Marine Reserve unit prepares for return home; welcomes replacements HIT, Iraq, March 20, 2005 — Charlie Company no longer occupies one of the most mortared outposts in Iraq. Our days at Forward Operations Base (FOB) Hit — pronounced “fob heat” — are over. The last of the company reached Al Asad airbase, our staging area for our flight out early on Tuesday. Later Tuesday we turned in all but 60 of our 210-round combat load of bullets and it was a good feeling. During Operation River Blitz I had more than 800 rounds for my rifle, though a mostly cowed...