From New York to Alaska: How Service Members Deployed to the Arctic Received USO Support on Every Step of the Journey

By Kristen Loflin

The USO’s mission is seemingly simple: to strengthen the well-being of the people serving in America’s military and their families. However, this support is far more extensive than it sounds. Through every step of the military journey – from the moment they enlist, through deployments and when they return home again – the USO is there, by the side of our nation’s service members and military families. We support them in everything from programs that help keep deployed service members connected to loved ones back home, to events that foster community among military spouses, to celebrations of military children, whose sacrifices are often overlooked. No matter where their mission takes them, the USO team is always ready to show our military community they are not alone.

These resources are especially crucial for deployed service members. As they undertake challenging missions and conditions, USO teams across the country – and the world – are working together to provide end-to-end support throughout their deployments. Earlier this year, two USO Centers located on opposite sides of the country combined forces in support of a unit throughout a military exercise, following their journey from New York to Alaska and Finland – and then back again.

The Departure

This year, the USO supported the 10th Mountain Division – one of the U.S. Army’s light infantry divisions known for its flexible and rapid-response capabilities – throughout a deployment. Based out of Fort Drum, New York, the soldiers who serve in this division are trained and combat-ready for quick deployment. This often involves temporary assignments to ensure soldiers are prepared for whatever challenges they may face when called upon.

That is why, in 2025, these soldiers participated in Arctic Forge – a biennial joint military exercise in which soldiers train for Arctic readiness and interoperability. To properly train for conditions that they might encounter in the field, service members deployed to Arctic Forge every other year often find themselves in locations such as Alaska or Finland, where weather and environment alike are extreme. This past February, as approximately 100 service members from the 10th Mountain Division headed out for weeks of blistering cold and long nights away from home in Alaska, the USO team at Fort Drum was there to provide support.

Although not as extreme as Alaska, Fort Drum is still located in upstate New York, where winter weather can be bitterly chilly. As these soldiers packed up and prepared to head across the country, USO Center Operations Specialist from Fort Drum Phoebus Lazaridis brought a little comfort amongst the goodbyes at the Rapid Deployment Facility. Whether through a friendly conversation or by handing out USO Care Packages before their departure, the goal is to always alleviate some of the stress from the service members.

“Supporting deployment and homecoming flights is one of the highest privileges my work with the USO affords me. There is a great sense of pride and commitment that comes with serving our nation, but deployments in support of contingency operations also pose a great challenge. They’re a commitment that takes service members away from familiar surroundings and their loved ones for months at a time, and places them in austerity at best — and danger at worst,” Phoebus said.

“Being there with our service members for those last few hours before they ‘step out the door’ — having the opportunity to provide some material comfort, to talk and hopefully alleviate some of that stress, and to say goodbye — means the world to me. It is, I believe, one of the purest opportunities we get to connect with our service members.”

U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Thomas Banner was responsible for the 100 service members who deployed out of Fort Drum for this exercise, and he credited the USO for its constant presence in the lives of the people who serve.

“The USO has been present for every movement or deployment. I can’t think of a time I haven’t had USO support.”

The Deployment

Located in Alaska’s interior region, the city of Fairbanks is the United States’ northernmost metropolitan statistical area - only 196 road miles south of the Arctic Circle. With a subarctic climate, the winters can be quite frigid with a significant amount of snowfall, as the average low temperature in February is 13 degrees Fahrenheit. The cold winters are also accompanied by shorter amounts of daylight – an average of 8.5 hours in February, leaving the service members who deploy here in dark, frigid conditions.

These service members left Fort Drum, New York, and arrived at U.S. Army Garrison Alaska Fort Wainwright during one of the area’s coldest times. There, they met up with other service members in support of the joint exercise. While the conditions are necessary for the training, it can be hard on the body and mind. In fact, Alaska is well known throughout the military community as a difficult duty station or deployment location to be assigned. Combined with the stress of the job and being away from family, deployments to Alaska can be quite lonely.

That is why it was so important for the USO Fort Wainwright team to provide a mid-training boost, delivering a little warmth after the unit had completed their training in Alaska and was preparing to move forward to Finland.

The USO team at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, normally likes to set up a support station at Fairbanks International Airport as service members prepare to board their aircraft, giving a little motivational push through the final wait time. However, after learning of a travel delay, USO staff and volunteers quickly adjusted and set up at Fort Wainwright’s holding facility. With smiling faces, USO Fort Wainwright staff and volunteers helped thaw the 300 service members with a hot beverage bar of apple cider, coffee and hot chocolate along with some snacks to help pass the time. The service members were also treated to USO Care Packages and some snacks-to-go bags. These USO Care Packages, filled with snacks and hygiene products, offer not just crucial supplies, but a reminder that these service members’ sacrifices are not forgotten.

