The Soviet Armed Forces began building an airfield near the town of Shindand in 1961 and made heavy use of the base during the Soviet–Afghan War.

The Red Horse personnel built two separate sets of parking aprons, aircraft shelters, and maintenance facilities at this location and installed all of the needed utilities.

The USACE added an additional 56,000 square meters (600,000 sq ft) of apron and taxiways capable of handling large strategic lift aircraft such as C-17s in 2012.

[13][14] Prior to summer 2011 base security was run by US host units 5/158 (12th CAB) as well as hired Afghan contractors.

Consisting of 240 Army and Air Force personnel and 350 Afghan security contractors conducting base defense operations in western Afghanistan.

The same 15-person team was the first established tactical security detail for OSI's Expeditionary Detachment 2416, Taskforce Grey (Ghost).

During the late 2000s through the end of 2014, the Mongolian national army played a role in base security through the use of U.S. MRAPs, fortified guard posts and foot patrols.

On 27 February 2012, advisers renamed the 'base-in-a-box' portion of the base to Camp Estelle, in dedication to Air Force Major Raymond Estelle II, who lost his life 27 April 2011, during a shooting incident at the Afghan Command and Control Center in the Afghanistan air force headquarters at the Kabul International Airport.

The 1/214's B Battery also provided the tactical security element for the USAF Office of Special Investigation's Expeditionary Detachment 2416, Task Force Grey during outside-the-wire counterthreat operations.

The base may also have been used in the past by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for surveillance missions over western Afghanistan that included use of the RQ-170 drone.

Force protection was a major component of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) military construction program in Afghanistan.