kuwait City which has been a major US base since the Gulf War. The Army uses Camp Doha, a former industrial warehouse complex converted to an Army installation after Kuwait's liberation from Iraq. Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-Kuwait), headquartered at Camp Doha, is responsible for RSOI and administrative support of Army forces deploying to Kuwait, oversight of the contract that maintains the brigade prepositioned fleet, and installation support for Camp Doha. Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait (Forward) (C/JTF-KU (Fwd)) is also based on Camp Doha. Established during Operation DESERT THUNDER I and continuously manned since February 1998, C/JTF-KU (Fwd) provides a forward command and control headquarters capable of rapid expansion to execute joint, combined, and coalition combat operations and maintains area situational awareness by daily coordination with the Air Force and Navy Joint Task Forces in Saudi Arabia and Baharain, respectively. C/JTF-KU (Fwd) also has tactical control of all Army forces deployed in Kuwait and US Marine forces when ashore in Kuwait.

On January 21, 2003 an American civilian was killed and another wounded in an ambush near Kuwait City. The two American men were civilian contractors working for the U-S military in Kuwait, according to a U-S embassy spokesman (John Moran) in the emirate.

The shooting occurred about nine o'clock in the morning, local time, just north of Kuwait City, at an intersection several kilometers from Camp Doha, where as many as ten thousand U-S troops are stationed to prepare for a possible attack on neighboring Iraq.

The two men were in a Toyota Landcruiser that was struck several times by gunfire. The driver was shot in the shoulder and the leg and is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital. His passenger was shot several times and died as a result of his wounds.

Authorities say it appears the gunman or gunmen may have been laying in wait in a nearby agricultural area, and ambushed the car as it was driving by. No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. A manhunt is underway.

The ARCENT-KU presence in Kuwait remains a deterrent to aggression and helps preserve peace in the region. ARCENT-KU serves as the forward-deployed base for Joint Task Force-Kuwait (JTF-Kuwait), providing command and control over all US Forces that deploy into Kuwait during a contingency.

US ARCENT?KU maintains a forward presence and exercises command control and force protection over assigned and attached Army forces in Kuwait. Its headquarters is located at Camp Doha, KU. Camp Doha, Kuwait, is a large logistics base located 20 miles west of Kuwait City that serves as the Army's forward presence in the Middle East. As of 2000 Camp Doha had a working population of over 2,000 personnel including US military personnel, as well as US, Kuwaiti, and third-country national contractor personnel.

ARCENT-KU also provides mission support to other US forces and agencies in the area of responsibility (AOR). The Directorate of Logistics (DOL) is the executive agent for all logistical actions, to include conducting reception, staging, onward movement and integration (RSOI) of units deploying to Kuwait.

ARCENT (Fwd) staff runs Camp Doha and has OPCON of forces; provides administrative and logistics support; commander is on 2 year tour, remaining staff on 1 year tours. A US Army Battalion rotates every 4 months, with a differing mix of mechanized/armor. CJTF-K provides tactical control of forces; established by 3d Army in February 1988, includes United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Combat Support Associates (CSA) has the support contract for Camp Doha, to include supply, maintenance of prepositioned equipment, force on force training, range control and camp security; 546 US and 787 Third Country National contract personnel. CSA maintains equipment for 7 battalions, plus a division slice.

The ADA Task Force maintains and services prepositioned sets of equipment stored at Camp Doha for contingency operations. Then the units deploy to join the equipment for defense of critical assets in Kuwait against theater ballistic missile threats using the PATRIOT missile systems. The main function here is the maintenance of the equipment sets to ensure that all of the components of the systems ? from missiles and engines down to the tires are ready to roll on a moment's notice. The ADA Task Force soldiers constantly are doing systems checks to ensure that the systems are always ready.

Camp Doha is located next a huge water desalination plant and an electrical plant. There are four large smokestacks (nicknamed the Scud goal posts) that spew their contents across Doha.

History
Following Operation Desert Storm and the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991, Camp Doha emerged as the focal point for US Armed Forces in Kuwait. The threat of future aggression necessitated a presence of US forces to maintain security and stability in the Gulf region. As a result, US military forces began rotating into Kuwait providing security assistance, training exercises and performing necessary contingency planning. Among the first US Army units deployed to Camp Doha after Desert Storm were the 3rd Armored Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 8th Infantry Division.

