Camp Bucca

FOB Camp Bucca
near Umm Qasr, Iraq
Families wait at the Welcome Center to schedule a visitation to see their relatives who are being held at the theater internment facility at Camp Bucca.
Type	Internment Facility
Site information
Controlled by	Iraq
Site history
Built	2003 Expansions 2004, 2005, 2007, 2007–2008
Built by	U.S. Army Engineers, U.S. Air Force Prime BEEF (Base Engineer Emergency Force) teams Kellogg Brown and Root Navy Provisional Detainee Battalion TWO (NPDB2) United States Army Corps of Engineers
In use	2003–2009
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Garrison information
Occupants	Up to 20.000 Iraqi prisoners

Camp Bucca (Arabic: سجن بوكا‎‎) was a detention facility maintained by the United States military in the vicinity of Umm Qasr, Iraq. As of June 2011, a group of entrepreneurial Iraqis and Americans are re-building Camp Bucca as Basra Gateway, a logistic center. The facility was initially called Camp Freddy and used by British Forces to hold Iraqi prisoners of war. After being taken over by the U.S. military (800th Military Police Brigade) in April 2003, it was renamed after Ronald Bucca, a NYC Fire Marshal who died in the 11 September 2001 attacks.

Camp Bucca was built on a site where before the tallest structure of Iraq, a 492 metres high TV mast stood, which might have been used for propaganda TV to Iran.

After the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, many detainees from Abu Ghraib were transferred to Camp Bucca. After a substantial turn-over in the chain of command at Camp Bucca and substantial amendments to camp policy, the US military held up Camp Bucca as an example of how a model detention facility should be run. A majority of the detainees were reportedly housed in cinder block housing units with wooden roofing rather than tents, while other detainees were held in hasty tent compounds until 2009.. Cigarettes, tea, and the opportunity to listen to radio and T.V. programs were used as incentives for good behavior. Some detainees were allowed family visitation from Iraqi relatives not held at the facility. Detainees were provided the opportunity for basic education including reading, writing (both English and Arabic), arithmetic, basic geography and art. Detainees organized and administered their own classes in subjects like literacy and religion, and competed in soccer matches. Soccer matches were encouraged to attempt to promote cooperation and trust between every aspect involved in the camp.

Additionally, the internment facility had its own U.S. Army run hospital to serve detainees. It offered comprehensive healthcare. There was an emergency room, internal medicine clinic, optometry clinic, psychiatric services, orthopedic/surgical unit, physical therapy clinic, pharmacy, dental clinic, dietary services and more. Detainees were screened by medics and doctors at the wire, that was right out where the detainees are housed, and then triaged to the hospital for further care. Some detainees were flown to larger medical facilities in Iraq to receive cataract surgery. U.S. Army medical staff was also given training on how to provide care while respecting Muslim traditions.