Injirlik military base in Turkey

Situated close to many potential hot spots in the world - Iraq, Armenia and Iran - Injirlik military base in Turkey is an important NATO outpost in the Southern region. It serves as a regional center for storing supplies in case of war, consumables and equipment used in combat operations.

Location:

Injirlik is a military base (photo is placed further in the article), located 12 km east of Adana, the fourth largest city in Turkey with a population of more than 1 million people and the center of a rich agricultural region. About an hour and a half drive to the west are beautiful Mediterranean beaches with good hotels. The neighborhoods of Adana are rich in historical places, where excursions are often held.

The 1975 conflict

The USA began construction of an airbase in the spring of 1951. On February 21, 1955, it received the official name Adana. In mid-1975, Ankara announced that all military facilities of the United States in the country would be closed and handed over to the Turkish army. This was done in response to the arms embargo imposed by the US Congress on Turkey for the use of American weapons in the invasion of Cyprus. Only Injirlik military base and Izmir air station remained open due to their participation in NATO, but all other activities not connected with the Alliance were terminated. In September 1978, Congress lifted the embargo and restored military assistance to Turkey. Normal work was resumed after Washington and Ankara signed an agreement on defense and economic cooperation on March 29, 1980.

Injirlik is a military base that is under the command of the US Air Force in Europe. The mission of the 39th air wing deployed here is to protect the interests of the United States and NATO in the southern region, to provide an integrated, forward-based air force.

Blocking during a coup attempt

The attempted coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016 led to unexpected national security problems for the United States. Allegedly, a spontaneous uprising cast doubt on the reliability of the storage of American hydrogen bombs currently on the Turkish air base. Situated in the southeast of the country, the military base "Incirlik" has the largest nuclear storage facility of NATO.

Hans M. Christensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project of the Federation of American Scientists, claims that there are about 50 B-61 hydrogen bombs, more than a quarter of the entire NATO nuclear stockpile. From other types of weapons B-61 is distinguished by the ability to regulate the thermonuclear outlet. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima, for example, had a capacity of 15 kilotons in TNT. The power of the bombs in the Incirlik can range from 0.3 to 170 kilotons, which makes them more versatile weapons.

Highest threat level

The US Embassy in Ankara has issued an "emergency message for the citizens of the United States", warning that the American military base Incirlik has been blocked in Turkey and that its electricity supply has been cut off. The planes dislocated on it were forbidden to take off, and personnel could rely only on backup generators. The threat has reached the level of "delta", the highest alarm signal, which is usually announced after a terrorist attack or if an attack is considered inevitable.

The commander of the base, General Bekir Erkan Van, along with nine other Turkish officers, was detained in Injirlik for alleged support of the coup. The flights resumed, but the electricity supply was not restored.

Ankara opened the Incirlik to attack IGIL, while simultaneously launching its own air campaign against the Islamic State, as well as the Kurdish PKK group. On August 9, 2015, the US military reported that they had deployed F-16 fighters at the Turkish airfield , as the air strikes of the coalition against IGIL in Iraq and Syria continued.

The Turkish military base Incirlik has a main runway 3 km long and a reserve length of 2.7 km with 57 high-security shelters for aircraft. Serves as a regional center for storage of backup material for conducting combat operations.

Staff

Until September 11, 2001, the base's personnel numbered about 1,400 US Air Force personnel, more than 670 American and Turkish civil servants, more than 2,000 family members, about 900 local service personnel, and about 1,700 people deployed to support Operation North Watch (ONW).

As of the end of 2002, it turned out that there were about 4,000 employees, less than half of whom were engaged in ONW. The reports show that 1161 American, 215 English and 41 Turkish employees worked on the base.

Infrastructure

Injirlik is a military base, whose infrastructure is sufficiently developed. There is a department store and a grocery store, a catering point, a furniture store, a hospital, a dental clinic and a chapel. The Federal Credit Union of the Pentagon provides a full range of services, except for cash operations. The military financial department provides cashing checks and currency exchange. Teachers must have a settlement account in the USA.

