Meet Joseph, a Former Military Kid and Soldier, and Now Our 2024 USO Volunteer of the Year OCONUS

By Trey Smith

USO Volunteers are the backbone of the organization, giving their time and energy to those who serve. These selfless individuals greet service members at USO Centers, provide comfort during tough deployments and create a sense of community no matter where a service member or military family is stationed. From organizing events to offering a listening ear, USO Volunteers make an impact in ways both big and small, ensuring that service members have a place to turn to for support and connection.

Joseph Principe is one of those volunteers. This year, he was named the 2024 OCONUS – that is, outside of the continental United States – Volunteer of the Year, a well-deserved recognition of his dedication to the military community that began long before he even became a volunteer.

Growing up with the USO

Growing up, Joe never stayed in one place for long. As the child of a father who was a 30-year U.S. Air Force veteran, he learned that home was wherever the next assignment took his family. Like many military brats, the transient lifestyle taught Joe adaptability, resilience and a deep appreciation for the sacrifices service members and their families make every day.

Joe’s connection to the USO began before he could even remember. When he was just two weeks old, his family made their first overseas move to Okinawa, Japan. His parents often told him stories about how the USO supported them during that transition, in many ways the USO was a constant presence throughout his childhood.

Joe answered the call to serve and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1979. | Photo credit Courtesy Photo

In fact, Joe remembers he and his family seeing Bob Hope on a USO entertainment tour during the Vietnam War, when they were stationed in Indo-Pacific region when he was a child.

“I grew up all over the world except Europe. I grew up with the USO at every duty station, we went to different U.S. military installations across the Pacific and Alaska,” Joe said. “I saw my father leave for Vietnam three times when he was in the strategic air command.

Joe decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1979, first becoming part of the Reserves before later becoming active duty. It was during his own years of service when Joe truly learned how the USO could be there for him not just as a military kid, but now as a service member.

The USO as an Army Soldier

It was 1979 when Joe found himself turning to the USO once again, walking through the doors not as a military child, but as a soldier in need of the same support his father once relied on. What had once been a backdrop to his childhood now became a refuge during deployments – a place to recharge, reconnect and find a sense of home no matter where he was in the world.

“I’ve always used the USO, and I see how beneficial it is to a service member. Service members who don’t utilize the USO? They need to utilize the USO.”

Joe’s connection to the USO first began when he was living overseas during the Vietnam War as an infant. | Photo credit Courtesy Photo

Over the course of his Army career, Joe served in the Persian Gulf War, completed two tours in Iraq and participated in two peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. These deployments were some of the most challenging moments of his life, but the support he found at the USO during various points in his service helped him stay grounded and connected to home.

“When I was e-vaced from Iraq, [due to] injuries and illness, I was in process at Walter Reed Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base, [and] you know who the first ones were there? The USO,” Joe shared.

During his time as an active-duty soldier, Joe served in combat with the 10th Mountain Division and began volunteering for his fellow service members, marking the beginning of his volunteer journey.

“I’m out there because I’m a soldier too. See – once a soldier, always a soldier.”

Giving Back as a USO Volunteer

If you ask Joe about his volunteer work at the USO, he’ll tell you, “When a [service member] walks into our USO, I’ll tell you this – he walks with a smile on his face.”

When Joe returned to the place he calls home – that is, Anchorage, Alaska – he began volunteering at USO Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER). Since then, he has dedicated more than 6,000 volunteer hours to the USO, including an impressive 1,438 hours in 2024 alone.

That amount of dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed by those around him, especially Lori Carabello-Omey, his center operations manager at USO Alaska.

“I’ve seen firsthand the heart and dedication he brings to every interaction,” Lori shared. “Joe embodies what it means to serve selflessly—whether it’s welcoming service members with a smile, stepping up for special events, or offering support when it’s needed most as they walk through the doors.”

Joe serves as the Special Events Volunteer at USO JBER, often providing support to service members as they prepare to depart or welcoming them home from deployments. | Photo credit USO Photo

For Joe, it’s not just about the hours – it’s about the impact. In addition to working in the USO Center, he takes on special projects, helps organize events and contributes to missions with the local USO expeditionary team. His dedication makes a difference, one smile at a time.

Some of Joe’s most memorable moments during his time as a USO Volunteer come from times of remembrance and resilience, such as hiking alongside JBER firefighters for a 9/11 memorial, honoring Gold Star Families or holding the guidon during a Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Day event.

“His decades of lived military experience and deep connection to the USO shine through in everything he does. This recognition is incredibly well deserved,” Lori said.

Still, it’s the quieter moments that mean the most. It’s handing a service member a hot cup of coffee after a long day, offering a welcoming smile to someone far from home or bonding with a young military child adjusting to a new place. Those small gestures of kindness add up, and Joe remains grateful for the connection and community that he and his team have been able to establish between them and the service members they support.

“Just like in the military, there’s no individuals. It’s all teamwork. We all work together as a team.”

In fact, Joe and his team have established such a strong relationship with their local military community that they play an active role in welcoming new airmen to the area. They regularly hold briefings, introducing them to their new home and offering support, as well as gather any input of programs and events that might benefit service members most.

Joe has amassed over 6,000 total volunteer hours since joining the USO JBER team in fall of 2020. | Photo credit Courtesy Photo

“The enjoyment of the stuff I do is not about me, it’s not about coins, it’s not about certificates. No glory or none of that stuff. It’s about giving to the troops and the families,” Joe shared.

That mindset is one of the many reasons he was recently named the 2024 OCONUS Volunteer of the Year. For Joe, it’s not about the recognition, it’s about making a difference in the lives of service members who need it most. From his earliest experiences with the USO as a military kid, to the USO support he received as a soldier, to his current work as a volunteer, Joe has always understood the power of community and connection. According to Joe, the work isn’t done until everyone who walks through the doors of his USO knows they have a place to call home.

Are you interested in giving back to the people who serve and volunteering with the USO? Learn more about what it means to be a USO Volunteer and if there’s a USO Center near you by clicking here.