Airmen assigned to the 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron check out the progress of construction at Camp Simba, Kenya, Oct. 22, 2025. The camp is replacing tents with shipping container housing as part of a modernization to improve quality of life for deployed personnel. (Carl Good/U.S. Air Force)
A remote outpost in Kenya used to support U.S. military operations in Somalia is getting a quality-of-life boost, with troops moving out of tents and into hardtop shelter.
The switch is part of a larger initiative aimed at improving security and overall operational readiness at Camp Simba, the 406th Air Expeditionary Wing said in a recent statement.
The first phase of the project will replace 10 large deployable tents typically used for crisis operations with 88 containerized housing units, according to the statement. Such housing was a common feature on many bases used by U.S. forces during the war years in Iraq.
“The current tent structures are vulnerable to fire, pests and severe weather, while the new units will provide a safer, more reliable and sustainable living environment,” the statement said.
U.S. airmen watch the action at a construction site Oct. 22, 2025, at Camp Simba, Kenya, where projects are underway to modernize infrastructure and improve quality of life for deployed personnel. (Carl Good/U.S. Air Force)
Airmen from the 475th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron discuss construction progress with a Kenyan worker at a project site at Camp Simba, Kenya, Oct. 22, 2025. (Carl Good/U.S. Air Force)
Situated near the border of Somalia in coastal Kenya, Camp Simba has played a role in supporting U.S. Africa Command missions in the neighboring war-torn country.
The camp also has found itself in the crosshairs of al-Shabab, the Islamic extremist group that’s been waging an insurgency in Somalia for two decades.
In 2020, al-Shabab militants launched an attack on Manda Bay airfield, about a mile down the road from Camp Simba. Both sites are used by U.S. forces.
Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., 23, and two Defense Department pilot contractors, Dustin Harrison and Bruce Triplett, were killed when the insurgents overran the Manda Bay site.
AFRICOM had to dispatch a quick-reaction force based out of Djibouti to reinforce the base.
In the aftermath, security measures were bolstered at Manda Bay and Camp Simba to better protect U.S. troops.
The ongoing modernization at Camp Simba “reflects the U.S. military’s commitment to sustaining the base and protecting the force by providing safe, functional facilities,” the wing said.
