Camp Cropper was a holding facility for security detainees operated by the United States Army near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq . The facility was initially operated as a high-value detention site (HVD), but has since been expanded increasing its capacity from 163 to 2,000 detainees. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was held there prior to his execution. Mr. Hussein was held at a nearby location outside the Camp Cropper complex. He was isolated from the former Ba'ath Party and subsequent HVT ’s held at the main Cropper facility.
23-738: Camp Cropper was established by the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 115th Military Police Battalion in April 2003. It is named for Staff Sgt. Kenneth Cropper, a member of the Maryland Army National Guard who died in March 2002 while supporting security operations at the Pentagon. The facility was originally established as a High Value Detainee (HVD) holding area. Shortly after being established, its mission
46-465: A captain ) who is supported by a company executive officer (usually a first lieutenant ) and a company first sergeant . All personnel in the HHC fall under the administrative command of the HHC company commander, but in practice, the primary and special staff officers and noncommissioned officers operationally report to the battalion commander, and while the battalion commander is administratively assigned to
69-444: A Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within one company. In identifying a specific headquarters unit, it is usually referred to by its abbreviation as an HHC. While a regular line company is formed of three or four platoons , an HHC is made up of the headquarters staff and headquarters support personnel of a battalion , brigade , division , or higher level unit. As these personnel do not fall inside one of
92-506: A battalion chaplain (often collectively referred to as the "special staff"), as well as essential non-commissioned officers and enlisted support personnel in the occupational specialties of the staff sections (S1 through S4 and the S6). The battalion command sergeant major is the principal advisor to the battalion commander on matters regarding enlisted personnel. Additionally, the HHC will contain further personnel assigned to support and sustain
115-602: A report in The New York Times that former CIA chief George Tenet had been allowed by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to have an Iraqi prisoner secretly detained at Camp Cropper since November, but denied they were trying to hide the prisoner from the International Committee of the Red Cross . Rumsfeld later told reporters that the prisoner was treated humanely. In 2003,
138-482: Is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies , most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel . Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel . The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence. Sometimes, the term 'half-colonel' is used in casual conversation in
161-506: Is referred to as a headquarters and headquarters troop, or HHT. Additionally, some high-level headquarters elements for special units are not company-sized and are referred to as "detachments"; as a result, these units are formally referred to as headquarters and headquarters detachments, or HHD. Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( UK : / l ɛ f ˈ t ɛ n ən t ˈ k ɜːr n əl / lef- TEN -ənt KUR -nəl , US : / l uː ˈ t ɛ n -/ loo- TEN - )
184-400: Is usually still a captain . In keeping with the army's long-standing practice of referring to company-sized artillery units as " batteries " and company-sized cavalry units as " troops ," the headquarters company element of an artillery battalion or higher is referred to as a headquarters and headquarters battery, or HHB, and the headquarters company element of a cavalry squadron or higher
207-502: The International Committee of the Red Cross was given regular and open access to the facility and the detainees, the Red Cross documented severe living conditions, harsh treatment by guards, and poor medical care. In October 2006, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported the wounding of one American soldier to date by detainees. The attack was reported to have been under suspicious circumstances. Since
230-627: The British Army. Additionally, in the U.S. Army 'light colonel' has been used informally in the past. In the British military, it is customary to refer to either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel by their first names when mentioning them, e.g "Colonel Tim will be at the parade". In the United States Air Force, the term 'light bird' or 'light bird colonel' (as opposed to a 'full bird colonel') is an acceptable casual reference to
253-424: The HHC, he or she is the HHC company commander's higher command and thus the HHC company commander operationally answers directly to the battalion commander. The mission of the HHC company commander is to run the administrative and soldier training aspects of the HHC, and to support the battalion primary staff by facilitating the environment in which they operate and in turn support the battalion commander in commanding
