Were you supported well by the USO? Share your experiences

2015-03-18T17:44:57-04:00

During my tour in Afghanistan, I was a volunteer at the USO. I personally thought the USO provided great support to the troops offering communication services, recreational gaming, and care packages for troops. It was nice to get a little downtime and reach out to my family back home. Enough about me, what's your USO story?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 5:48 PM

2015-03-18T17:48:13-04:00

Props to the Navy. The USO had something going on in Camp Lemonnier every week. Some shows were better than others, but for just a little while, you could get your mind off where you were and be "normal" for a couple of hours.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 18 at 2015 6:01 PM

2015-03-18T18:01:27-04:00

The Missouri USO is wonderful!!! Among the best I have seen. So are the USOs at the Airports at the Major Hubs we transition through in out of theater. The St. Louis (Lambert) Airport USO is amazing, and gets better all the time. They have a branch USO on Fort Leonard, which essentially serves as trainee club for all the Soldiers in training, and supports many other functions for Service Members and Families. They even have a mobile USO to support various functions around the state. I would say the USO is A+ and our Missouri USO is A+++

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 18 at 2015 6:02 PM

2015-03-18T18:02:45-04:00

USO is awesome! Spent a lot of time in the USO at FOB Fenty, AF. Used their computers to message my wife, internet was too slow for Skype. Just sat in there and soaked up AC some times.
On Ft. Bliss during pre-mob and de-mob, I spent a bit of time at the USO as well. As guardsmen on an active duty post, we were out of place. Some of our guys complained, but I don't think it's active duty's job to take care of us, it's their job to take care of their own. For example, there was a Memorial Day event while we were at Bliss, which we were invited to attend, but the uniform was ASUs. Of course none of us had ASUs along.
On return, we were on post over Thanksgiving, and were restricted to Post as well. The USO was open, and staffed by volunteers on Thanksgiving day. I ate a piece of pumpkin pie and drank a lot of coffee there. I will never forget the fact the USO was open on Thanksgiving day.

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Mar 18 at 2015 8:55 PM

2015-03-18T20:55:29-04:00

I always donate and say thank you abroad the nations Airports, they are always there for the Service Members.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2015 5:58 AM

2015-03-19T05:58:49-04:00

Most definitely!

I have stopped by the USO center at Atlanta International Airport several times during my career.

While on R&R from Iraq (1st deployment), when I arrived at Syracuse Airport, I didn't have a phone with me to call my wife, but one of the USO volunteers let me use her personal cellphone, and even offered to drive me home to Fort Drum (appx 70 miles north).

During my time in Afghanistan (2nd deployment), the USO center was great. They had an actual (small) movie theater, you could check out DVDs, there was free wifi, etc. An oasis of relaxation in a hectic place.

Due to a screw-up with arrival times, my daughter and I were at Raleigh-Durham International Airport 3 hours before my mother was due to arrive for a visit. So I took my daughter to the USO center there, and we had donuts and juice (she was thrilled) and then we both used the computers there.

Here in Korea, the USO offers free books, computer access, sodas/water, big screen TV, free lunch on every other Wednesday, has a mobile phone provider right inside the center, and is the location for the charter bus service that goes to Osan and Yongsan.

Because the USO has been there for me everywhere I have been all over the world. So each time I use USO facilities, I always donate as much spare cash as I can afford, because it is used for all of us. I also highly encourage everyone I know to donate to the USO, as, again, that money is put directly back into supporting us, the troops.

Response by MSgt Michael Durkee made Mar 19 at 2015 8:30 AM

2015-03-19T08:30:36-04:00

There have been many times that the USO has been a welcome relief while traveling through airports and while I've been deployed. When I was stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis I would regularly volunteer at the Norfolk airport USO to show my appreciation and to pay it forward.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Aug 17 at 2015 3:17 PM

2015-08-17T15:17:50-04:00

SFC Michael Jackson, MBA I had occasion to interact with them twice. The first time was on my way to boot camp, when they let me sleep in a rack while waiting for a flight, and even gave me a wake up call. The second, my brother died when I was deployed. The Navy flew me from my ship to the Philippines, and then to Los Angeles, but I had no way to get to Portland, which is where I needed to go. The USO gave me a ticket so I could make it to my brother's funeral. I will be eternally grateful to this awesome organization.

Response by PO1 Henry Jackson made Jan 21 at 2016 10:50 PM

2016-01-21T22:50:00-05:00

The USO was pretty good when we were deployed. Phones, food and entertainment was good.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Mar 29 at 2016 4:19 PM

2016-03-29T16:19:34-04:00

The mother of my sons was a volunteer at the famed Hollywood Canteen . @SFC Michael Jackson