Joint Base Balad also hosted a Level I trauma center Air Force Theater Hospital which boasted a 98% survival rate for wounded Americans and Iraqis.

[citation needed] Like most large bases in Iraq, LSA Anaconda offered amenities including a base movie theater (Sustainer Theater), two Base/Post Exchanges (BX/PX), fast food courts including Subway, Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell (2007), Burger King, Green Beans Coffee, a Turkish cafe, an Iraqi bazaar, multiple gyms, dance lessons, an Olympic size swimming pool, and an indoor swimming pool.

The base was a common destination for celebrities and politicians visiting US troops serving in Iraq on USO Tours including the Charlie Daniels band (2005), Vince Vaughn (2005), Carrie Underwood (2006),Wayne Newton, Toby Keith, Gary Sinise, Chris Isaak, Neal McCoy, Oliver North, and WWE.

[6] Starting in 2003, several mortar rounds and rockets were fired per day by insurgents, usually hitting the empty space between the runways, although there were isolated injuries and fatalities.

[13][14] Respiratory difficulties and headaches were attributed to smoke inhalation from the burnt waste; however, according to research conducted on behalf of the US Department of Veteran Affairs, there is insufficient evidence to connect those symptoms to burn pits.

[17][18] A black jail, a U.S. military detention camp to interrogate high-value detainees, was established at Balad in summer of 2004, named the Temporary Screening Facility (TSF).

[19][20][21] A British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) lawyer who visited a black jail, believed to be at Balad, described it as holding prisoners in wooden crates, too small to stand in or lie down, who were subject to white noise.

[1] The base is home to the Iraqi Air Force's General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons[24] of 9th Fighter Squadron (34 aircraft operating in 2023).

[26] Following reports alleging timesheet fraud, investigators found evidence of alcohol smuggling, human trafficking, security violations, and theft.

[27][28] Employees have also raised concern about racism, particularly from white South African security guards who made open endorsements of Apartheid and refused to work alongside Iraqis and other people of color.