Balad, Iraq

Balad, بلد‎, is a city (80 kilometres) north of Baghdad in the Salah ad Din Governorate Iraq. It is located within the borders of the so-called Sunni Triangle; however, Balad is a primarily Shiite town of approximately 100,000. It is the principal town of the Balad district.


Located within the municipality of Yethrib, the installation is known officially as Joint Base Balad, formerly LSA Anaconda and Balad Air Base. The name of this base in the Saddam era was Al-Bakir Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة البكر الجوية‎). This base currently hosts several Army and Air Force units, as well as a small attachments of U.S. Navy personnel.
As of early 2007 the base is the central hub for airlift and U.S. Air Force operations in Iraq, it is also a major transshipment point for US Army supply convoys.
Even closer to the actual city of Balad is a tiny FOB (Forward Operating Base) called FOB Paliwoda. Currently home to the 545th MP Company (2nd Plt), the 1-28th ID and a few enablers, it sits on the outskirts of Balad proper.
FOB Paliwoda was occupied by 3rd Squadron 4th US Cavalry in an effort to create a joint effort between coalition and local forces. The unit has disrupted more than 50 million dollars of terrorist organization money due to the hard efforts of Lt. Colonel David M. Hodne and his small unit of 'Raiders', or 'McKenzies Raiders". During the year control of the BJCC, Not one U.S. soldier has lost their life.