Tuz Khurmatu Air Base Al - Asad Air Base is a former Iraqi Air Force base in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate of Iraq . It was captured by Coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 . Overview . Tuz Khurmatu Air Base was a primary air base for the Iraqi Air Force . At each end of the main 9 , 800 ' runway are a dozen hardened aircraft shelters known as " Trapezoids " or " Yugos " which were built by Yugoslavian contractors some time prior to 1985 with multiple runways and taxiways , patterned after their Russian counterparts . The base was heavily attacked by Coalition airpower during Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003 , and seized by Coalition ground forces . After its capture , the former airfield became a United States Army Forward Operating Base . 1st Lt . David Bernstein and Pfc . John Hart , soldiers in Charlie Company , 1st Battalion , 508th Infantry ( Airborne ) , 173rd Airborne Brigade , were killed when their convoy came under attack from rocket - propelled grenades and machinegun fire . Bernstein and Hart were in the last vehicle in a quick reaction force convoy . They got cut off from the rest of the convoy when guerilla fighters shot a RPG at their vehicle causing the driver , Spc . Joshua Sams , Charlie Company , to lose control of the vehicle and crash into a dirt berm . The vehicle came to a stop on top of Sams ' arm . Bernstein , mortally wounded from a gunshot wound to the leg , crawled over to Sams ' side under direct fire , and pushed on the gas pedal with his hand , moving the vehicle forward off of Sams ' arm . Bernstein collapsed shortly afterward and died . The RPG explosion killed Hart who was in the back of the humvee . Located on a desolate , flat range of ankle - high shrubbery about 10 miles from the city of Tuz , Forward Operating Base Bernstein is the headquarters for Task Force 1 - 14 Infantry . The bunkers and hangars on FOB Bernstein are now used as a base of operations for the battalion - sized task force working out of 2nd Brigade Combat Team ' s Area of Operations South . The task force ' s mission is to defeat anti - coalition efforts and isolate its area of operations from external threats . The task force is composed of soldiers from several units with many different military occupational specialties . Soldiers from 1st Battalion , 14th Inf . Regiment ; Battery C , 2nd Bn . , 11th Field Artillery Rgt . ; Btry . B , 1st Bn . , 62nd Air Defense Artillery Rgt . ; Company B , 65th Engineer Bn . ; Co . B , 125th Signal Bn . , 225th Forward Support Bn . , and Enlisted Tactical Air Control personnel from the Air Force have all conducted operations out of FOB Bernstein . As February 2004 came to a close , the 1st Battalion 14th Infantry [ Task Force Golden Dragons ] was solidly planted in Iraq and was fully engaged in all aspects of military operations . The first operation was the 600 mile tactical convoy through Iraq to the Forward Operating Base ( and new home ) near the city of Tuz . The operation took four days and tested discipline to stay ever ready for contact the entire time . Upon arrival at Tuz , the unit conducted a relief in place with the 1st BN , 508th Infantry ( from 173d ABN in Italy ) . Initially , anti - coalition forces attacked the camp with rocket fire . A portion of the BN is located roughly 40 km north in FOB GRANT . A small part of HHC and company supply sergeants are located in Kirkuk with the Brigade headquarters . The Battalion ' s area of operations is large - roughly 150 km by 75 km . The living conditions are a little austere but certainly adequate . Every soldier lives in a hard site with heat and AC , but limited e - mail and phone access . The first part of the " Golden Dragons ' Iraq Tour 2004 " was a mission in the Mosul region . The Golden Dragons were originally supposed to be attached to I Corps ' Stryker Brigade Combat Team for 60 days in an operation to capture high - value targets . Ten days into that operation they were redirected to head south to engage Sadr militia fighters in Najaf . Two weeks later , they all returned to FOB Bernstein . As part of the expanding " Golden Dragons ' Iraq Tour 2004 , " soldiers of Task Force 1 - 14 Infantry moved again . This time it would be different from their previous Mosul and Najaf missions in April 2004 , since they would not leave any assets or return to FOB Bernstein . Instead , soldiers from TF 1 - 14 INF would be stationed up north at Kirkuk Air Base , while TF 1 - 120 INF of the North Carolina National Guard would take over FOB Bernstein . Reported in November 2004 - the medical needs of troops based at FOB Bernstein are well taken care of ; 20 medics work out of the Battalion Aid Station , and at least 10 are on duty at any one time . Culinary needs are not forgotten either with the base ' s Freedom Restaurant turning out chicken kebabs and rotisserie chicken for the troops . In January 2006 The " Cobra " 3rd Battalion , 2nd Brigade , 4th Iraqi Army Division took control of FOB Bernstein and responsibility for the security of the surrounding region