5 Ways the USO Supports Deployed Service Members and Military Families During the Holidays

By Danielle DeSimone

The holidays are a time of celebration, of gathering with loved ones and of rediscovering treasured traditions. However, for the people who serve and their military families, the holidays can look very different.

Whether it’s a service member forward-deployed, disconnected from the joy of the season, or a military family stationed overseas, far from loved ones, the holidays can sometimes be a challenging time for our nation’s Armed Forces.

That is why supporting service members and military family members is so important – and especially during the holiday season. Here are five ways the USO supports deployed service members and military families during the holidays:

1. USO Holidays programs and events

One of the most treasured parts of the holiday season is gathering with loved ones to celebrate time-honored traditions. Many look forward to these holiday activities each year as an opportunity to create new memories with friends and family.

However, for military families stationed overseas or deployed service members, these traditions may be hard to come by. If a military family is living in a country where these holidays are not celebrated, or are celebrated in unfamiliar ways, it can be difficult to feel like they are truly able to partake in the holiday. And for service members who are forward-deployed, the holidays can feel especially out of reach.

That is precisely why the USO provides USO Holidays Programs – to ensure that no matter where their service takes them, our military community can always get into the spirit of the season.

From a gingerbread house-making competition in Kuwait, to visits from Santa Claus in South Korea, to caroling throughout an Army base, these small moments can make all the difference in the lives of deployed service members and military families serving overseas.

Giving the military community a piece of holiday traditions does more than just provide them with something familiar – it reminds them that their fellow Americans back home are thankful for them and the sacrifices that they make every day.

2. USO Centers as a “home away from home”

When service members are deployed to a remote location in the Middle East, at a frigid base in Eastern Europe, or out to sea on an aircraft carrier, it can be difficult to feel at home, let alone cozy and festive. This can make the holiday season a challenging one for service members who are far from everything familiar.

But at more than 250 USO Centers around the globe, service members – and military families – can find a home away from home in the USO.

Most USO Centers – located on bases and ships, as well as in airports – are outfitted with comfortable seating, televisions, gaming consoles, libraries, snacks and more. They serve as a place of respite and an environment in which service members and military families can unwind, which is especially crucial during the holiday season, when forward-deployed service members may need a morale boost to lift their spirits.

Here, service members can bond with each other over video games, participate in a USO Center program, call home, or even just take a quiet moment to themselves. Military families can also utilize USO Centers, where activities are hosted to promote connection and community among military spouses and children. However, creating a welcoming space goes beyond just comfortable couches; at these Centers, USO staff and volunteers – many of whom are veterans or active-duty military community members themselves – always offer a warm welcome and supportive environment, as they know the realities of military life all too well.

Having a comfortable space to turn to – a place that feels like a cozy living room, decorated for the holiday season – can have an immensely positive effect on those serving far from their own homes during the holidays. In a season that can sometimes be isolating for the military community, the USO is an ever-steady presence of support.

3. Connection to loved ones

One of the most difficult challenges service members and military families face is separation from loved ones – and that becomes especially apparent during the holiday season.

In a time when everyone seems to be reuniting in their hometowns, exchanging holiday cards, gathering family members together for meals and more, deployed service members and military families stationed overseas can feel especially disconnected from family and friends.

Being able to make a simple phone call to a family member or friend can make all the difference in the morale of our forward-deployed troops during the holidays – and that is why the USO is committed to keeping military families connected to one another at all parts of the year. At USO Centers around the globe, service members can utilize free Wi-Fi, phones and computers to call home and speak with friends and family. On U.S. Navy ships, where the USO has been building Centers for long deployments, soundproof phone booths have been incredibly helpful for sailors trying to find a moment of privacy and connection while out at sea.

Service members can also connect to their families back home through the USO Reading Program. Through this program, service members can select a book for their child, record themselves reading the book and the USO then sends the book and the recording home to the service member’s family. This way, deployed service members can still be a part of their child’s bedtime story routine, even when miles away.

There is a reason why this is one of the USO’s most popular programs among deployed service members overseas. In a season when bedtime stories are all the more magical, being able to connect with their military families in this way is particularly special for our nation’s service members.

For the USO, these moments of connection are at the heart of what we do as a military support nonprofit organization. Throughout their service, we want to ensure that our service members and military families never feel alone.

4. A taste of home

There is oftentimes nothing more comforting around the holiday season than the taste of a familiar meal, cooked by a loved one. So many holiday traditions are rooted in homecooked meals and treats, but for service members deployed or stationed overseas, these tastes of home can feel especially far away.

“What I miss most from home? I miss food. I miss my mom’s cooking,” said U.S. Army Cpl. Justine Perkins, who was deployed to Poland at the time. “I miss the weather, because it’s cold [in Poland] … And the Christmas dinner when all the family comes together, I miss that. The smell of gumbo, and the smell of Christmas trees.’

However, the USO is committed to bringing a taste of home to these deployed service members, even in the most remote locations. Whether it’s a homecooked Thanksgiving meal in Djibouti, Africa, Christmas cookies in the jungles of Okinawa, Japan, or a “Family Recipe Night” in Saudi Arabia in which deployed service members cook their families’ traditional recipes, the USO provides service members with the chance to get that taste of home no matter where in the world they are.

Service members can also get that taste of home through USO Care Packages. Delivered to deployed troops all year-round, these care packs are outfitted with familiar snacks from back home, such as energy-boosting snacks, drink mixes and other snacks that may be difficult to access while overseas.

These USO Care Packages are not just full of hard-to-find goodies. They – much like a USO-cooked meal or snack this holiday season – are a tangible reminder of home when service members are far away, and a morale boost just when they need it most.

5. Support along the way

Every year, thousands of young Americans cycle through basic training and boot camp, taking their first steps toward transitioning from a civilian into a U.S. service member.

Tens of thousands of these young service members leave from installations across the U.S. to take part in “Holiday Block Leave,” traveling by planes, trains, buses and automobiles – and through some of the busiest airports in the U.S. – to be with their families during the holidays.

Also sometimes known as “Holiday Exodus,” this is the time-honored military holiday tradition that authorizes those in basic training or boot camp to travel home during the month of December to reconnect with loved ones over the holidays.

And the USO is by the side of these young service members every step of the way.

Creating a network of support from airport to airport, the USO provides everything from directions within the terminal, to hot meals, to a place to rest between layovers for these young men and women.

And USO airport Centers provide that same network of support for military family members traveling through the holiday season. Most military families are stationed far from their hometowns and loved ones, and many military spouses must travel alone with their children due to their spouses’ deployment, adding an extra layer of difficulty to holiday travel. To help support the military community during this stressful time, the USO’s airport Centers are available as a safe place to recharge between layovers.

This continuous network of support is a crucial part of the USO’s mission. We are committed to strengthening the well-being of the people who serve, and their families, throughout their entire time in uniform.

While the USO is by the side of our nation’s Armed Forces the other 11 months out of the year as well, the holiday season is a crucial one. As we, the American people, celebrate from the comforts of our homes beside our loved ones, the holidays can look very different for the people who serve and their military families, and that can be challenging. But no matter where their service takes them, the USO will always find ways to make sure their sacrifices are not forgotten by delivering them the support they need and a piece of home this holiday season.