Forward Operating Base Salerno

The facility was built by members of the Assault and Barrier Platoon, HHC, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division and 618th Engineer company, respectively. These Combat Engineers were part of Task Force Panther, centered around the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. It was named for the beachhead in Salerno, Italy that the 505th PIR parachuted onto on 14 September 1943 (Operation Avalanche). Construction began in early October 2002, where the Engineers were inserted via CH-47s prior to the Infantry, responsible for their own security and life support. After acquiring a lone D-8 Bulldozer provided by local Afghan forces, construction began on the initial footprint. This consisted of a living area, helicopter landing pad, forward arming and refueling point (FARP) and a 3,000-foot dirt runway, which conducted the first landing in November 2002 by a C-130. Over the years, the base grew to house a population of nearly 5,000 servicemen and -women, civilians, and contractors.[1] Salerno grew to the size of a small city and included features such as a combat support hospital, large gymnasium, post exchange, chapel, large chow hall, aviation hangars, maintenance facilities, billets, the runway and FARP, and sub-camps for U.S. Special Operations Command units.

In November 2009, a portion of FOB Salerno, where US Special Forces worked and lived with an Afghan Commando unit, was renamed Camp Pucino after SSG Matthew Pucino died that month. SSG Pucino was a member of ODA 2223.

Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th BCT, 101st Airborne Division, popularly known as Fox Company, were the last U.S. Army Soldiers to occupy FOB Salerno, exiting on 31 October 2013 after transferring FOB Salerno to the Afghan National Security Forces.[2] Salerno is geographically isolated from the rest of Afghanistan being connected to the rest of the country through the Khost-Gardez Pass, this pass serves as a natural choke point to the region and the pass has been the scene of many battles throughout the US war in Afghanistan as well as the Soviet war in Afghanistan. During its operations two Sapper platoons specializing in route clearance operations were stationed at Salerno. Most of the route clearance units were drawn from the National Guard of the United States serving on active duty. They were responsible for neutralizing IED threats as well as escorting convoys through the heavily mined area. The route clearance units at FOB Salerno were also responsible for routinely clearing the Khost-Gardez Pass. Route clearance is a slow operation as units make slow progress to neutralize mines along the route, since the K-G Pass is relatively long and susceptible to attack the mission routinely took several days to complete. The base is in a hostile location and is only 30 miles south of Tora Bora, it is also only 25 miles north of the location of the friendly fire incident that killed Pat Tillman.

• Task Force Geronimo – 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1–501st PIR (October 2003 – August 2004)
• Task Force Devil – 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (January 2003 – July 2003)
• Task Force Thunder – 25th Infantry Division Artillery, (~March 2004 – March 2005)
• Task Force Devil – 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (March 2005 – March 2006)
• Task Force Spartan – 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (March 2006 – March 2007)
• Task Force Fury – 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division (2007– March 2008)
• Task Force Currahee – 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (March 2008 – March 2009)
• Task Force Yukon – 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division (March 2009 – March 2010)
• Task Force Rakkasans – 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (March 2010– January 2011)
• Task Force Duke – 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division[3] (January 2011 – January 2012)
• Task Force Spartan – 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division[3]
• Task Force Rakkasans – 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (August 2012 – April 2013)
• Task Force Currahee – 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (April 2013 – November 2013)

A C-130 landing as part of the drawdown

FOB Salerno was located approximately 25 km from the Pakistan border and the most viable path connecting it to Afghanistan was the Khost-Gardez Pass, which is highly vulnerable to attack and often lead to supply shortages at the base. In fact this path was the scene of Operation Magistral, the last large scale Soviet operation in Afghanistan.[8] During the operation the Battle for Hill 3234 took place in which the 9th Company of the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment was almost wiped out but managed to hold back the mujaheddin attack. During this battle the 39 soldiers of the 9th company held back 200–500 fighters, after the battle only 5 active soldiers remained as all others were either wounded or KIA. FOB Chapman was built around the original Soviet airfield servicing Khost while FOB Salerno was built slightly north of this facility, together these two bases were the vanguards of the city of Khost since they were only several miles from the city, often sending forces to respond to attacks in the provincial capital. The Battle of Tora Bora took place approximately 30 miles north of Khost. Because of this geographic isolation FOB Salerno, being isolated from the rest of Afghanistan on one side and having the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan on the other, the area remained vulnerable to insurgent attacks, supplies often had to be airlifted into the base when the path to Gardez was impassible adding to shortage and cost issues. The base remained a blackout FOB for its existence due to constant mortar and rocket fire, however losses were usually minimal as the indirect fire rarely hit the base. Insurgent activity remained a constant threat as the close proximity to Pakistan provided for easy mobility of the hostiles. Due to its rural location the base was selected for closure in 2013 as ISAF forces prepare to draw down their presence in the country. On 1 November 2013 the Afghan Government fully took control of the base while before they operated in their own separate section as the last remaining US forces withdrew from FOB Salerno led by Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment. Constructed in 2002 the base hosted US and ISAF troops for over a decade. During the closure the Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction noted that the inadequate planning of the command staff on the base resulted in $5 million being spent on an incinerator. The incinerator was to replace the open burn pit on base which was thought to cause potential health problems, however once built it was never used and allowed to rust away. The base command continued open burn pit operations while being aware of the health hazard of an open burn pit, even though an incinerator was built and ready to use.[9]

• Khost-Gardez Pass
• List of ISAF installations in Afghanistan

Media related to Forward Operating Base Salerno at Wikimedia Commons

• "Camp Salerno/Forward Operating Base Salerno". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 21 March 2007.