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#1732771927699276-508: The battalion. While the headquarters company commander has administrative authority over the battalion commander's staff officers and NCOs, the headquarters company commander's operational authority is limited to requirements derived from exercising the HHC's mission essential task list (METL) through related collective training requirements that facilitate the battalion commander's command post, in addition to achieving required individual training: "...ensuring that both Soldiers and equipment are in
299-404: The charge of aiding the enemy, but guilty of "unauthorized possession of classified documents, behavior unbecoming an officer for an inappropriate relationship with an interpreter and failing to obey a lawful order". Steele faced a possible maximum 6-year sentence for the charges he previously pleaded guilty to, as well as an additional 10 years for the charges for which he was convicted. Instead, he
322-532: The closure of Abu Ghraib and the subsequent relocation to Camp Cropper, the now-larger prison has seen criticism for abuses of detainees and a hotbed of insurgent recruitment. Between October and December 2006, the MNF-I reported the deaths of three detainees at Camp Cropper. One from injuries inflicted by other detainees on October 29, two on November 30 and December 2 from natural causes. Other detainees died on 2007-04-04, 2007-05-26 and 2007-07-07. In late April 2007,
345-731: The detainees generated from the increased security operations in Baghdad . In the summer of 2010 the Camp Cropper facility was turned over to the Iraqi government and renamed Karkh Prison. A portion of Camp Cropper was still in use by the U.S. Army until December 2011 through the 40th Military Police Battalion , 15th Military Police Brigade , the 105th Military Police Battalion , 3rd Brigade 4th Infantry Division , Military Police Platoon, and 108th Military Police Company , 16th Military Police Brigade . On 2004-06-16, The Pentagon confirmed
368-486: The fall of the Baath regime. Additional units to operate Camp Cropper include: U.S. Army Reserve from Orangeburg, New York to include backfill elements of 366th MP Company of Stillwater, Oklahoma . April-June 2003 [CSC 1-107th Cavalry] Ohio National Guard , 2005 In August 2006, a combat support hospital was opened on Camp Cropper that would treat both coalition soldiers and detainees from Camp Cropper. The hospital
391-458: The former commander of Camp Cropper, Lieutenant Colonel William H. Steele was reported to be held in a military prison in Kuwait to await an Article 32 hearing . He was charged with various breaches of military law, including supplying an unmonitored cellphone to a detainee and inappropriate relationship with a detainee's daughter. On October 19, 2007, a military judge found Steele not guilty on
414-427: The mission of the battalion headquarters, including maintenance and motor pool, field mess, and supply, as well as the battalion reconnaissance platoon of infantry scouts and snipers and a Mortar Platoon. The Headquarters element consists of the battalion commander, the executive officer, the command sergeant major and supporting staff. The headquarters company element will be commanded by a company commander (usually
437-432: The proper state of readiness at all times". At the brigade and division level, an HHC is similarly constituted of the brigade commander or division commander, his or her staff, and the support elements, but the ranks of the staff and support personnel are typically greater to reflect the greater level of responsibility at higher echelon units. However, the company commander of a brigade or division headquarters company
460-467: The regular line companies of the battalion, brigade, or division, the HHC is the unit to which they are administratively assigned. The typical personnel strength of an average HHC is 80 to 110. Inside a battalion HHC, the headquarters staff will usually include the following key officers and primary staff: Depending on the unit, extra support officers will round out the staff, including a medical officer, Judge Advocate General's Corps (legal) officer, and
483-548: Was expanded to also be a Corps Holding Area (CHA). Initially, the facility was meant to serve as "central booking" for the U.S. forces operating in Baghdad and central Iraq, though detainees from northern Iraq were brought there as well. After being processed at Camp Cropper detainees were supposed to be shipped to other detention facilities in Baghdad and throughout Iraq. However, in practice, this proved unworkable since most other prisons in Baghdad were badly damaged by looting after
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#1732771927699506-524: Was initially staffed by members of the 21st Combat Support Hospital from Fort Hood, Texas who transferred to the new facility after the closure of the Abu Ghraib detention facility. The 21st CSH was later replaced by the 31st Combat Support Hospital from Fort Bliss, Texas . On March 15, 2007 military officials announced plans to once again expand Camp Bucca and Camp Cropper. Officials stated that this increase in capacity would be necessary to handle
529-401: Was sentenced to 2 years confinement, minus time already served, loss of his military retirement, forfeiture of pay and allowances and a dismissal from the military. Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company ( HHC ) is a company -sized military unit , found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit,
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