Camp Doha's facilities, services and personnel rapidly grew from two small warehouses to its present 500-acre complex. The original facilities were operated by the Public Warehousing Company and the Kuwait Ports Authority. These installations were subsequently leased by the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and provided to the 3rd US Army to support base operations for post-Desert Storm redeployment operations. This mission was assigned to the Combat Equipment Group, Southwest Asia (CEGWA), based at King Khalid Military City, Saudi Arabia.

In June, 1991, four months after Operation Desert Storm had ended, the US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) deployed from Germany to occupy Camp Doha, near Kuwait City, to serve as a deterrent/rapid response force. The 11th ACR, with about 3,600 personnel, had not taken part in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. As of July 1991, the regiment was the only US ground combat unit remaining in the Gulf Theater. It replaced the 1st Brigade of the US Army?s 3rd Armor Division, the last US unit to have engaged in ground combat during Desert Storm. Due to the threat of renewed hostilities, the 11th ACR?s combat vehicles were kept "combat loaded" with ammunition, even in garrison, to reduce their response time in case of renewed hostilities with Iraq. An equal amount of ammunition was stored in MILVANS containers or conexes (large 20-foot or 40-foot metal transport containers) stored in the North Compound motor pool complex near the combat vehicle parking ramps.

On the morning of July 11, 1991, two of the 11th ACR?s three combat formations, called squadrons, were field-deployed, leaving behind a single squadron (plus support elements) to serve as a guard force. At approximately 10:20 A.M, a defective heater in a M992 ammunition carrier loaded with 155mm artillery shells caught on fire. Unit members tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the fire before being ordered to evacuate the North Compound. This evacuation was still underway when the burning M992 exploded at 11:00 AM, scattering artillery submunitions (bomblets) over nearby combat-loaded vehicles and ammunition stocks. This set off an hours-long series of blasts and fires that devastated the vehicles and equipment in the North Compound and scattered unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and debris over much of the remainder of the camp. The fires produced billowing black and white clouds of smoke that rose hundreds of feet into the air and drifted to the east-southeast, across portions of both the North and South Compounds, in the direction of Kuwait City. The fires had died down enough by mid-afternoon to allow a preliminary damage assessment. There were no fatalities; however, 49 US soldiers were injured, two seriously. The post-blast destruction was overwhelming. One hundred and two vehicles were damaged or destroyed, including four M1A1 tanks and numerous other combat vehicles. More than two dozen buildings sustained damage as well. Among the estimated $14 million in munitions that had been damaged or destroyed were 660 M829 120mm DU sabot rounds.

As a result, CEGWA began relocating equipment to Kuwait in order to reconstitute the regiment and transfer equipment to the 8th Infantry Division, deploying from Germany.

By November 1991, CEGWA completed the placement of equipment for a battalion-size training and contingency force at Camp Doha and had retrograded over 3,000 tactical vehicles to the United States. In November 1991, the Combat Equipment Group was redesignated as the United States Army-Kuwait, and the first commercial company, DynCorp International, was contracted to maintain the equipment set at Camp Doha.

Desert Storm retrograde operations were complete in April 1992, and in May, US Army Kuwait was redesignated as US Army Training and Security-Kuwait (ATRS-K). Its mission was to maintain the equipment in place to support the joint exercise program with Kuwait under the new Defense Cooperation Agreement. This made Camp Doha an important power projection platform for US Forces.

In August 1992, Iraq directly challenged Operation Southern Watch flights over its territory. This crisis prompted the establishment of Task Force-Kuwait at Camp Doha under 3rd Army's deputy commander. The US Army deployed a battalion task force to Kuwait to draw the prepositioned equipment at Camp Doha. The task force conducted exercises with Kuwaiti land forces and served as a ground deterrent force. This operation continued until April 1993. Later the same month, former President George Bush visited Kuwait and spoke to the deployed troops at Camp Doha.

