Making a run for it!

[Seamonkey]

A certain fobbit was seen running down the flight line and managed to jump on a C-130 that was rolling down the deck... all to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrds "Free Bird" (long version of course) as the guitar jam synced perfectly with the wheels coming up as this fobbit kicked the dust off his boots and broke free....


Hanging out in Balad now, man, the new snack shack, transient tents and USO tent are NICE! lol, how jacked in the head am I that Balad is nice?


And the journey continues...

[Byte Stryke]

A certain fobbit was seen running down the flight line and managed to jump on a C-130 that was rolling down the deck... all to the tune of Lynyrd Skynyrds "Free Bird" (long version of course) as the guitar jam synced perfectly with the wheels coming up as this fobbit kicked the dust off his boots and broke free....


Hanging out in Balad now, man, the new snack shack, transient tents and USO tent are NICE! lol, how jacked in the head am I that Balad is nice?


And the journey continues...

Just watch out for an Old man with a walking stick and a long white beard saying "We're taking the Fobbits to Isengard!"

get back safe Brother, we will save you some beers

[ronaldrwl]

I didn't understand any of this. It must be a generation gap

[Irving]

He just deployed some where and "Fobbit" seems to be a mixture of some military term + "Hobbit" from Lord of the Rings.

Good luck out there and thanks for your service.

[Ranger]

Fobbit = someone who stays on base and doesn't go on missions, they stay at the Forward Operating Base (FOB). Balad = Iraqi air base north of Baghdad.

Get home safe!

[Byte Stryke]

the new snack shack: Usually an AAFES run comparison of a popular stateside fast food chain.

transient tents Temporary living quarters, Usually a hellhole for most REMFs, Doorkickers seem to like them.

USO tent: A place to relax usually providing satellite Television via AFN and a few modest computers for purposes of email and catching up with the world.

Fobbit: more accurately is a person that is deployed to a combat area, however they rarely if ever leave the FOB. The rest of it was pretty accurate.

"Man, That guy is such a Fobbit, you'd think he was tied to that snack-shack."

[Seamonkey]

W00T!!! Made it to Qatar!!!! Weee haaa only took 36 hours to make a total of 2.5 hours of flight time...

I was on a FOB, Forward Operating Base and as a scum bag civilian I never left the base nor carried weapons but I did take care of the wives while the husbands were away... opps, wrong branch.. those were my Navy days... I was part of the team that did take care of the networks that allowed people to email or call home when they came back from outside the wire as well as their work stuff.

I'm end of contract so I left for the last time, as opposed to leaving on vacation and coming back to the FOB after a couple weeks R&R. Direct flights to a base in Kuwait or Qatar are rare so I hopped on a plane to Balad, an air base near Baghdad. The place keeps building up so it went from a tent city to solid structure complete with cyber cafe and phones. Last time the snack place (to get some crappy sandwiches) was in the terminal, now it's close by in a newer building. There's a new USO building next to it and they had a TV showing movies all the time, a couple gaming consoles and some computers so you can check email and such. Sounds great unless you're here. Used to be the transient tents were a bus ride away so I never bothered, like everyone else I slept on the floor at the PAX terminal. This time, the tents are right there so you can hop over, sleep a couple hours on a mattress and even have the option to shower before your next flight.

So then, back to the PAX to wait for a flight to Qatar... that was fun. Finally made it though!

Nothing like a Muslim country in Ramadan, had to make a huge take out order since all the food service stores will be closed all day tomorrow for fasting. Sucks.




As with any post I make while over here, I am fully aware that many have passed before me in much worse conditions. I'm not posting this to brag or complain about the air travel around the AOR. Those who have been here know and I'm not trying to build myself up in front of those who haven't been here. I never went outside the wire, never was Rambo but did what I could to maintain the networks they real people use to do their job, connect home or call home. At the end of the day.. or in the middle of it, when you're sitting on a plane, in full armor, can't even imagine how much you are sweating and hot fracking hot it is, going on a couple hours sleep in a couple days, and look over.. and there the real ... I hate to use this word since it's so warped today, but the real "hero". It's someone who's doing their job, doing it the best they can in some pretty shitty conditions with no hope of reward in regards to money or promotion. Those are the people who have my respect regardless of if they push a desk, punch down 110 blocks, refuel, or go outside the wire time after time.

I can't even imagine how my grandparents did it in WWII much less those who went before them.

[Seamonkey]

Just watch out for an Old man with a walking stick and a long white beard saying "We're taking the Fobbits to Isengard!"

get back safe Brother, we will save you some beers

What did you say?



Leave here and never come back!!!


hahhahahahahahahh

[Byte Stryke]

W00T!!! Made it to Qatar!!!! Weee haaa only took 36 hours to make a total of 2.5 hours of flight time...

I was on a FOB, Forward Operating Base and as a scum bag civilian I never left the base nor carried weapons but I did take care of the wives while the husbands were away... opps, wrong branch.. those were my Navy days... I was part of the team that did take care of the networks that allowed people to email or call home when they came back from outside the wire as well as their work stuff.

I'm end of contract so I left for the last time, as opposed to leaving on vacation and coming back to the FOB after a couple weeks R&R. Direct flights to a base in Kuwait or Qatar are rare so I hopped on a plane to Balad, an air base near Baghdad. The place keeps building up so it went from a tent city to solid structure complete with cyber cafe and phones. Last time the snack place (to get some crappy sandwiches) was in the terminal, now it's close by in a newer building. There's a new USO building next to it and they had a TV showing movies all the time, a couple gaming consoles and some computers so you can check email and such. Sounds great unless you're here. Used to be the transient tents were a bus ride away so I never bothered, like everyone else I slept on the floor at the PAX terminal. This time, the tents are right there so you can hop over, sleep a couple hours on a mattress and even have the option to shower before your next flight.

So then, back to the PAX to wait for a flight to Qatar... that was fun. Finally made it though!

Nothing like a Muslim country in Ramadan, had to make a huge take out order since all the food service stores will be closed all day tomorrow for fasting. Sucks.




As with any post I make while over here, I am fully aware that many have passed before me in much worse conditions. I'm not posting this to brag or complain about the air travel around the AOR. Those who have been here know and I'm not trying to build myself up in front of those who haven't been here. I never went outside the wire, never was Rambo but did what I could to maintain the networks they real people use to do their job, connect home or call home. At the end of the day.. or in the middle of it, when you're sitting on a plane, in full armor, can't even imagine how much you are sweating and hot fracking hot it is, going on a couple hours sleep in a couple days, and look over.. and there the real ... I hate to use this word since it's so warped today, but the real "hero". It's someone who's doing their job, doing it the best they can in some pretty shitty conditions with no hope of reward in regards to money or promotion. Those are the people who have my respect regardless of if they push a desk, punch down 110 blocks, refuel, or go outside the wire time after time.

I can't even imagine how my grandparents did it in WWII much less those who went before them.

AT&T, GD/IT, ITT, KBR ?

I Left Kuwait in November as a Civilian.
doing the same thing you were

[OneGuy67]

I, as one of those poor souls sweating in the IBA all day, appreciate the fact you all kept the internet going so I could keep in contact with my family while deployed and kept the air conditioners working in our tents! The $65 a month was harsh for the low band width, but a little was better than nothing and the guys I went with in '08 who also deployed in '03 told me to shut up as they didn't even have that the first time.

Now, I wish I got paid the money the civilian contractors were making...!