Six Ways the USO Supports Deployed Service Members Overseas

By Danielle DeSimone

Deployments are never easy. From the pressure of carrying out their mission, to long months apart from home and loved ones, service members sometimes shoulder the strain of deployments for months or years at a time to protect our nation.

These deployments can take a toll on the people who serve – and their families. To help ease the strain of service, the USO delivers unique programming to strengthen the well-being of the military community. Here are six of the many ways the USO supports deployed service members overseas.

1. Service members can turn to one of the USO’s 250 Centers around the globe for support on deployment

After a long day of carrying out their duties in the field, exhausted and missing home, many deployed service members just want a comfortable place to turn to. A place beyond their barracks or the mess hall – a place where they can be themselves, relax and feel at ease.

And at more than 250 USO Centers around the globe, they can do just that. These Centers are located on bases, ships and at airports all around the globe, including austere deployment locations such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, or parts of the Indo-Pacific. Here, USO Centers provide a welcoming, home-like environment for service members with comfortable seating, free Wi-Fi, computers, TVs and gaming equipment, as well as snacks, beverages and libraries.

However, these USO Centers are more than just sought-after amenities – it is a space for the people who serve to gather together for USO programs, events and other activities that are designed to strengthen morale and build community while serving overseas. From karaoke nights, arts and crafts activities, homemade meals, trivia challenges and more, these activities create opportunities for bonding, friendship and peer support – and this can have a profoundly positive effect on a service member’s deployment experience.

“The USO is just a good place to come unwind and be able to gather with your folks, your friends, your brothers and sisters in arms,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ronnie Webber when deployed to Kosovo.

Studies have shown that support from peers is crucial factor in mental well-being, and having a place where community and support is part of the environment can help service members feel understood and supported by those going through similar challenges on deployment.

And even in remote, austere locations where there is no USO Center, members of the USO team will travel to provide USO expeditionary support to the service members deployed to these places, offering a brief reprieve, fun programs and the atmosphere of a USO Center to those serving downrange.

No matter where their service takes them, the culture of USO Centers reinforces a sense of community for the people who serve all around the globe, offering a welcoming, supportive space, regardless of branch or rank.

2. Deployed service members can remain connected to loved ones through the USO Reading Program

When asking deployed service members what they miss most about home, the most frequent answer, and the most obvious one, is “family.”

Spending 6-9 months – or sometimes even a year or more – apart from loved ones is challenging, but it can be especially difficult for those with children in their lives. It can be hard for young military kids to cope with the long absence of a parent or family member, and that distance can be just as difficult for the loved one deployed far from home.

The USO aims to ease that strain and strengthen military families – for those at home and those on the front lines – through the USO Reading Program. With the USO Reading Program, service members can record themselves reading bedtime stories to the child in their life – whether it be a son, daughter, younger sister or brother, niece or nephew – and have that recording and a copy of the book sent home to that child so they can have the comfort of hearing their family member’s voice. On the other end of the screen, military children can record themselves reading books and have that recording sent to the service member in their life.

“Being able to … read a book over a video, where they can see your face and they can actually see you talk, that brings a lot of comfort,” said U.S. Army National Guard Capt. Will Winn, describing his children’s experience with the USO Reading Program while he was deployed to Romania.

Whether they are reading the book or receiving it, the USO Reading Program offers military families a chance to connect through a shared joy of reading, ensuring that service members are “home” for bedtime stories, no matter the distance or length of deployment.

3. Through USO Care Packages, deployed service members get a taste of home

Service members are often deployed at a moment’s notice, and they may not have time to pack basic toiletries. Once they are in the field, they may have limited access to these essential items as well.

“There were certain products that I needed that may not have always been available, so we relied heavily on the mail,” explained U.S. Army National Guard Maj. Dionne Henley as she discussed a deployment to Djibouti, Africa.

Familiar snacks and drinks from home can be difficult to come by and feel a world away when deployed.

That’s where USO Care Packages come in. USO Care Packages are delivered to service members and include items specifically selected to support the people who serve in challenging times, such as deployment, disaster response and during transit. Packed in canvas bags with a MOLLE system on the back of the pouch so that they can easily attach the care package to most military-issued gear and take it with them, these care packages provide everything from toiletry items (such as toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, sanitary pads), to energy-boosting snacks and drink mixes, to a special holiday care package with socks, beanies, hand warmers, candy and more.