In July of 1994, ATRS-K was re-designated as Area Support Group-Kuwait (ASG-K). Additionally, ITT Corporation became the commercial contractor responsible for maintenance of the prepositioned equipment. In October 1994, Iraq's provocative excursion toward the Kuwaiti border caused the activation of TF-Kuwait under Operation Vigilant Warrior. The US Army deployed a brigade from the 24th Infantry Division along the Kuwait-Iraq border. President Bill Clinton became the second US president to visit the troops in Kuwait during November 1994.

The ASG-K experience during Vigilant Warrior resulted in expansion of the equipment in place to support a full brigade combat team contingency and the recognition of Camp Doha as the model for other prepositioned installations world-wide. The refinement of contingency plans for command control of the theater resulted in the redesignation of Area Support Group-Kuwait as US Army Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-KU) in December 1994.

In August 1995, the revelation of Iraqi plans to attack Kuwait prompted Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL. TF-Kuwait was once again established and a brigade combat team was deployed to Kuwait. In addition to the equipment for a reinforced task force being issued from Camp Doha, Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL saw the deployment of a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Battery and a heavy brigade headquarters set. This diverse task force remained through the end of the crisis in December 1995. This marked the first issue of a complete brigade combat team equipment set from Camp Doha facilities alone.

In September 1996, Iraq intervened in the Kurdish conflict in the northern part of the country. This military action took place above the 36th parallel, the area defined by the United Nations as off limits to Iraqi forces. The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) conducted a series of air and missile attacks against selected targets in Iraq, called Operation Desert Strike. TF-Kuwait was activated and a brigade combat team from the 1st Cavalry Division was deployed to Kuwait until the crisis ended in December 1996.

Following Operation DESERT STRIKE, Kuwait agreed to a nearly continuous presence of a US battalion task force in Kuwait. These US Army INTRINSIC ACTION rotations and US Marine Corps EAGER MACE rotations conducted combined training with the Kuwaiti Land Forces and other coalition partners. In addition, Special Operations Forces conducted IRIS GOLD rotations to train and assist other Kuwaiti military units.

Camp Doha again saw a build up of forces in February 1998 for Operation DESERT THUNDER after Iraq refused access to UN inspectors on sensitive installations. Coalition Task Force-Kuwait, which consisted of forces from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom made Camp Doha its home. This small outpost in the Kuwaiti desert became the focal point for all US forces in theatre. 3d ID(M) was the main ground force during that period. The soldiers of the Rock of the Marne deployed and drew equipment for a heavy brigade combat team. 3d ID (M) also deployed elements of its aviation brigade and the division forward command post. Coalition members in conjunction with Kuwaiti Defense Forces, 3d ID (M), I Marine Expeditionary Force, 32d Army Air Missile Defense Command and Special Operations conducted joint training in the Kuwaiti desert to deter Iraqi aggression.

In December 1998, Iraq's failure to allow UNSCOM inspectors to effectively perform their mission and to comply with U.N. resolutions established following Desert Storm once again prompted the activation of an entire brigade combat team from 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia. The two battalions, Task Force 4th Battalion, 64th Armor and 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, deployed along the border in support of Operation Desert Fox, Dec. 16 - 19.

Army Propositioned Set-5 (APS-5)
Army Prepositioned Stocks-5 (APS-5) at Camp Doha consist of a divisional Armor brigade task force with two Armor/Infantry balanced task forces and one pure Armor battalion. Combat support and combat service support units are also part of prepositioned stocks.

Camp Doha serves as a staging area for the Army Propositioned Set-5 (APS-5) fleet. The APS-5 fleet is comprised of specified weapons systems and subsystems that can support a forward deployed Heavy Brigade. The use of the fleet facilitates the realistic combat training of three active duty task force rotations annually. These rotations to Kuwait are referred to as "Intrinsic Action" rotations, and last for 120 days each. This massive warehouse complex is a heavily fortified super stash of everything a heavy brigade-sized task force would need to go to war. Among the gear:

100 M1A1 Abrams tanks.
30 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
80 Armored Personnel Carriers.
12 Paladin 155mm Howitzers.
9 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.
48 Armored Command Vehicles.
30 bulldozers and bridge layers.
150 trucks and Humvees.
On December 1, 1999, CSA (Combat Support Associates) became the commercial contractor responsible for maintenance of the prepositioned equipment located at Camp Doha. Combat Support Associates is a joint venture company dedicated to performing the Combat Support Service Contract - Kuwait (CSSC-K) until September of 2009. The three partners in this venture are AECOM Government Services (AGS), Inc. (formerly Holmes & Narver Services, Inc.), Research Analysis and Maintenance, Inc. (RAM), and SMI, International. AGS is the managing partner.

