Camp Taji , also known as Camp Cooke, is a military installation used by Iraqi and Coalition forces near Taji, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq. The camp is located in a rural region approximately north of the capital Baghdad.
Saddam era
Al-Taji airfield, located in the volatile area nicknamed the Sunni Triangle, was originally an Iraqi Republican Guard base during the Saddam era. It was once a center for the manufacture of chemical weapons. UNSCOM found at Taji 6,000 empty canisters designed to be filled with chemical weapons for use in 122mm rockets.
According to the Gulf War Airpower Survey, there was a Sector Operations Center located at Al Taji. The airbase is served by a runway. Taji was also the largest tank maintenance facility in Iraq.
Taji was heavily bombed during Operation Desert Fox in which 13 different targets in the Camp were hit during the December 1998 air strikes.
The base came under American control following the start of the Iraq War.
American presence
2003–2005
In April 2003, Al Taji was an airfield and supply depot for Saddam Hussein's Iraqi Army start of the Iraq War. The 14th Combat Engineer Battalion and 5th Combat Engineer Battalion ("The Fighting Fifth"), attached to the 4th Infantry Division, pushed from Kuwait to Al Taji Iraq and cleared the majority of buildings at Al Taji. It was simply referred to as Taji. The 14th ENGR BN pushed further to Tikrit. 5th Engr left C.CO and HHC on Taji pushing B.co and A Co. farther into Iraq. C.Co 5th Engr cleared and secured buildings and the perimeter of the Al Taji airfield along with an infantry Unit from a US National Guard, Co B, 1–179 IN, 45th iBCT, Oklahoma Army National Guard. After the C.co 5th Engineers and a National Guard infantry unit had already cleared the Airfield and supply depot, several weapons and mortar caches were found and taken control of on Taji and the surrounding area.
The camp was captured by the Division Artillery (DIVARTY) of the 4th Infantry Division. The base was then referred to as Forward Operating Base (FOB) Gunner. However, most still simply referred to it as Al Taji or simply Taji . The Base Defense Operations Center and Mayor Cell during this time was operated by the 44th Rear Area Operations Center, Illinois Army National Guard. In early May 2003, Elements of DIVARTY'S 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery and the 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery conducted stability and security operations in and around FOB Gunner until March 2004. The 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, also arrived in early May 2003 to provide security support for the Airfield until they were reassigned to Camp Cedar II (Tallil Air Base) in the late fall of 2003. The 751st Quartermaster Company (Arizona Army Reserve), was located at the camp from May 2003 until April 2004. It established the C.E.M. (Captured Enemy Materials) warehouses, storing weapons, ammunition, vehicles, statues, and anything deemed historically significant. When unit arrived in Iraq, the 3rd Platoon (Warehouse Platoon) of the 751st Quartermaster Company, was tasked with a non-standard warehouse mission to store, receive and issue Captured Enemy Equipment and Weapons (CEE), the unit handled more than 180,000 captured enemy weapons and more than 1.2 million pieces of captured Class II (OCIE/Uniforms) items. Every day, the Soldiers unload Iraqi warehouses filled with thousands of Class II items, relocating the captured items to the CEE warehouse, where they are entered into a computer database designed to make tracking the equipment more efficient. The database also possesses the capability to issue the CEE class II items and weapons in support of Coalition forces responsible for the training of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC), as well as the Iraqi police force. Among the many accomplishments of the 751st are: Outfitting more than 46 battalions of ICDC security forces with uniforms, OCIE and weapons. Operating 15 warehouses with a staff of only 25 Soldiers Unloading more than 24,000 weapons within a 24-hour period
The 751st QMCO 1st platoon also cleaned and maintained an ice facility providing ice to the soldiers of FOB Gunner.
The 878th Engineer Battalion (combat heavy) from the Georgia National Guard provided support to the 1st Cavalry Division and subsequently the 1st Armored Division at Camp Taji from November 2003- May 2004.