Meet Alicia: A USO Volunteer Who Serves with a Mother’s Heart in California

By Staff Sgt. Brea DuBose

USO Volunteers are the driving force behind our mission, turning their time and compassion into comfort for service members and their families worldwide. In airports, that mission takes on a special role. Amid the constant motion of navigating a busy terminal, the USO becomes a calm, welcoming space.

For USO volunteer Alicia Webb, a typical shift may be spent working through a list of tasks at the facility. She and other volunteers clean and maintain operations at the USO Center at Ontario International Airport throughout the week.

According to Alicia, the number of service members that come through the Center fluctuates daily.

“Oh, it just depends,” she said. “Sometimes it could be just a couple that are changing flights or have a layover. Sometimes it could be, gosh, a couple hundred or even 1,500 if there is troop movement or training.”

Regardless of the group size, Alicia welcomes service members across all military branches with open arms.

“The purpose of the USO is just to let the military know how much they’re cared for,” Alicia said. “We want to feed them and give them a comfortable place to relax while they’re waiting to go wherever they’re going.”

A USO volunteer of over three years, Alicia says her personal connection to the military is her inspiration.

“I’m a military mom of an Army Ranger who’s been in almost eight years, and he is busy with everything that he does,” she said. “I just love what the military has done for him, and what he has done for our country. And it just makes me want to give back because I see the need.”

Like many traveling service members, U.S. Army Sgt. Paul Jones, a combat engineer with 58th Engineer Company, was visiting the USO airport Center on permanent change of station (PCS) orders, moving from one duty station to the next, which will be his home for the next several years. He’d been to several USOs throughout his multi-day travel to his new duty station in Ft. Irwin, California.

“During this PCS transition, at every airport I’ve been to, I’ve always made it a point to go to them during layovers when I needed to use Wi-Fi or get food and snacks,” he shared.

Despite visiting several USO locations during his PCS from Korea to California, Paul said some things are universal.

“You can find friendly staff and other service members at every USO,” he said.

According to Alicia, providing snacks, refreshments and a friendly smile is a common occurrence in her work, but some experiences leave her with meaningful memories.

“I’ll never forget one of the first times I [covered] a troop movement and people were coming back from deployment,” Alicia shared. “I went around saying, ‘“I’m an Army mom and I’m proud of you. Thank you for your service and all you’ve done.’ This very huge soldier, who was maybe 18 years old, was coming back, and he’s like ‘can I have a hug?’ So, he’s hugging me — this big giant boy man.”

Both teary-eyed in the embrace, Alicia said the soldier revealed he wouldn’t be able to see his mom for a long time, and that he needed that hug.

“That’s why I do it,” Alicia said. “I do it because I love everybody. That was an amazing moment that I won’t forget; hopefully he won’t either.”

Alicia said the best part of her work is talking to troops.

“My favorite part is hearing everybody’s stories and hearing where home is,” she shared. “Are they married? Do they have children? You know, what’s home like? Because people will mostly ask them, ‘what do you do in the [military],’ but we just want to know them for who they are.”

While a standard shift may consist of cleaning and greeting at the USO, Alicia explained that she feels her impact is bigger than what it appears on the surface.

“With my son being in the military, he’s giving back in a way that I can’t,” she said. “But I can give back by serving a meal or giving a hug to someone. I hope my impact volunteering at the USO is that I make someone in the military feel loved and cared for, and just let them know that they’re supported.”

How the USO Airport Center Support Military Families During PCS Season

For many service members and their families, USO airport Centers are more than just a lounge – it’s a lifeline during a PCS or a deployment. The travel that comes with PCSing can be a marathon of logistics: long days, multiple layovers and navigating crowded airports with children and heavy luggage. It’s a journey that can be uncomfortable and can make home feel far away in either direction. For service members deploying, the stress and emotional toll of heading to the front lines is all the more difficult while having to wait for long layovers and navigate airports alone.

But inside USO airport Centers, that all changes. Volunteers greet families and service members with a friendly smile and a helping hand. Military families can put down their luggage and later grab a snack before heading to their next gate. Deploying service members can rest in comfortable chairs before the next leg of their journey. These Centers can be a small space, but it provides a place where travelers can pause and regroup in the middle of a long and chaotic travel day.

Volunteers like Alicia understand that families experiencing a PCS isn’t just a trip, but a transition; that deploying service members aren’t just traveling – they’re leaving everything they love behind, to step into the unknown. For the people who serve and their military families facing the stress of constant movement, the small acts of kindness that USO volunteers offer are more than just comfort – they are reminders that someone, somewhere, sees and values their sacrifice at every moment of their military journey.