It would be extremely difficult for US Army Forces Central Command-Kuwait (ARCENT-KU) to accomplish its mission without the unified efforts of military and contractor working together. The use of contractors greatly maximizes the ability of ARCENT-KU to meet its mission objectives. The RSOI process is labor intensive for all parties involved and is not accomplished without the use of civilian contractors.

The majority of the CSSC-K contract at Camp Doha is comprised of maintenance support requirements to ensure the operational readiness of the APS-5 fleet remains at 90 percent or better in the event of war in the Persian Gulf. The contractors that execute the CSSC-K contract are able to provide the above-mentioned services, as well as many others, at a rate that is cost effective for the government. Due to training, taskings, and other requirements that accompany uniformed service members, contractors often provide seamless logistical support with only a fraction of the distractions that military personnel face. As a result, the contractors in Kuwait are often times twice as productive as their military counterparts. This is due to the requirement of contractors to solely focus on meeting the requirements of their specified jobs.

In July 1999 Combat Support Associates, Orange, California, was awarded $2,956,014 as part of a $51,330,417 (base year total) cost-plus-award-fee contract, with an estimated cumulative total of $546,751,502 if all options are are exercised. The Kuwaiti government is reimbursing the Army for the cost of this contract. CSA is a new joint venture composed of several entities who have never performed together. For the 10-year contract, Holmes & Narver Inc. of Orange, CA, Research Analysis and Maintenance Inc. of El Paso, TX, and Space Mark Inc. of Colorado Springs, CO, formed a separate company, Combat Support Associates. This separate company performs maintenance and operating services for tanks and track vehicles at Camp Doha.

Holmes & Narver Services, a company of AECOM Technology Corporation, maintains a large presence in the Middle East with offices in Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. HNSI specializes in operations and maintenance (O&M) of military systems and equipment, facilities engineering, logistics, construction, and personnel services. They have extensive Middle East experience through their contract to support the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai and with ARAMCO and Boeing in Saudi Arabia through a Saudi limited liability company called Resource Sciences Arabia Ltd. Research Analysis and Maintenance, Inc. brings combat training and support experience gained from the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California, as well as their strong information technologies capabilities from their work as the Technical Integration Engineering Services (TIES) contractor at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. At the NTC, RAM maintains all of the tracked and wheeled vehicles for the Operations Group, including communications equipment for the Observer/Controller task force. Space Mark, Inc. brings their experience in Department of Defense logistics systems, telecommunications systems, multimedia, training support, airfield operations, and environmental services. They provide training support to the US Army at Forts Richardson, Wainwright, and Greely, Alaska. SMI provides supply, warehouse, and transportation services at Patrick AFB, Florida, Los Angeles AFB and Edwards AFB, California, and the USAF Academy, Colorado. At Adak, on the Aleutian Island chain, SMI runs the entire base infrastructure

The contractor provides management and resources to perform base operations and tactical and non-tactical equipment maintenance, and related support services. Work is performed at Camp Doha, Kuwait, and is expected to be completed by 30 September 2008. The Military Traffic Management Command, USA Central Command-Kuwait, Camp Doha, is the contracting activity. The agency's source selection official selected Combat Support Associates for award over ITT Federal Services International Corporation, notwithstanding ITT's lower proposed cost, because the selection official concluded that ITT's proposed costs were not reliable. However, this conclusion was not based on any actual analysis of the costs proposed by ITT and other offerors in their best and final offers ("BAFOs"). The previous contract for base operations at Camp Doha did not require that all contract employees be paid in accordance with Kuwaiti labor law, and that the new contract does.

