Camp Bastion Camp Bastion is the main British military base in Afghanistan . Accommodating 28 , 000 people it is situated northwest of Lashkar Gah , the capital of Helmand Province , and exists to be the logistics hub for operations in Helmand . It is the largest British overseas military camp built since the Second World War . Built in early 2006 by personnel from 39 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers and various contracting firms , all under the supervision of 62 Works Group Royal Engineers , the camp is situated in a remote desert area , far from population centres . Four miles long by two miles wide , it has a busy airfield and a field hospital and originally had full accommodation for the 2000 men and women . The base is divided into a number of different sections ( Bastions ) . Bastion 1 and 2 were the first sections with Bastion 2 containing Camp Barber ( US ) and Camp Viking ( DK ) , Bastion 0 was added in around 2010 and houses the contractors and Bastion 3 is used for in - theatre training . Bastion also adjoins Camp Leatherneck ( US ) ( which also contains Camp Tombstone ) and the Afghan National Army ( ANA ) Camp Shorabak . In November 2006 , Tony Blair visited Camp Bastion , and , while addressing a gathering of British troops , described it as an " extraordinary piece of desert . . . where the fate of world security in the early 21st century is going to be decided " . In May 2013 the BBC obtained documents showing that up to 85 Afghan nationals were being detained at Camp Bastion . Philip Hammond , the defence secretary , has confirmed that the UK is holding " 80 or 90 Afghan detainees " at the base . The Ministry of Defence maintains the detention of the Afghans is legal . History . Camp Bastion was built in early 2006 by 39 Engineer Regiment from the Royal Engineers . The camp was specifically in a remote desert area far from population which allows clear vision to spot attackers and originally had full accommodation for the 2000 men and women . The camp is divided in different areas called " Bastions " with Bastion 1 and 2 being the first sections to be created . Bastion 2 originally contained Camp Barber ( United States ) and Camp Viking ( Denmark ) . According to the Royal Air Force Camp Bastion includes Bastion Airfield , Bastion Garrison and Camp Leatherneck . The first runway set up in April 2006 was designed to handle no more than three aircraft movements per week . However by late 2007 a long and wide concrete runway became operational enabling the number of movements to rise to 5 , 000 per month by the end of 2008 . However in February 2011 construction of a new runway was completed and can now handle almost all commercial and military aircraft . The old shorter runway is now only used as a parallel taxiway . During August 2013 the Headquarters of Task Force Helmand moved from Lashkar Gah to Bastion . Accidents and incidents . The base has been attacked several times including on 14 September 2012 , when two United States Marine Corps ( USMC ) service personnel were killed and six USMC McDonnell Douglas AV - 8B Harrier II s were destroyed and two were " significantly damaged . " Three refuelling stations were also destroyed , with six soft - skin aircraft hangars damaged . Of the 15 Taliban attackers , 14 were killed and 1 captured . Current use . Camp Bastion airfield and heliport handles 600 fixed - and rotary - wing aircraft movements every day , operating combat , medical and logistics flights . Its air traffic controllers are integral to the support of the UK ' s operations in southern Afghanistan and the Air Traffic Control Squadron at Camp Bastion is the first to recruit and train US Marines to UK air traffic control standards . It has now grown to become the fifth - busiest UK - operated airport . In 2013 , the British opened a training school for Afghan troops at Camp Bastion , as part of their exit from Afghanistan strategy . During 2014 Camp Bastion is expected to be transferred to the American forces with Camp Leatherneck being closed . Operational units . Bastion Airfield British Armed Forces United States Armed Forces Bastion Garrison : Hospital . Camp Bastion ' s Hospital is operated by regular and reserve personnel of the British Army , Royal Navy , Royal Air Force of the Joint Force Medical Group as well as medical assets from the US Army to include Orthopaedic Surgeons , General Surgeons , Anesthetists , Nurses and Medics , and is the location to where wounded military personnel from the British , US and other ISAF forces in Helmand Province are evacuated to from the battlefield and treated , supported by US Army , Navy , and Air Force medics , or from where they are evacuated to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham . Afghan nationals are also treated at the hospital in many circumstances including accidental injuries and road traffic collisions . Currently they are the busiest Role 3 NATO hospital in Afghanistan . In popular culture . Camp Bastion has been featured in several documentaries , often focusing on medical evacuations .