| FOB Chapman | |
|---|---|
| Khost province in Afghanistan | |
 U.S. Army Soldiers and contractors pose for a photograph at FOB Chapman in July 2002 | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Forward operating base |
| Owner | Department of Defense / CIA |
| Operator | United States Army Central Intelligence Agency |
| Location | |
  FOB Chapman Shown within Afghanistan | |
| Coordinates | 33°20′19.5″N69°57′21.4″E / 33.338750°N 69.955944°E /33.338750; 69.955944 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 2001 (2001) |
| In use | 2001-2013 (2013) |
Forward Operating Base Chapman, also known asCamp Chapman, was a U.S. installation situated inKhost province,Afghanistan, on an airstrip 2 miles east ofKhost. It was opened by the United States Army and extensively used by theCentral Intelligence Agency.
Prior to the arrival of U.S. forces in 2001 it had been used by theAfghan Armed Forces.The site was also used by theCentral Intelligence Agency and was nearForward Operating Base Salerno, a large U.S. Army base.[1][2] The base was named for Sergeant First ClassNathan Chapman, the first U.S. soldier killed by enemy fire during the Afghanistan war, in 2002.[2][3][4][5] Chapman was killed while fighting alongside the CIA.[4]
The CIA's base in Khost was set up at the beginning of the U.S.-led offensive against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in 2001, and began as an improvised center for operations.[6] A military base at the beginning, it was later transformed into a CIA base, a U.S. official said.[7] According to a U.S. military source, Forward Operating Base Chapman was also used as a base for the KhostProvincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), a military-led development group.[8] According to an individual who was in the PRT and took part in the relocation; this team left in 2011 and moved to FOB Salerno.[9][10] In recent years, the base, one of the most secretive and highly guarded locations in Afghanistan, evolved into a major counterterrorism hub of the CIA's paramilitarySpecial Activities Division, used for joint operation with CIA, military special operations forces and Afghan allies, and had a housing compound for U.S. intelligence officers.[2][6][11][12]
On Wednesday, December 30, 2009, theCamp Chapman attack was executed by suicide bomberHumam Khalil al-Balawi who was a Jordaniandouble agent loyal to al-Qaeda-linkedIslamist extremists. Seven people employed by or affiliated with the CIA, including the chief of the base,Jennifer Lynn Matthews[13] as well as a Jordanian intelligence officer, died in the attack. It remains the second-deadliest incident ever for the CIA after the1983 United States embassy bombing. Almost three years later, on December 26, 2012, a suicide bomber, possibly with ties to theAfghan Taliban (who claimed responsibility via a spokesman,Zabihullah Mujahid, claiming those who served American forces at the base were the target) and/or theHaqqani network, killed three Afghans (their status was not specified) who were outside the perimeter of the base, which is near a military airport.[14]
U.S. bases in Khost, in particular Camp Salerno, have frequently been targeted by insurgents. In most cases, however, suicide attackers do not succeed in getting past the main entrance of a base.[15] According to U.S. officials, Forward Operating Base Chapman appears to have implemented less stringent security measures than other U.S. military bases, aiming at establishing trust with informants.[16] Subjecting informants to mistrust and excessive suspicion would reduce the amount of information received from them.[17]
In 2021, in the lead-up to thewithdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the Taliban twice targeted the base. In the first attack rockets landed nearby wounding seven civilians. During the second attack a water tower on the base was hit, but no U.S. personnel were hit.[18]