Camp Rhino
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Forward operating base (FOB) Rhino, also known as Camp Rhino, was a U.S. military base located in the Registan Desert of Afghanistan, 100 nautical miles (190 km) southwest of Kandahar. It was the first U.S. land base established in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and was in use from November 2001 to January 2002.
History
The area Camp Rhino was built on is a remote desert hunting camp for Arabs and their falcons.[1] Built up over the years by migratory bird-seeking Arabs, it is an isolated airstrip in the middle of the Afghan Registan desert. It is only a few buildings, some walls, roads, and a hard surface runway. There is no water except what is brought in by air.
The site was kept under observation by
The attacking Rangers and parachutists found the facility was surrounded by a 10-foot (3 m) wall and four hardened guard towers. Within the facility there were numerous new warehouses, offices, and even a small mosque which was declared off limits to all personnel as a sign of respect. The paint on some of the buildings was barely dry. Sealed roads ran throughout the camp, and it was also bisected by a 3-foot-deep (0.91 m) cement moat.
On November 25, 2001, TF 58 launched its initial assault. Marine helicopters and KC-130s supported by Air Force special operations personnel inserted lightly armed forces into Rhino. Within minutes personnel established the necessary lighting on the airfield to receive the first fixed-wing aircraft. The first Marine KC-130 arrived less than an hour later with more personnel, fuel and water. Over the first five nights, KC-130s would fly more than 200 sorties.[3]
Camp Rhino was occupied from 26 November 2001 to 1 January 2002. At its peak, the camp contained about 1100 U.S. Marines, under command of
Strategic importance
Camp Rhino was the U.S.-led coalition's first strategic foothold in Afghanistan and made the ground war in Afghanistan possible. While Rhino was being established, fierce battles between Taliban and Northern Alliance troops were still underway near Kandahar. But then the Taliban, realizing that U.S. forces were now very close and were willing to operate at night, capitulated and retreated north to the mountains of Tora Bora.
A Light Armored Reconnaissance Element of the
See also
- Kandahar International Airport
- List of military operations in the war in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Participants in Operation Enduring Freedom
- Camp Phoenix
References
- ^ "Meet the Houbara Bustard: The Rare, Oversized, War-on-Terror Chicken".
- ^ "Operation Enduring Freedom: Raid on Kandahar, October 2001 – March 2002". U.S. Army Center of Military History. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ "Lessons From Rhino". Armed Forces Journal. November 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
External links
- On The Scene: Camp Rhino, CBS News, 11 Dec 2001
- Forward Operating Base Rhino, globalsecurity.org
- Registan Desert (Google Maps)
- Camp Rhino Not Aging Well circa 2009, VisionsOfEmpire.wordpress.com