The contractor provides all services necessary for mission accomplishment, and is reimbursed by the government. Contractor performance is graded on a monthly basis by Contract Officer Representatives (COR). Military members that are experienced in the specified area or service rendered are appointed to serve as CORs. For example, a Quartermaster CPT with 4 years of service would normally serve as the COR for Class I-IV operations. The COR grades the contractor?s performance, ranging from 0-100 percent, by using a checklist. The checklist includes both objective and subjective measures to assess contractor performance during the previous month. Department of the Army Pamphlets and Regulations serve as the source of objective criteria used to grade the contractor?s ability to meet mission objectives. The COR is required to maintain an extremely professional working relationship with his counterpart on the contractor side of the house. The contractor counterpart serves as a direct link between the government and the contract labor force on a daily basis. According to the nature of the CSSC-K, the contractor must perform any function or service the COR requires, provided the request is in accordance with the Statement of Work (SOW) included in the contract. The very nature of this contract engenders teamwork.

Quality of Life
Personnel serving a six-month tour or longer are authorized housing in the trailer parks. The trailers are two-unit living areas with two quarters sharing one latrine. Not all the trailers have latrines, however they are all air-conditioned. Service members who are here as part of an IA rotation will be housed in open bay billets, with standard Army bunks and wall lockers.

On-post activities include the Camp Doha Gym, MWR Video Checkout and Theater, Uncle Frosty's, the Self-Help Store and the Marble Palace. The Camp Doha Gym recently underwent a major facilities upgrade. The gym offers: Nautilus equipment, stair climbers, free weights, two saunas, universal life cycles, two racquetball courts, aerobics and martial arts room. The gym also offers personalized instructions and aerobics and martial arts classes. The MWR Video Checkout and Theater hosts approximately 2000 movies on video, which can be rented, free of charge. The theater also shows six free movies a day with free popcorn and water. Movies are provided to MWR through the Army and Air Force Exchanges Service, Europe.

Servicemembers and civilians working on and around Camp Doha can expect to have all of the normal services available, plus more. Camp Doha has everything from woodworking to surfing the Internet. You can bask in the sun or pump it up in the gym.

The local finance office offers check cashing and foreign currency exchange. On-post activities include the Camp Doha Gym, MWR Video Checkout and Theater, Uncle Frosty's, the Self-Help Store and the Marble Palace. The Camp Doha Gym recently underwent a major facilities upgrade. The gym offers: Nautilus equipment, stair climbers, free weights, two saunas, universal life cycles, two racquetball courts, aerobics and martial arts room. The gym also offers personalized instructions and aerobics and martial arts classes.

The MWR Video Checkout and Theater hosts approximately 2000 movies on video, which can be rented, free of charge. The theater also shows six free movies a day with all the free popcorn and water you can consume. Movies are provided to MWR through the Army and Air Force Exchanges Service, Europe. Servicemembers can enjoy a meal in the best Dining Facility in the Middle East. For a change of pace, Uncle Frosty's Oasis, a one-stop relaxation point on base camp, provides a short-order menu consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, soft drinks and ice cream. The food and drinks are provided free to military members and Department of the Army Civilians.

Uncle Frosty's has ping pong tables, pool tables, darts and all the video games you want. Along with having several monitors throughout the Oasis, there's one large screen projection TV that shows several movies a night. Frosty's also hosts DoD shows. The Self-Help store has most of the carpentry tools you need to build most anything out of wood. Yes, they even have wood. If not the self help offers a safety certification course every week. The store provides all your common building materials, free of cost, to individuals wishing to make "do-it-yourself" projects.

The Marble Palace is a great place to be. Not only can you lounge around the pool or lay out on the beach; it also supports foosball, pool, ping-pong, miniature golf, volleyball, tennis, soccer, basketball and horseshoes. The on-post library hosts a myriad of more than 32,000 books from children's all the way up to studying for the CLEP test. Monthly passes to downtown restaurants include Fuddrucker's and the La Palma Restaurant at the Safir International Hotel. Passes to Entertainment City, the Aqua Park and the Messilah Beach Hotel are also available.

The Education Center offers a variety of testing and college courses. Counselors are available to assist in setting and fulfilling your educational goals. MWR Tours and Travel offer several cultural tours of places like the Grand Mosque, museums, shopping tours, dining out, drag races, camel races, bowling, fishing tours, ice-skating and more.

The concessions stands include a gold shop, photo shop, gift shop, tailor shop, carpet shop and two barbershops. There is also a food court with pizza, ice cream and more. Servicemembers on Doha can even get free laundry at the Quartermaster laundry facility.