USO Offers Respite From Traveling Frenzy

American Forces Press Service ^ | Donna Miles

[SandRat]

BALTIMORE, Dec. 24, 2009 – As the rest of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport bustled with holiday travelers yesterday, its USO Lounge offered military travelers -- many returning home from overseas deployments -- a welcome sanctuary of solace.

The USO Lounge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport offers military travelers a respite from crowded airport terminals, particularly during the holiday season. DoD photo by Donna Miles  
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

The lounge is conveniently positioned near the international departure gates on the airport’s lower level. Yet, to the dozens of servicemembers who took refuge here yesterday afternoon, it felt a world away from the frenzied holiday travelers, beeping airport carts and blaring overhead speaker announcements.

Marine Corps Gunnery Sgts. Nao Lewis and Rachel Gause, both transiting home from Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, were relieved to arrive at the festively decorated lounge shortly after their Air Mobility Command charter flight landed at 1 a.m.

They’d already been traveling for days; their flight from Manas Air Base in Kyrgyzstan was delayed after a record-breaking snowfall brought East Coast airports to a standstill. Now, all that stood between them and their families at Camp Lejeune, N.C., was a 15-hour layover before a short connecting flight.

Lewis couldn’t think of any place better to wile away than hours than at the USO.

“This is a nice, quite place, where they let you take a load off your feet,” he said, looking up from his laptop computer as he took advantage of the USO’s free Wi-Fi service. “It’s quiet here. It’s a place you can feel comfortable and know your stuff is safe.”

Three paid staffers, reinforced by an army of 230 volunteers, keep the lounge bustling from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and through the night whenever an Air Mobility Command flight arrives in the late or early-morning hours.

When a severe snowstorm hit during the past weekend, the lounge went into 24/7 operations, using every bit of floor space to accommodate stranded military travelers. The airport management offered up additional space, and volunteers poured into the facility to pitch in any way they could.

Airman Ronald Carr, who just finished Air Force basic training, grew up in a military family that taught him to appreciate the USO.

“It’s good to know that this is basically an all-volunteer operation, with a volunteer staff and donations that keep it running,” he said. “It makes me feel good about my service, knowing that people care about what I do.”

Army Pfc. Taylor Walther, a California National Guardsman returning home for a holiday break from training at Fort Eustis, Va., said he’s already had the chance to check out several USO facilities, and never walks away disappointed.

“They’re all good. When you go there, they’re all friendly, they all tell you to help yourself and make yourself at home,” he said.

“Home” is exactly how Mississippi Army National Guardsman Jamie Peters, returning home via BWI airport from a deployment in Afghanistan, said he feels when he steps foot into a USO facility.

“They treat you just like family when you come in,” he said. “They give you a place to watch TV, use the wireless or just relax. They’re really a blessing to us.”

“When you go into a USO, you get a welcoming sense,” said Army Spc. Gerald Reed, an Army reservist from Upper Marlboro, Md., traveling with his 2-year-old daughter, Chris, to spend the holidays in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.

“It’s a friendly environment, staffed by overall, good people.”

Among them is Geraldine Verrier, who started volunteering at the Baltimore USO when her Army Reserve husband deployed to Yemen shortly after 9/11. Eight years later, she still spends one morning each week at the lounge, greeting military travelers and showing them amenities that include a baggage storage room, reclining lounge chairs, an X-box video game system and a children’s room.

“We’re here to provide them some peace and tranquility, and to make sure they know someone cares about them and wants to help make them comfortable,” Verrier said. “It can be a small thing – even just making a cup of coffee for them. But you never really know how much that cup of coffee might mean to them.”

Twyla Hirrilinger has spent a lifetime of volunteer service, but said she’d be pressed to find a more fulfilling way to give of her time, or to a more appreciative group to serve.

“When [the troops] come in here, they thank me just for being there. It gives you chills,” she said. “I just love doing this. Being here makes me feel happy.”

Related Sites:
USO

Related Articles:
Redeploying Troops Get Holiday Homecoming

	Mississippi Army National Guardsman Jamie Peters, returning home via Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport from a deployment in Afghanistan, said he feels as if he’s already home when he steps into a USO facility. DoD photo by Donna Miles   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution
	Army Pfc. Taylor Walther, a California National Guardsman returning home for a holiday break from training at Fort Eustis, Va., said he’s checked out several USO facilities, and never walks away disappointed. DoD photo by Donna Miles    Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution
	Twyla Hirrilinger, a volunteer at the USO Lounge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, greets Marine Corps Pfc. Zachary Haase, assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1 at Quantico, Va., as he arrives at the lounge during holiday travel, Dec. 23, 2009. DoD photo by Donna Miles   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

[darkwing104]

USO Lounges are priceless. I used them whenever I could.

Merry Christmas

[shezza]

AWESOME story! We greatly appreciate everyone who goes out of their way to help our brave men and women in uniform. (My own DH leaves for Afghanistan in five days.) God bless ‘em all.

[superfries]

Lockheed sponsors this USO along with Microsoft and Verizon. We also raise money via a golf tourney and have many volunteers that support the USO booth at BWI. Best place we spend time and money if you ask me other than our corporate sponsorship of USAA and The Wounded Warrior Foundation and Fisher House.

[RochesterFan]

A great way to serve the men and women in uniform who serve us so well.

[maine yankee]

If your DH comes through Bangor,Maaine for refueling, he’ll get to meet these guys.

http://www.flybangor.com/content/4061/Troop_Greeting/

We don’t have a USO here in Maine; But every flight that comes through gets greeted; anytime day or night; every day regardless of the weather.

[don-o]

Ben spent some time at both the LAX and SAN USO. One is named for Bob Hope. Great thing for the troops.

[wku man]

The USO is a great organization, and is worthy of all the support we can give them. Merry Christmas USO, and thanks for all you do for our troops.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Entertainers of honor for the men and women of honor.

Maryland PING!

[SandRat]

Asking Divine Protection for Those In Service

O God, I beseech You, watch over those exposed to the horror of war,
and the spiritual dangers of a soldier’s or sailor’s life.

Give them such a strong faith that no human respect may ever lead them to deny it,
nor fear ever to practice it.
By Your grace, O God,
fortify them against the contagion of bad example,
that being preserved from vice,
and serving You faithfully,
they may be ready to meet you face to face when they are so called:
through Christ our Lord.
Amen

[shezza]

I just wanted you to know, my husband DID go through Bangor, Maine, and the ourstopinmaine group was there to greet them, feed them, encourage them, and take photos. It was fantastic to see a pic of DH before he left these shores (posted on their website: www.ourstopinmaine.smugmug.com).

Nearly a million troops (and 218 working dogs) have been made to feel like heroes by these patriots. I noticed some of the pictures contain families with children as well as vets and ladies’ groups coming out to the airport at all hours of the day or night to make these men and women feel appreciated. What a ministry!