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The
end of the Iraq war and Saddam
Hussein's government
mean the American military mission
here is over.
Air
Force Maj. Gen. Robert J. Elder
Jr.
at the deactivation ceremony for
the
363rd Air Expeditionary Wing,
Prince Sultan Air Base, August 26,
2003
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AMERICANS
OFFICIALLY END ERA AT PSAB
8/27/2003 - PRINCE
SULTAN AIR BASE, Saudi Arabia (AFPN) -- U.S.
officials transferred control of portions of
Prince Sultan Air Base to Saudi officials at
a ceremony Aug. 26. The ceremony also marked
the inactivation of the 363rd Air
Expeditionary Wing.
![In 1996 the main element of Operation South Watch forces moved from Dhahran to Prince Sultan Air Base, near al-Kharj, to improve force protection following the bombing of the Khobar Towers military dormitory. [SUSRIS map]](http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/images/saudi-arabia-map1-250.jpg)
"We came here under difficult
circumstances following the Khobar Towers
bombing (at Dhahran Air Base),” said Col.
James Moschgat, the wing’s commander.
“The mission thrived and prospered here,
and I believe our legacy will live on. We
are leaving after seven years of friendship
and cooperation. It's bittersweet, but it's
time to go."
Saudi
government officials asked U.S.
servicemembers to deploy to Saudi Arabia
during the 1991 Gulf War. The troops
remained to enforce U.N. Security Council
Resolution 688 -- the no-fly zone south of
the 33rd parallel over Iraq -- until
Operation Iraqi Freedom started March 19.
The base here became the center of the U.S.
presence in the country [in 1996] after the
Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 airmen
and injured 400 others.
Aircraft here monitored the southern no-fly
zone in Iraq. During Operation Iraqi
Freedom, the Combined Air Operations Center
and a limited air-refueling mission operated
here.
The base was home to about 60,000 coalition
forces during the past seven years. At the
height of OIF, there were more than 5,000
troops and about 200 coalition aircraft
based here.
The decision to withdraw the troops was made
by U.S. and Saudi officials during a meeting
between Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
and the Saudi defense minister in Riyadh on
April 29.
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...this
won't be the end of coming to
Saudi Arabia. We've been working
with our friends from Prince
Sultan for seven years; we're
beginning a new relationship with
the Royal Saudi Air Force...
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A
USAF F-15 takes off from Prince
Sultan Air
Base for an Operation Southern
Watch mission.
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"Today
ends more than a decade of military
operations in this strategic Middle East
nation," said Maj. Gen. Robert J. Elder
Jr., the 9th Aerospace Expeditionary Task
Force vice commander. “The end of (major
combat operation in Iraq) and Saddam
Hussein's government means the American
military mission here is over.”
This ceremony signals a change to the U.S.
and Saudi military operational relationship
as the countries’ militaries continue
tactical training and conduct exercises
together, he said.
"Closing U.S.-controlled areas of
Prince Sultan Air Base ... is a time for
reflection,” Elder said. “But, this
won't be the end of coming to Saudi Arabia.
We've been working with our friends from
Prince Sultan for seven years; we're
beginning a new relationship with the royal
Saudi air force."
In July, Moschgat returned Coalition
Complex, the housing center for coalition
forces since 1999, to Saudi officials.
The last Americans will complete the U.S.
pullout in early September.
Source: AFPN
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For more
information visit these sites:
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Articles
on U.S. troop withdrawal from
Saudi Arabia:
U.S.
Forces Scale Back in Saudi Arabia
By
Pauline Jelinek
The Associated Press
Thursday, August 28, 2003; 8:37 AM
WASHINGTON
- The Pentagon has withdrawn most
of its forces from the strategic
Mideast nation of Saudi Arabia,
ending a decade-long buildup
started after the first war
against Iraq's Saddam Hussein.
[more]
U.S.
Troops to Leave ![US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, left, shares a joke with Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, during a joint press conference [Arab News]](http://www.arabnews.com/2003/04/rumsfeld30_.jpg)
By Mohammed
Alkhereiji,
Arab News Staff
PRINCE
SULTAN AIR BASE, 30 April 2003 —
The United States has decided to
withdraw its forces from the
Kingdom, US Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld told reporters
here yesterday at a joint press
conference with Prince Sultan,
second deputy premier and minister
of defense and aviation.
[more]
U.S.
Ends Military Operations At Major
Saudi Air Base
Washington
in Brief
Thursday,
August 28, 2003; Page A12
The
United States has ended more than
a decade of military operations in
Saudi Arabia, shutting down the
last remaining Air Force unit at
Prince Sultan Air Base amid
resentment in the kingdom over the
U.S. military presence, defense
officials said yesterday.
[more]
Britain
Withdraws its Forces from Saudi
Arabia
Saudi Arabia-UK,
Politics, 5/17/2003
[more]
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