A Forward Operating Base or FOB is a military installation designed to house military troops close to a front.

This article points out that FOBs have a positive effect on the lives of soldiers, relatively speaking:

How the Forward Operating Base is changing the life of combat soldiers

The situation in post war Iraq is producing combat veterans accustomed to a perspective of combat that differs greatly from past wars. The Forward Operating Base (FOB) has become a mainstay of the U.S. presence in Iraq. Dr. Leonard Wong and Colonel Stephan Gerras explore the facets of fighting from the FOB and show that it gives soldiers the unprecedented advantage of gaining a respite from constant danger, minimizes the wearing effects of hunger and fatique and reduces the isolation of combat

However, they are not “luxury hotels”, as is easily seen in these videos…