A fobbit (rhymes with hobbit) is a soldier who never leaves the FOB. They are usually the brunt of jokes by infantry soldiers and others who routinely go out on patrols and other missions off of the FOB. Pilots fall somewhere between Fobbits and the "hard-core" soldiers. After all, we leave the FOB all the time but its usually just to fly to another FOB. In any case, I have spent the last month as a Fobbit here at FOB Warrior in Kirkuk and have to say that the life is pretty good. Ive been tanning, hitting the gym, working regular hours, and keeping track of the increasing violence by seeing it on TV rather than flying above it. Sadly, my time as the LNO is coming to an end. I expect to return to Speicher shortly. On the positive side, I will get back to flying.

I had a memorable dinner a few nights ago that I thought Id share with you all. The ODA invited some of us planners to come to dinner at their compound as a thank you for the support we have provided. ODA stands for Operational Detachment Alpha. If that sounds cryptic its because its meant to. These are the American soldiers who dont wear uniforms, have long hair and beards, and live on their own in a walled compound. I walked over to the compound and immediately saw the screened-in porch filled with people. Dinner was great. The ODA guys have the opportunity to do thier food shopping off of the FOB so they prepared a middle eastern feast of chicken, lamb, rice, kabobs, hummus, and chai tea. I hung out for a while with the ODA and the planners with whom I have been working. I gorged myself on the only fresh and authentic food I have had the opportunity to eat here in Iraq. It was good stuff. I sure hope no one hunts me down and kills me for revealing this information ( I am joking of course - well, mostly.)