Ali Al Salem Air Base (IATA: OKAS) is a military airbase situated in Kuwait, approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Southern Watch and Operation Telic / Operation Iraqi Freedom hosted Royal Air Force (RAF), United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel and aircraft. Since those operations, the base has been returned to the control of th...
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Ali Al Salem Air Base (IATA: OKAS) is a military airbase situated in Kuwait, approximately 23 miles from the Iraqi border. The airfield is owned by the Government of Kuwait, and during Operation Southern Watch and Operation Telic / Operation Iraqi Freedom hosted Royal Air Force (RAF), United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) personnel and aircraft. Since those operations, the base has been returned to the control of the Kuwaiti Government, with the USAF continuing to maintain a presence alongside their Kuwait Air Force counterparts. The principal USAF unit on base is the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing (386 AEW).
In 1990, the base was the first to be overrun by the Iraqi troops. Fighting at that initial battle lasted for less than thirty minutes as most of the Kuwaiti military chose to flee, rather than face almost certain defeat. A small number of Kuwaiti regulars, staff officers, and the base General stayed to fight. Upon discovery by the Iraqi military, the...
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