Ali Air Base Imam Ali Air Base is a military airbase located near Nasiriyah , Iraq . It is also known as Tallil Air Base . Until December 2011 , the base was used by United States Armed Forces . It is generally known as Camp Adder by the U . S . Army ; the name " Ali Air Base " is used chiefly by the U . S . Air Force ; the installation , however , is still commonly referred to as " Tallil " . The base occupies 30 square kilometers and is protected by 22 kilometers of security perimeter . The ancient Babylonian city of Ur , known as the birthplace of Abraham , is located within the security perimeter for Ali Base , and its ancient ziggurat is visible from nearly every area of the base . History . Talil Air Base was an Iraqi Air Force base and served as the home of a unit of Soviet - built MiG fighter aircraft as well as several Mi - 24D ( Hind - D ) helicopter gunship s . The aircraft could be serviced and stored in fortified concrete aircraft hangars located at either end of the main runway . These aircraft shelters , sometimes referred to as " trapezoids " or " Yugos " , were built by Yugoslavian contractors sometime prior to 1985 , and according to the Gulf War Air Power Survey , there were a total of 36 aircraft shelters in 1991 . During the 1991 Gulf War , the base and its fortified aircraft shelters were heavily damaged by Coalition bombing missions . After the ground campaign began , elements of the U . S . Army 82nd Airborne Division took the base with little opposition . U . S . Combat Engineer s then destroyed whatever serviceable aircraft and ordnance was missed during the earlier air campaign . After the start of the Iraq War in 2003 , Talil , now known as Ali Air Base , was used by the U . S . Air Force 332d Air Expeditionary Wing before they moved to Balad Air Base in January 2004 . The 726th Maintenance Battalion ( Massachusetts ) arrived in May 2003 to operate as the Mayor cell for LSA Adder . The 407th Air Expeditionary Group , operating C - 130 Hercules cargo airplanes , then utilized the base and trained more than 100 Iraqi Airmen on how to maintain and fly the C - 130 type until February 2006 . These trainees were then designated the Iraqi Air Force 23rd Squadron and relocated to Kirkuk Air Base . Units from various Coalition groups have used designated sections of Ali Air Base during the course of the occupation . Camp Terendak was used by Australian troops until the Australian Battlegroup withdrawal on June 1 , 2008 . Romania n troops used Camp Dracula until the Romanian Army withdrew in the summer of 2009 . Camp Dracula was then used as the " Regional Center of Excellence for Civil Capacity " . Ali Air Base was thereafter used primarily by U . S . forces , including elements of the U . S . Army , Air Force , the Navy , and the Marine Corps . Camp Adder , used by the Army , was also the home to three Provincial Reconstruction Teams for the provinces of Dhi Qar , Muthanna , and Maysan . The Dhi Qar team was led by Italian personnel , while the Muthanna and Maysan teams were headed by U . S . State Department officers . The U . S . Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District managed these and most other construction projects , from start to finish , for the PRT Iraq wide . The base was nearly vacated of all US Forces on 16 December 2011 . The 20th Engineer Brigade , serving as the COB Adder Major Cell and Theatre Engineer Brigade , led and managed the transition of the final US base in Iraq . The closure of this base and the later movement of the remaining US Forces to Kuwait were the final actions in Operation New Dawn , the successor mission to Operation Iraqi Freedom . Conditions . While the U . S . military used the base during the Iraq War ( 2003 – 2011 ) , there were various amenities for the troops stationed there , such as a large post exchange and restaurants such as Pizza Hut , Burger King , Taco Bell , and a Green Beans coffee shop , but these were closed as of October 7 , 2011 . Two dining facilities operated by KBR provided hot food for the troops , U . S . government civilians and contractors working on the base ; they also closed and MRE ' s were latterly the only option for food . The base also boasts a large chapel and a decent MWR facility . A private contractor , SniperHill , provided commercial internet service but the highest speed available was 256k at a cost of $ 110 per month . Most personnel living on the installation latterly lived in containerized housing unit s , affectionately known as CHU ' s , as opposed to conventional tent quarters . There were , however , at least several Army units that occupied tents on the base . Airfield . The airfield is served by two main runways measuring 12 , 000 and 9 , 700 feet . A modern air traffic control tower was completed in March 2010 to further increase the airfield ' s capabilities . An instrument landing system was installed to provide CAT 1 service to the 30R approach and was planned to be operational by the end of April 2010 . The airfield lighting system was also upgraded as part of the airfield modernization program . Operation Night Harvest . Operation Night Harvest was the uncovering of abandoned aircraft at Tallil AB . United States forces found a large junkyard of derelict Iraqi aircraft .