Tolemaida Army Airfield is a Colombian Army Airfield located in Nilo, a municipality of the Cundinamarca department in Colombia.

Facilities

The air base resides at an elevation of 1617 ft above mean sea level. It has two runways: 04/22 has an asphalt pavement measuring 9280 x and 04L/22R with a concrete surface measuring 1431 x. It is the home of the Colombian National Training Center. Officially the "Teniente General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla" Army Air Field, the air facilities are part of the larger Tolemaida Military Fort which is located in the town of Nilo, Cundinamarca. Tolemaida is fully adjacent to the town of Melgar which is located in the Tolima Department, right across the Sumapaz river; therefore, Tolemaida is commonly mistaken of being located in Melgar. Additionally, there is an actual Air Force Base located in Melgar, the Lieutenant Colonel Luis F. Pinto Parra Air Base, which is the location of the Comando Aereo de Combate #4 and the Escuela de Helicopteros de la Fuerza Publica, where aviators from all military services, National Police and allied armed forces undergo basic helicopter training.

History

A joint commission of the Colombian government and FAC released a report in 2015 documenting the alleged rape of at least 54 girls by United States military personnel between 2003 and 2007 concentrating in and around the Tolemaida Army Airfield and Melgar. The "underage girls were sexually abused by nearby stationed military contractors “who moreover filmed [the abuse] and sold the films as pornographic material." Due to bilateral immunity agreements the men were immune from prosecution by Colombia. In January 2020, the United States and Colombian troops conducted airborne insertion from U.S. and Colombian Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft and then carried out exercises simulating the capture of an airfield. Consisting of around 75 paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and 40 personnel from U.S. Army South working with Colombian troops, the airborne assault exercise allowed personnel from both countries to co-operate and exchange tactical knowledge of parachute drops.

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