USO Care Packages are not just full of hard-to-find goodies – they are a reminder of home when service members are far away from it, and a morale boost when they need it most. Wherever they go, the USO is by their side.

4. USO Entertainment Tours deliver gratitude and a morale boost to people who serve on the front lines

Deployments are difficult. They can require great risk, as service members undertake dangerous missions and carry out their duties on the front lines. Deployments also require the people who serve to spend long periods of time away from the comforts of home, where something as simple as cooking your own dinner, having alone time in your living room, or indulging in your favorite hobbies isn’t possible. But most of all, deployments require service members to be apart from the people they love – spending months without their support networks, their friends and their family.

In the midst of the stress and loneliness of a deployment overseas, it is crucial to support service members’ well-being – and since our organization’s first inception in World War II, we’ve been doing just that.

Through USO Entertainment Tours, celebrities, actors, musicians, athletes, comedians and more have come together and traveled to the front lines alongside the USO to boost the morale of our men and women in uniform. Whether it’s a comedian cracking jokes from the back of a flatbed truck on an Army base the Middle East, a rock band playing on the deck of a Navy aircraft carrier, or a favorite actor taking the time to share a meal with service members and listen to their stories in an undisclosed location, USO Entertainment Tours are a unique experience for the military community.

Even when deployed to locations too austere or too dangerous to reach, service members can still find support through our USO Military Virtual Programming (MVP) series, which allows these entertainers to speak with deployed troops virtually, but directly.

USO Entertainment is more than just an exciting celebrity sighting – it is a reminder to the people who serve that the sacrifices that they make matter and are appreciated. It is an expression of gratitude from the American people to have entertainers from all industries volunteer their time to lift the spirits of deployed service members so that, for just a moment, they can forget where they are or the stressors of their duties and have just a moment of levity.

“You guys are usually always there when we need it. So, wherever we’re at, usually in some capacity, the USO is … somehow next to us,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Patrick Reardon. “And it’s always refreshing to know that the USO is there for service members.”

5. Service members on deployment can connect and recharge through the USO Gaming Program

One of the greater challenges that service members face while on deployment is having limited resources to blow off steam. When the pressure of their mission begins to put a strain on the people serving on the front lines, where can they turn to? The answer: the USO Gaming Program.

At USO Centers around the globe – including those on overseas bases where service members are frequently deployed – the people who serve can find state-of-the-art equipment, consoles, systems and games to use be used after a long day in the field, in between shifts, as they wait in a USO airport Center during a layover on the way to a deployment and more. Aside from casual gaming in the Center, they can also participate in gaming tournaments alongside their fellow service members. Many of these USO Gaming systems also allow service members to game and connect with loved ones back home, bridging the distance of deployment.

USO Gaming is more than just a console – video games have been proven to have a positive effect on service members who are struggling with the challenges of military life. In fact, approximately 50% of active-duty military and veteran gamers specifically play video games in order to deal with military-related stress such as deployments.

“Gaming allows me to temporarily be ignorant to the stressors of life,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tyrone McKenzie. “When the console turns on, the stressors turn off.”

Studies also show that gaming can help people cope with combat-induced trauma, as well as to alleviate stress and, significantly, to help them socialize and bond with others.

The USO Gaming program provides service members with both in-person and virtual communities that offer support, connection and stress relief during challenging periods of their service, such as deployment.

6. During the holiday season, deployed service members have a home away from home through USO Holidays

The holiday season can be one of the more challenging times for service members to be deployed. After all, the struggle of being far from loved ones and the comforts of home is never more apparent than when service members must miss the nostalgic traditions of the season as they protect our freedoms overseas.

That is why it is crucial for the USO to bring the holiday season to these deployed service members, delivering cheer and a morale boost just when they need it most.

USO Holidays provides holiday-themed programs, activities and events such as traditional home-cooked meals, themed arts and crafts, fun-runs around Thanksgiving, holiday-themed games, movie nights and more. These kinds of activities not only allow service members to participate in the traditions and celebrations of the season, but it also helps them bond with their fellow service members, building a resilient community to lean on during the challenges of deployment.

No matter where in the world their deployments take them, the people who serve our nation know that the USO will always be by their side, strengthening and supporting them every step of the way.

For service members and military families:

To learn more about programs and services available to you, visit USO.org/programs.

For supporters:

Let our service members know that they are valued, remembered and supported throughout their deployments; send a message through the USO’s Campaign to Connect to deployed service members here: USO.org/MyMessage