Camp Rhino

Camp Rhino
Registan Desert in Afghanistan
FOB Rhino, December 2001
Camp Rhino Shown within Afghanistan
Coordinates	30°29′12″N 64°31′32″E / 30.48667°N 64.52556°E / 30.48667; 64.52556Coordinates: 30°29′12″N 64°31′32″E / 30.48667°N 64.52556°E / 30.48667; 64.52556
Site information
Owner	United States Marine Corps (USMC)
Site history
Built	2001 (2001)
In use	2001–2002 (2002)
Airfield information
Elevation	3,209 feet (978 m) AMSL
Helipads Number Length and surface 13/31 6,800 feet (2,073 m) gravel

Forward operating base (FOB) Rhino, also known as Camp Rhino, was the first US land base established in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. It was located in the Registan Desert, 100 nautical miles (190 km) southwest of Kandahar.

The site was observed by United States Navy SEALs for four days prior to Operation Rhino led by the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment (3rd Ranger Battalion). The raid included both Airborne and Air Assault insertions. Objective Rhino was then handed off to U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU) and Charlie Company BLT 1/1 (Battalion Landing Team) and used to build up a coalition footprint to conduct leading combat operations in Helmand and Kandahar provinces.

Before the Rangers' capture of Objective Rhino, it is believed that the small desert outpost was being built for use as a drug distribution hub. The facility was surrounded by a 10-foot (3 m) wall and four hardened guard towers. Within the facility there were numerous new warehouses, offices, and even a small mosque which was declared off limits to all personnel as a sign of respect. The paint on some of the buildings was barely dry. Sealed roads ran throughout the camp, and it was also bisected by a 3-foot-deep (0.91 m) cement moat.

Camp Rhino was in use from 26 November 2001 to 1 January 2002. At its peak, the camp contained about 1100 U.S. Marines, under command of Brigadier General James Mattis, as well as U.S. soldiers and U.S. Navy Seabees, Australia Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), and dozens of embedded reporters.