Before the Marine occupation, the
Iranian dissident group called
Mujahideen-e-Khalq used the MEK as a training camp, but turned it over to the U.S. Army
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment on May 11, 2003 after the
Mujahideen-e-Khalq surrender. The
82nd Airborne Division took over the facility in August 2003 and created
Forward Operating Base St. Mere. On March 24, 2004, the
1st Marine Expeditionary Force took control from the 82nd Airborne and renamed the
FOB, Camp Fallujah in order to better associate the camp with the local Iraqi city. On January 12, 2009, the Government of Iraq took control of the compound from the United States military. The camp is adjacent to the other major U.S. base in Fallujah, the former
Ba'athist resort
Camp Baharia (also known as "Dreamland"). ==U.S. Operational Names==