Camp Arifjan

Thousands of tanks, trucks, trailers and other military vehicles line a staging area, 2004.

Camp Arifjan is a United States Army installation located in the State of Kuwait (map) which accommodates elements of the US Air Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps and US Coast Guard. The camp was funded and built by the government of Kuwait. Military personnel from the United Kingdom, Australia, Romania and Poland are also forward deployed there. Camp Arifjan is located south of Kuwait City, and west of the Shuaiba Port (Military Sea Port of Debarkation/Embarkation, or SPOD) and Kuwait Naval Base (KNB). It is divided into 7 zones.

Camp Arifjan is a US military installation utilized as a forward logistics base, Aviation Classification and Repair Activity Depot (Task Force AVCRAD) for the entire Southwest Asian Theater (through Patton Army Air Field), helicopter ground support base, and as a motor pool for armored and unarmored vehicles. U.S. military vehicles that did not receive new additional armor plating in the United States prior to deployment to U.S. Central Command–tens of thousands–received their "up-armoring" at Camp Arifjan. Additionally, many thousands of soldiers pass through Camp Arifjan either on their way to Iraq or returning from Iraq. The service members deployed to Camp Arifjan are in a variety of different statuses. Many are active duty and come on a one year Permanent Change of Station (PCS), while some active duty come in a Temporary Change of Station (TCS) status. Additionally, there are many Guard and Reserve units that support a variety of functions in the SWA theater that come on varied length tours.

Patton Army Air Field

Patton Army Airfield is the United States Army airfield, located within the camp boundaries. Patton Army Airfield is run by elements of the Army National Guard's Aviation Classification and Repair Activity Depots (AVCRADs). Organizational (AVUM), Intermediate (AVIM) and limited depot maintenance support is available via Patton Army Airfield and its corresponding AVCRAD elements to many United States military aviation assets within the Southwest Asian Theater (SWA). The airfield is named in memory of General George S. Patton.

Facilities

Eric Bana in Camp Arifjan

The base has undergone many changes within the past several years, including the construction of half a dozen barracks, hundreds of "temporary" or transitional barracks, known as PCBs (Pre-Fabricated Concrete Buildings), three dining facilities, and the establishment of three base exchanges (AAFES), as well as a major addition of paved roads throughout the Camp. There are approximately 9,000 personnel stationed at Camp Arifjan. The camp often uses reservists for minor amounts of staffing. In addition, a number of foreign nationals also work at the base.^{[citation needed]} The facility is primarily staffed by US Army Contractors. The base leadership continues to allow local and Third Country Nationals vendors to set up small shops within the main PX lobby. In addition to the permanent vendors, certain vendors are also allowed to set up large Arab-style bazaars on Wednesdays and Sundays. Camp Arifjan has many fast food restaurants on site, such as: Pizza Hut, Charley's Subs, Hardees’s Burgers, 3 Subways, Burger King, Pizza Inn, Taco Bell, KFC, Baskin Robbins, Hawaiian Ice, Panda Oriental, Green Beans Coffee, Hole N One Doughnuts, 2 Starbucks, and 3 Military Dining Facilities (DFACs) some of which serve 4 meals daily. In addition, the camp - known colloquially by the initials "AJ" or as Camp Arif-jail- is regarded by U.S. military personnel as having the best recreational facilities of any Kuwaiti military instillation. The camp's swimming pool and three gym facilities make it the most desirable duty station in the country among foreign military personnel. Recreation centers are located in Zone-1 and Zone-6.