Health & Fitness
USOs and Airports
The USO gets kudos for the start treatment it gives soldiers deployed overseas, but it also deserves kudos for the star treatment it gives to soldiers at US and foreign airports.
One of the great perks of military travel is the USO, or United Service Organizations, that dot US and foreign airports.
On Friday, after finishing my US Army Reserve training at Fort Meade, Maryland, I unexpectedly had three hours to kill at the ever-busy Baltimore-Washington International airport.
I could have fought for a free table among all the other travelers at the airport Dunkin’ Donuts, but the USO was nearby.
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I had a huge table with an internet connection. I could have taken a nap in a back room – staff would have given me a wake-up call – or slumped in front of the large-screen television. I noshed on free snacks and cruised the web until
my flight drew near.
Had I been traveling with my wife or infant son, I could have used the diaper changing room or kept my son happy and busy in toy room.
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The USO is best known for its celebrity tours overseas. I certainly took advantage of them when I could, including getting to enjoy or meet country star Tony Keith and liberal comic Jon Stewart when I was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in 2011.
I've visited USOs all over the world, ranging from San Francisco and New York to Rome and Afghanistan. I've done everything from reveling in the air conditioning to getting discounted show tickets.
The USO does many great things for GIs that don’t get media attention – including this cozy rest stop at BWI--staffed entirely by volunteers.
