FOB Iskandariyah Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah ( Arabic : إسكندرية ) , or FOB Iskandariyah , was a United States military forward operating base located on the grounds of the Musayyib Power Plant and the banks of the Euphrates River , north of the town of Musayyib , Babil Governorate , Iraq from 2003 to 2009 . Establishment . Forward Operating Base ( FOB ) Iskandariyah was first established as Forward Operating Base " Chosin " by 1st Battalion , 32nd Infantry Regiment , 1st Brigade , 10th Mountain Division in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom I . The 1st Battlion of the 32nd Infantry Regiment ( 1 - 32IN ) first landed on the grounds of the Musayyib power plant in September 2003 . A ground convoy moved in after negotiating its way through the southern regions of Iraq . After the remainder of the battalion was airlifted in , its entirety moved into the shells of old warehouses . They would live there for weeks . As time passed , the “ Chosin Battalion ” continued to conduct combat operations from the power plant . Contact was made with both the locals and the enemy . Over time , more civilized structures were erected ( wood framed canvas tents , plywood showers , etc . ) . The soldiers of the ‘ Queen ’ s Own ’ continued to fight the opposition in the surrounding AO until the U . S . Marines called them for assistance to the north in Ramadi . This facility largely consisted of tents and other structures of a temporary nature . During this period , 1 - 32nd IN also established facilities for the 507th Iraqi National Guard Battalion . Responsibility for all these facilities were handed over to 1st Battalion , 6th Infantry Regiment , 2nd Brigade , 1st Armored Division for a brief period , while 1 - 32nd IN was posted to Camp Habbaniyah near Fallujah in April 2004 before returning in June of the same year . The 1 - 32nd IN remained at FOB Chosin until the facilities were turned over to the headquarters of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit late in 2004 . All facilities were partially dismantled following the tenure of the 24th MEU . One remaining vestige of the previous designation carried over in the name of Landing Zone " Chosin " when the facility became known as Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah . Reestablishment as FOB Iskandariyah . As the site of a major power production center for the greater Baghdad area , the facility was deemed as vital to continued security operations by the United States military and Iraqi security forces . The location also provided a midpoint for traffic between Baghdad and Karbala . Therefore , a permanent tenant was established with the 1st Battalion , 155th Infantry Regiment , 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the Mississippi National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom III , beginning in 2005 . Operation Iraqi Freedom IV followed in late 2005 with the transfer of authority to 1st Battalion , 67th Armor Regiment of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team , 4th Infantry Division . A nearby facility for 2nd Battalion , 4th Brigade , 8th Division ( Iraqi Army ) was established immediately adjacent as Iraqi forces undertook increased organized participation in local security operations . A US Army Military Transition Team was assigned to this facility to oversee training , coordinate combined operations and facilitate additional US military resources . The 1 - 67th AR contributed to dramatic improvements in the quality of living facilities and security measures protecting the FOB . In late 2006 , authority was in turn transferred to 1st Battalion , 501st Infantry Regiment ( Airborne ) of the 4th Brigade Combat Team ( Airborne ) , 25th Infantry Division as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom V . This rotation coincided with the Iraq War troop surge of 2007 and the first cooperation with Sunnis formed into what was then locally known as the Concerned Citizens ' Program ( CCP ) , part of the wider Sons of Iraq movement . FOB Iskandariyah also experienced a significant increase in forces as 1 - 501st IN ( ABN ) expanded into an enlarged battalion task force . Facility improvement continued as well as cooperation with civil authorities to maintain and increase capacity of both the co - located power plant and a nearby gas facility under construction . Attacks against the facility diminished during the period following increased security efforts by US and Iraqi forces . Last US military tenant unit and closure . After an extended 15 - month tour , 1 - 501st IN ( ABN ) transferred the FOB to the authority of 3rd Battalion , 7th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Brigade Combat Team , 3rd Infantry Division . Their tenure during Operation Iraqi Freedom VI was marked by a continued decrease in insurgent violence as seen throughout the 2008 campaign year and constituted a factor in the eventual determination to return control of security efforts and government authority to Babil governorate authorities . The return of provincial control also created favorable conditions for the closure of FOB Iskandariyah in late 2008 . In 2009 , the successors of 3 - 7th IN , HHC ( - ) 1st Battalion , 2nd Infantry Regiment 172nd Infantry Brigade , began the process necessary to close American facilities on the installation and pass the FOB to Iraqi control . On 22 February 2009 , the 172nd Infantry Brigade formally returned the FOB to Iraqi control . Tenant military organizations . As Forward Operating Base Chosin As Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah