Video by Joseph Andrew Lee and Eric Brandner

BETHESDA, Md.—Sometimes, the mental grind of a recovery can be as tough as the physical obstacles.

That’s why the USO recently opened the second of two Warrior and Family Centers at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, the home of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“You can come here and cook food if you want to. You can come here and barbecue if you want to. You can come here and watch movies, play video games, learn music, use the Internet … all that is here,” said medically retired Army Sgt. Kevin Gatson, a recent patient at Bethesda. “I think this will give someone a place to kind of sit back, reflect, relax, work on themselves just on a personal level — a worry-free zone in a sense.”

Like it’s sister center on the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital campus in Virginia, the USO Warrior and Family Center at Bethesda provides a place where families can come together for everything from meals and game nights to post-military career counseling and classes.