Navy Briefing of the Week - FOD walk

Hello there fellow civilians! Welcome to my new Friday feature. I'm going to try to put up a Navy related post every Friday. It may be a glimpse into my upcoming life as a Navy spouse, or a tidbit from NavyGuy's training, or just an explanation of some Navy related term or event that can be confusing to anyone not "indoctrinated." I'll state up front that I'm obviously no expert on any of this, but I feel like I am learning a lot from NavyGuy as we get farther into this crazy new life.

So without further adieu... here's your first briefing!


Today's topic: FOD walk.

Say huh? Yes, I said FOD walk. FOD stands for "foreign object damage" and NavyGuy has been complaining about this task all week long. A FOD walk is when officers and crewmen (and basically anyone that can be rounded up) literally walks down the airplane hanger and the runway before a flight to check for any "foreign objects" that could cause "damage." They do this every single morning before the flights for the day start, and NavyGuy's class has been required to be there for it this week.

It's pretty boring for the guys; essentially all they're doing is walking really really slowly, looking down at the ground for the most miniscule rock or candy wrapper or bellybutton lint that could possibly disrupt the airplane in some way. It's a serious safety precaution that needs to be done, but it's one of the less sexy tasks that NavyGuy has to do (you'll notice they never show Tom Cruise doing this in Top Gun).


They also do this out on the aircraft carriers - don't they look like they're having a great time! ;)