We can [celebrate] Mass on the hood of a jeep if we need to. To me, there is no awkward place to perform Mass.

A forward operating base (FOB) tends to be a smaller, more austere, and tactically significant military base supported by a larger main base located elsewhere.  FOBs dot the landscape in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  In many cases, helicopters or other means of transportation make “the rounds,” delivering supplies or rotating troops to the FOBs.

As noted in a military report, Air Force Chaplain (LtCol) Mark Rowan is a Catholic Priest who has to “FOB hop” from Kirkuk to a variety of more isolated locations in order to minister to the Catholic troops located there.  While Chaplains are already in high demand, the article notes the shortage of Catholic Chaplains in both the Air Force and the Army (one the Air Force is attempting to address).

As noted many times here, troops in harm’s way appreciate the presence of a Chaplain:

It’s wonderful for me to be able to minister to them … bring the church to them, and let them know they are not forgotten or abandoned by the church,” he said. It’s also great to see the gratitude and the appreciation they have knowing that there is a pastor to care for them, he said.

An Iraqi Catholic priest recently led a Mass for American service members at Contingency Operating Base Basra.