Doha International Air Base - History

History

Soon after the Persian Gulf war in 1991, the United States and Qatar quietly signed a defense cooperation agreement that provided the US Military with ability to set up operations here. Camp Snoopy was one of the bases which would come out of this agreement. The base was closed down as forces withdrew from the middle east following the Persian Gulf War but was re-opened in 1996. 2000 saw the rapid expansion by the Pennsylvania and Ohio Air National Guard and US Navy Seebees, this included the addition of constructed 15 force-protection projects, high-security entrance points, kennels, and aircraft maintenance facilities, each made more difficult by the concrete-like bedrock which makes up the deserts of Qatar. The work plan had engineers pouring 650 cubic yards (500 m3) of concrete, moving 10,000 cubic yards (7,600 m3) of desert rock, which took more effort to move compared with the sand that makes up most of the deserts in the region, and erecting 50,000 pounds of steel. The work also included building 32 Scud bunkers, placing five towers, building 180 feet (55 m) of blast wall, constructing a mile of road and digging a mile of trenching. Heat was the common theme throughout the deployment. Doors had to remain closed or temperatures could rise high enough inside to trigger fire-suppression sprinklers; pools had to chilled before entering. As temperatures soared through the 100s each day, Guardsmen devised ways to work through the desert menace. They included 4 a.m. start times and air-conditioned shelters at each job site. In late 2002 a second wave of engineering projects expanded the base further adding some basic comforts to the previously barren camp such as a small swimming pool, trailers replacing tents for the dining facility and the addition of a larger post office to handle the influx of mail that came with the increased number of troops. Prior to the late 2002 build up troops stationed at Camp Snoopy where bused an hour each way to Al Udeid for basic recreation and exchange use. In May 2002, Qatar Airways announced the new expansion and renovation plans for the Doha International airport, this included reclaiming the real estate on which Camp Snoopy was located. This coupled with the expansion of Al Udeid and the establishment of U.S. bases in Iraq ended the need for Camp Snoopy and it was closed in 2004. One account states that the base was named Snoopy due to the large amount of snooping that was done along the base's perimeter by curious locals from nearby Doha, while another claims it was due to the large number of feral dogs that roamed the base when it was initially established.