Camp Rustamiyah

File:Camp Rustamiyah 1.jpg

Iraqi Military Academy - Rustamiyah cadets line the walkway as their fellow students lead VIPs into the ceremony to transfer Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah back over to Iraqi officials here March 31. Some of the dignitaries include: Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of Multi-National Division - Baghdad; Maj. Gen. Majeed Hassan Zgatt, commandant of the Iraqi Military Academy - Rustamiyah; and Maj. Gen. Hussein Jassim, executive chief of staff of the Iraqi Army for training.

Camp Rustamiyah (formerly Camp Muleskinner or Camp Cuervo) was a forward operating base for the U.S. Army in Iraq. It was the site of the oldest military academy in Iraq.

History

British forces founded the Iraqi Military Academy at Rustamiyah in 1924 to train officers for the newly established Royal Iraqi Army, and based it on the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. The first class of Iraqi officers graduated in 1927.

Camp Rustamiyah was captured by the United States during the Iraq War.

The academy was re-opened under NATO direction in 2005/6.

In 2009, the United States transferred control of Camp Rustamiyah back to the Iraqi security forces.

Location

Rustamiyah is located six miles southeast of Sadr City in Baghdad. It is situated between a waste incineration facility and a sewage treatment plant, and is noted for its unpleasant and purportedly hazardous air quality.

See also

• Rasheed Airbase

External links

• Camp Rustamiyah at GlobalSecurity.org
• Camp Rustamiyah detailed in a Rolling Stone article