USO Fort Wainwright staff and volunteers quickly adapted to a travel delay, setting up a warm beverage bar and snack station at the holding facility to support 300 service members before departure. | Photo credit USO Photo

“These individuals are away from their loved ones. To be able to smile, chat and serve them is a privilege. Having had two sons in the military, I can only hope that someone did the same for my boys,” said Linn Vander Molen, a volunteer with USO Fort Wainwright. “The smiles, seeing the joy on the soldiers faces and the ‘Thank You's’ for a small gesture of having a hot beverage and a granola bar warms my heart.”

The USO team would eventually learn that the snacks became essential as the unit faced further delays after arriving at the airport – two hours on buses and another four hours on the aircraft before having to deplane due to a mechanical issue resulted in them returning to Fort Wainwright until another flight could be secured. In total, the service members went approximately 15 hours with only the snacks provided by the USO.

Upon learning of the extended delay, the USO Fort Wainwright team once again rallied. They quickly reached out to a local coffee shop, which provided them with 20 gallons of fresh, hot coffee to donate to the stranded service members. As the USO Fort Wainwright Center was already planning on hosting a USO Coffee Connections event for military spouses in the Center that day, the attending milspouses, USO staff, volunteers and even the coffee shop’s employees stepped up to ensure the delivery of the coffee to the unit.

“The sense of community that came from that morning was beyond anything I have ever seen,” said Michelle Steuer, the center operations manager at USO Fort Wainwright. “Even beyond getting the coffee there, you could feel the camaraderie and excitement as we walked through the doors.”

When navigating a long, cold deployment and multiple travel delays, even the smallest gesture can make the greatest difference in morale among service members.

“We greatly appreciated the USO being there for us as we deployed to Finland! Not once, but twice [after the flight got delayed], the USO team kept morale high with snacks and coffee,” Capt. Nick Steinmetz shared.

“This is why we all do what we do - working for and volunteering for the USO - in hopes that we can make an impact and put a smile on the faces of those who serve,” Michelle said.

Providing something as simple as a hot drink during an extended wait is just one small example of what USO teams around the world are doing in support of our nation’s military members. The USO Fort Wainwright’s quick actions and adjustments show that our organization’s staff and volunteers truly go where the military goes to ensure they have a small sense of home wherever their mission takes them.

“The USO team greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers and looked after their well-being,” said 1st Lt. Rhett Syverson. “Their welcoming presence on the 20-plus-hours trip home provided soldiers with snacks and warm drinks before the next long leg of their trip.”

The Homecoming

Traditionally, USO teams are also there to celebrate as families are reunited. Homecomings are a common event for the USO team at Fort Drum.

“We also get to say, ‘welcome back!’ We get to see these folks get home safe and sound, and, while I’m humbled by the appreciation expressed when we mingle, nothing beats the joy I see on the faces of soldiers who know us,” Phoebus said, back in New York.

Homecomings are just as emotional for the military family members as they are for the service members coming back. As military spouses, children, parents, friends and other loved ones await their service member’s return, the USO often is present by their side, offering comfort in those anxious moments. The USO often provides food, activities for military children, welcome home banners and a reassuring presence for those family members who have been waiting so long for their loved one to return.

After about a month, the deployed unit returned to New York. However, due to the nature of the 10th Mountain Division’s upcoming assignments, they immediately had to begin preparing for a redeployment. As a result, the USO team at Fort Drum was unable to host a homecoming for the service members upon their arrival. However, once they’ve returned from their next deployment, the USO Fort Drum team will be ready to welcome them back with open arms.

The USO currently has more than 680 staff working around the world alongside over 21,000 volunteers, carrying out the organization’s mission to strengthen the well-being of our military community. Sometimes the mission is carried out within one of the USO’s 250+ Centers, located across 30 different countries and 42 U.S. states. Other times it can be through expeditionary work, servicing those deployed, while other instances can simply be offering supportive programs for the families back home. No matter where service members and military families are in the world, it is crucial that we show our military community that they are not alone – from the moment they leave home to the second they return.

“When you’re leaving home or far away in an unfamiliar place, the USO has always had a knack of finding you and bringing a piece of home to you,” said Thomas.