Camp Slayer
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| Also known as | Al Radwaniyah Presidential Complex (the former palace grounds it occupied) |
|---|---|
| Location | Victory Base Complex, southeast of Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad |
| Type | Camp within the Victory Base Complex (former presidential palace grounds) |
| Category | U.S. installation in Iraq |
| Opened | 2003 |
| Closed or transferred | Not stated separately in the sources consulted; the Victory Base Complex was handed over to the Government of Iraq in December 2011 |
| Coordinates | 33.21861, 44.21694 (33°13′07.0″N 44°13′01.0″E) — approximate |
Do you know this soldier?
This photograph was taken at Camp Slayer in 2003. The soldier had just pulled a large fish out of one of the moats that ring the old palace grounds. His name is not known, and the veteran who took the picture has been trying to find him ever since.
If you know who he is, or if this is you, please post below. A name, a unit, or even a nickname helps. Please do not post phone numbers or home addresses; if he wants to reconnect, a unit and a first name are enough to start.
Overview
Camp Slayer was one of the camps of the Victory Base Complex, the ring of U.S. installations around Baghdad International Airport. It occupied the former Al Radwaniyah Presidential Complex, one of Saddam Hussein's palace grounds, and inherited its landscape: several man-made lakes and moats, a man-made hill built from the excavated earth, the Ba'ath Party House, the Perfume Palace, the unfinished Victory Over America Palace, and dozens of smaller luxury villas once used by senior Ba'ath Party officials.
The palaces made Slayer one of the more unusual places to serve in Iraq. The Victory Over America Palace, commissioned after the 1991 Gulf War, had been hit during the opening air campaign in 2003, and a construction crane still hung broken over it. The domed Perfume Palace had come through the bombing largely intact. A stone-walled children's playhouse that soldiers nicknamed the “Flintstone House” became a stop for anyone with a camera.
Slayer housed headquarters and specialist units more than combat brigades. Wikipedia, without a cited source, describes the camp as the headquarters of the Iraq Survey Group, the team that searched for weapons of mass destruction, until 2005, with the Perfume Palace as its main building. In 2006 the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade ran civil affairs administration for all of Iraq from Slayer, overseeing battalions in Baghdad, Tikrit and Mosul.
Like the rest of the complex, Slayer took regular indirect fire in the early years. A veteran of the 450th Chemical Battalion headquarters, there from April 2003 to May 2004, recalled mortar rounds and small-arms fire almost every evening. He also remembered the night the whole city seemed to open fire at once, sending a general's security detail into action. It turned out to be celebratory gunfire after an Iraqi national soccer team win.
The lakes and moats were part of daily life at Slayer, and veterans remember fishing in them between missions.
Timeline
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2003 | U.S. forces occupy the Al Radwaniyah palace grounds next to Baghdad International Airport, which become Camp Slayer within the Victory Base Complex. |
| Apr 2003 – May 2004 | The 450th Chemical Battalion headquarters is based at Camp Slayer; the camp takes mortar and small-arms fire most evenings, according to a veteran. |
| 2004 | Photos from January and April 2004 show the Victory Over America Palace, the Flintstone House, and the Perfume Palace during U.S. occupancy. |
| Until 2005 | The Iraq Survey Group headquarters is at Slayer, according to Wikipedia (uncited). |
| Apr – Aug 2006 | The 354th Civil Affairs Brigade manages civil affairs units across Iraq from Camp Slayer. |
| Dec 2011 | The Victory Base Complex, including its camps, is handed over to the Government of Iraq. |
Units stationed at Camp Slayer
Units documented in public sources as based at or operating from Camp Slayer. This list is not complete; units rotated frequently and many smaller elements were never reported. Veterans can add their unit on the message board below.
| # | Unit | When | Role at the base | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 450th Chemical Battalion (headquarters) | April 2003 – May 2004 | Battalion headquarters | link |
| 2 | 233rd Military Police Company | April 2003 – May 2004 | Military police (a veteran's entry in a VFW feature; from a search excerpt) | link |
| 3 | Iraq Survey Group (headquarters) | Until 2005 | Search for weapons of mass destruction; headquartered in the Perfume Palace (Wikipedia, uncited) | link |
| 4 | Company A, 16th Engineer Battalion | Date not stated in source | Route clearance, area security, ordnance disposal, and search-and-clear missions (Illinois House Resolution 251, 95th General Assembly) | link |
| 5 | 354th Civil Affairs Brigade (U.S. Army Reserve, Riverdale, Md., with Navy personnel attached) | April – August 2006 and after | Administrative control of civil affairs battalions throughout Iraq; six functional specialty teams | link |
| 6 | 304th Civil Affairs Brigade (U.S. Army Reserve) | Date not stated in source | Engagement with Iraqi children, volunteers and institute workers at Camp Slayer (photo caption, search excerpt) | link |
Notable events and facts
- The Victory Over America Palace was left unfinished after it was struck in 2003; a collapsed construction crane remained on top of it.
- The Perfume Palace, with its round dome, was spared in the 2003 bombing and later took minor damage from insurgent mortar fire (Wikipedia, uncited).
- The Ba'ath Party recreation palace stood in the middle of a man-made lake, with covered, air-conditioned boat landings (Wikipedia, uncited).
- Soldiers nicknamed a stone-walled children's playhouse on the grounds the “Flintstone House.”
Photographs
Roll call: who served at Camp Slayer
No names have been added yet. This roll call is built from the people who served here, one post at a time.
Message board: Camp Slayer
Served here? Share a memory, name your unit, or send a correction. Posts are reviewed before they appear. The full community board is on the Message Board page.
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Victory Base Complex” (Camp Slayer section). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Base_Complex#Camp_Slayer
- Wikipedia, “Radwaniyah Palace” (coordinates). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radwaniyah_Palace
- DVIDS, “Sailors Play Major Role with 354th Civil Affairs Brigade” (Aug. 18, 2006). https://www.dvidshub.net/news/7469/sailors-play-major-role-with-354th-civil-affairs-brigad
- VFW, “'A Memory that Will Be With Me My Entire Life'” (2023). https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2023/3/a-memory-that-will-be
- Illinois General Assembly, House Resolution 251 (95th General Assembly). https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/95/HR/09500HR0251.htm
- Army Public Health Center, Victory Base Complex and vicinity periodic occupational and environmental monitoring summary, 2003–2011. https://ph.health.mil/resources/U_IRQ_Victory%20Base%20Camp%20POEMS%202003-2011_Public%20R