Transit Center at Manas (formerly Manas Air Base and unofficially Ganci Air Base) is a former U.S. military installation at Manas International Airport, near Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It was primarily operated by the U.S. Air Force. The primary unit at the base was the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing. On 3 June 2014 American troops vacated the base and it was handed over back to the Kyrgyzstan military. The base was opened in December 2001 to support U.S. military operations in the War in Afghanistan. The base was a transit point for U.S. military personnel coming from and going to Afghanistan. Recreation facilities included internet cafes, wireless internet, pool tables, free video games, and telephone lines via the DSN that allowed coalition forces to call their homes at little or no cost. The base had a large dining facility, a gymnasium, and a chapel. There was also a library where books and magazines were available for active duty airmen. It also hosted forces from several other International Security Assistance Force member states. Several events, such as the shooting of a local civilian and rumors of fuel dumping, had led to strained relations with some of the local population. Powers such as Russia and China had been pushing for the closure of the base since 2005. In February 2009, the Kyrgyz Parliament voted to close the base after the two governments failed to agree on a higher rent for the property. American and Kyrgyz officials continued negotiations after the announcement, and on 23 June a tentative agreement was reached. Under the new arrangement, the United States will pay $200 million, three times the previous rent, for continued use of the facilities. Before the handover to the Kyrgyz military, Kyrgyz forces handled security in the areas surrounding the facility, while American forces provided security for the facility, and the site was then called a "transit center" instead of an "air base". All U.S. forces vacated the base in early June 2014, at which time control of the base was handed over to Kyrgyz authorities. The U.S. lease officially expired in July 2014.
Name
The installation was initially named after New York Fire Department Chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., who was killed in the September 11 attacks. The all-ranks club/recreation center on base was known as "Pete's Place" in his honor. Shortly after the U.S. Air Force had used the name "Ganci", it was found that an Air Force Instruction (AFI) dictated that non-U.S. air bases could not bear the name of any U.S. citizens (the former Clark Air Base in the Philippines pre-dated this instruction). Since that time the air base has been officially called Manas Air Base, after the name of Manas International Airport where it is located. The name "Manas" refers to the Epic of Manas, a world-renowned Kyrgyz epic poem. The facility was renamed "Transit Center at Manas" following a new agreement between the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments, signed in June 2009. Most English-language sources, however, continue to refer to it as "Manas Air Base".
History The center opened on 16 December 2001.
Operation Enduring Freedom In December 2001, the 86th Contingency Response Group out of Ramstein Air Base in Germany arrived at Manas to open the airfield for military use as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. close air support aircraft deployed there included U.S. Air Force F-15Es and U.S. Marine Corps F-18s. In February 2002, a detachment of French Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000D ground attack aircraft and KC-135 air-refueling tankers deployed to Manas in support of ground forces in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. In March of the same year, the Royal Australian Air Force stationed two B707 air-to-air refueling aircraft at the base. A Norwegian C-130 deployed there in early 2002; it was withdrawn in October 2002 when a tri-national detachment, known as European Participating Airforces (EPAF) of a total of 18 F-16s, 6 from the Danish, 6 from the Dutch and 6 from the Norwegian F-16 multirole aircraft took the place of the Mirages. Support for the new aircraft came in the form of one Netherlands KDC-10 tanker, and several American KC-135s, which remained assigned until June 2014. At the same time, Spain deployed two Superpuma rescue helicopters from its Army Aviation and at least two C-130s. Several of the servicemen from this unit were killed in an air crash on their way home from the base.
ISAF support
In September 2004, the Royal Netherlands Air Force again returned with 5x F-16 fighter/bomber to provide Close Air Support (CAS) for the ISAF mission, which now encompassed both Kabul and Northern Afghanistan. To supplement the small availability of tanker aircraft, a RNLAF KDC-10 was also deployed which flew regularly to supply Dutch F-16s with fuel. At that time, the Spanish Airforce was also giving support with a single C-130. The Dutch, commanded by LtCol Bob "Body" Verkroost, remained until the presidential elections of 9 October 2004 elected Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan. The last F-16 mission was flown on 19 November 2004 at which time the F-16s were withdrawn to their homebase of Volkel Airbase in the Netherlands, while the KDC-10 flew the personnel back to Eindhoven Airport. The Dutch returned with F-16s to the Afghan theatre in 2005 but at that time began operating out of Kabul Airport.
Tulip Revolution The Tulip Revolution of March 2005 led to the toppling of Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev. However, American and allied personnel did not find themselves disrupted or affected, according to international news reports. One military member even indicated, "It's been business as usual...We did not miss a single flight." In April 2006, Kyrgyzstan's new president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, threatened to expel U.S. troops if the United States would not agree by 1 June to pay more for stationing forces in the Central Asian nation. He later withdrew this threat. On 6 September 2006, U.S. Air Force officer Maj. Jill Metzger went missing after being separated from her group while visiting a shopping center in Bishkek. She was found three days later in the nearby city of Kant. After an Air Force investigation, it was confirmed in February 2012 that Metzger had indeed been kidnapped as she had claimed.
December 2006 shooting
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