Repairing & Rebuilding Airfield Infrastructure for the Government of Iraq

In 2013, the Government of Iraq (GoI) selected Balad Air Base to receive and bed-down its first squadron of F-16 aircraft procured from the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The base, which housed the U.S. Air Force during the Iraq War, had runways, taxiways, and tarmacs in desperate need of maintenance, pavement resurfacing, and other structural repair. The GoI partnered with the U.S. Air Force to repair and rebuild the airfield infrastructure using FMS funds – awarding the work to SOSi. After deploying to the region in 2013, we quickly started renovations on the asphalt runway, airfield administrative facilities, storage warehouses, passenger terminal, and construction worker dwellings. Progress was temporarily halted in mid-2014, when SOSi was forced to evacuate the region under U.S. government direction due to attacks conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) nearby. We returned to Balad in early 2015 and quickly completed all runways and taxiway renovations – literally paving the way for the arrival of the Iraqi F-16s later that year.

Despite multiple challenges in a contingency environment, the SOSi construction program at Balad Air Base was completed ahead of schedule and under budget by $2M. We achieved this by establishing and maintaining strong working relationships with the U.S. government, the Iraqi Air Force, and other clients to promptly address concerns and provide recommendations that were both timely and cost-effective. Relationships were critical in the delivery of quality renovations that met or exceeded expectations, allowed for beneficial occupancy to support C-17 deliveries, and ultimately in the arrival of the Iraqi F-16 Squadron. The Balad runway project allowed the GoI to stage their fighter aircraft much closer to the front and enabled them to provide highly effective close air support to Iraqi military forces in their fight against ISIS.