Curse of the Fobbit

Great Artwork From Steve O

The great fobbit debate is nothing new to Army culture. As Iraq's Presidency Council has signed the SOFA into law, which will require troops to fall back to bases and eventually Kuwait, it's important to highlight what problems and internal tensions our troopers are facing on some of our monstrous bases. For instance, Joe reports of a gargantuan-sized civilian nicknamed "Hogzilla" who is standing between him and his ticket home. But, the future of Afghanistan remains unclear and will no doubt require extended COIN doctrine with forces operating in spartan conditions for quite some time. That's why it was surprising to see Vampire 06, an ETT soldier in A-stan, talking about his experience with rear-echelon personnel [Afghanistan Shrugged]:

We were briefing them on our day to day activities and they were telling us about what they were told at Phoenix. What they were told was shocking and if you followed their guidance it would ensure that you were universally disliked by the ANA and would accomplish nothing here.

First, was Chai. They were told not to ever drink Chai with the ANA due to contaminated water and the possibility that you'd be poisoned. This is an idiotic statement. Chai is the social glue that holds things together here. When you meet someone you have Chai, if you disagree with someone you have Chai, you do anything here you have Chai.

I was sort of an "uppity fobbit" since I worked at the embassy in Baghdad, and I find it disturbing that decisions/advice made in the rear are having dangerous implications outside the wire. Hopefully this issue gets addressed. The guys in Embedded Tactical Teams deserve better.