[1] Qayyarah West AB was built in the late 1970s and was one of several Iraqi Air Force airfields of the 1970s which were re-built under project "Super-Base" in response to experiences from the Arab-Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973.

It became a major airfield during the 1980s war with Iran, when it was the main hub for Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1EQ operations, and when it was the first airbase of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MLs.

When US troops arrived on May 23, the main runway and the control tower, set about two miles away from the headquarters compound, had suffered damage.

[1] One of the first priorities was repair of the runway and tower, and the airfield was then able to accept the largest US transports, such as Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.

After 69 days of around-the-clock work, soldiers of the 37th Engineer Battalion, out of Fort Bragg, NC, repaired the craters that littered the main airstrip at Q-West and had prevented planes from landing there; as a result, a more secure route for needed items was established.

[1] During Operation Iraqi Freedom, only a handful of the 101 Airborne's 1st Brigade actually lived on base; most of the soldiers were spread around the region, where they were tasked with missions such as local outreach and assistance, search and cordon, safety patrols and guard duty for important archaeological sites to prevent looting.

The base gym which, in November 2004, was operated by KBR, offered a basketball court, along with access to free weights, exercise bicycles and treadmills.

[1] Tiger Squadron of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment was the major US combat unit on FOB Q-West during October 2007 - February 2009.

The unit oversaw and supported combat operations conducted out of multiple subunit locations in the region.

[5] On 9 July 2016, the Iraqi army recaptured Qayyarah Airfield West from ISIL during the Mosul offensive, reportedly "without any resistance".

Deployments included command and control elements, a security detachment, an airfield operations team, and logistics and communications specialists.