JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq, June 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army is working to transition authority of the Balad operational base in Iraq to reflect its evolving joint status with the Air Force.
Air Force officials recently renamed the Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, the Joint Base Balad in an effort to recognize the changing operational status of the base to reflect the transfer of base support functions to the Air Force, the Air Force reported.
Joint Base Balad is the home of the Army's major shipping and receiving logistical operations in Iraq. But the Air Force has deployed its only wing to the Joint Base Balad because of its strategic location among other operational initiatives.
As a result, the Army recently transitioned the base operating support integration initiatives to the Air Force to reflect the joint operational status of the base. The transition includes all the base's support functions that were previously the responsibility of the Army.
"Balad is the hub for all Army logistics and is the base of choice for airpower," Lt. Col. Pat Ryan, the 332nd Expeditionary Mission Support Group deputy commander, said in a statement.
"Being the senior airfield authority, it just makes sense for the Air Force to take the lead here. Efficiencies are always gained when we learn from each other. We'll take the Army processes, adapt them to our own core competencies and make a better product in the end."
Officials say the full transition will be completed before December.