Civilians who arrived before the fall of 1999 were allowed to keep flats outside the base. All employees are encouraged to live in the territory of the Incirlik, and many agreed to this. Most school employees live in relatively new skyscrapers.

The climate here is clearly divided into four seasons: the winter months are cool and rainy; Spring is sunny and wet; Summer is hot and humid; And the autumn is moderately hot and humid.

In 1991, the "Tornado-Town" appeared here, which became the home of the personnel of the combined tactical group "Proven Force". Renamed in the "Khoja Village", the tents housed the members of the combined tactical group "Northern Watch".

Assistance to Refugees

Immediately after the war, the military base of Injirlik proved to be indispensable in the operation "Providing comfort", when it served as a center for humanitarian assistance to Kurdish refugees in the north of Iraq. Thousands of tons of cargo passed through it to its destination.

Since October 1, 1993 39th tactical air group as a result of reorganization became the 39th wing. The change reflected the growth of tasks to support ammunition depots and other activities of the US Air Force.

Overhaul and replacement of the runway and taxiways were completed in January 1995.

"Northern Watch"

In January 1997, the operation "Ensuring Comfort" was replaced by the Northern Watch operation in order to more accurately reflect the current task of providing a no-fly zone over the northern part of Iraq.

In early 2004, the military base of Injirlik became a temporary "terminal" for US soldiers returning home after an annual service in Iraq. More than 300 soldiers who arrived on January 6, 2004, were the first of thousands who passed through it during a massive replacement of troops. In order to prepare for the reception of military personnel, a little more than a week the airbase workers turned an empty hangar into a reception center. There was a shop, a counter with Turkish sandwiches, a summer kitchen with ready-made meals, a souvenir shop, a mini library, a chaplain's office and a morale center with telephones and Internet access.

"Enduring Freedom"

The new mission was launched in mid-2005 with the arrival and departure of the C-17 Globemaster III, carrying goods to Iraq to support the country's liberation operation. The new mission, which operated on the principle of a fan structure, received cargo from the Charleston airbase and sent them several places in Iraq. The cargo hub was moved to the Incirlik from the Rhein-Main in Germany in order to save time and fuel. This allowed to transport more cargoes with fewer aircraft.

The C-17s, based in Charleston, arrived and departed every two weeks. Although originally intended to support the liberation of Iraq, it could be extended to support Operation Enduring Freedom, which concerned Afghanistan. The flight to Afghanistan takes only about 8 hours, but includes refueling over the Black Sea by Turkish or American refuelers based on Injirlik. Basically, these were general-purpose cargoes - lubricating oils, spare parts and means of additional protection.

Delivery of goods required the building of a support system for personnel deployed here, as well as increasing the number of crews and providing support for a new operation. The flight crew was on the "Injirlik" for about two weeks, and maintenance specialists - from 30 to 120 days. More people involved an increase in the number of staff.

Several programs have been expanded to cope with the extra workload. Most of the employees are located in the residential sector of the main base, and some in the Turkish part. When all the seats are filled, the rest of the staff is located in Tin City. This is an area of prefabricated houses, in which, if necessary, you can accommodate a large number of people.

History of creation

In 1955, the US Air Force began to exploit what was soon called the Incirlik air base, and the era of Turkish-American relations started.

In fact, the history of the base began four years before, when in the spring of 1951 the US Engineering Group began construction of a runway. The Air Force command initially wanted to use it to concentrate and restore medium and heavy bombers, the agreement on the use of which was signed in 1954 by the Turkish General Staff and the US Air Force.

On February 21, 1955, the 7216th Squadron was based here, changing the views of other countries on the presence of the US Air Force in Europe and Asia. The object attracted the attention of other countries, including the Soviet Union.

Injirlik is a military base that played an important role in responding to crises in the Middle East. Project 119L on the launch of meteorological balloons conducted special operations there in 1955. After this, U-2 reconnaissance flights began from here as part of the operation "Non-stop flight".

In 1958, the base was renamed "Injirlik" ("fruit garden"). In the same year, there was a crisis in Lebanon, which compelled the United States to deploy here the tactical air command of the united strike group B.