USO Pivots to Support Service Members Deployed to Assist with Harvey Relief Efforts

By Sandi Moynihan

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The USO always makes sure we are fully loaded before going into any situation from baby wipes to slim Jims! We handed out supplies from Camp Swift to Beaumont, TX over the course of 2 weeks.

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Just like the military, when the USO is called into action we make sure we send out as many toiletry kits as we can! These kits went fast due to the military being called into action so fast for relief.

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Service members enjoying all the amenities the Mobile USO team brought out to Katy High school, staging grounds for the Texas Reserves during Hurricane Relief. Thank you Monster Energy for supplying our fun!

In the days since Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Southeast Texas coast, the USO has pivoted its expeditionary operations to provide refreshments, relaxation and a touch of home to service members helping the relief efforts.

According to USO Regional Vice President Jeff Hill, the USO plans to support the Texas National Guard until their mission is considered 100 percent complete.

The USO Houston team has opened a temporary center at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base and is providing core USO services like video games, movies, snacks and cold beverages to service members working in the area.

USO Houston has also received an outpouring of support from the local community, including the Houston Astros Foundation, who sponsored dinners at the temporary center for 500 service members last week.

USO Mobile Team Responds to Harvey

Hours after Harvey made landfall, the Mobile USO Program staff relocated two of its units to the Houston area to support the military’s Harvey operations. Additionally, a dedicated duo of volunteers drove USO El Paso’s unit over 700 miles to augment the Mobile USO Program’s fleet.

The USO El Paso mobile unit has since made the trip back to Ft. Bliss.

Originally, all three mobile units were positioned at Camp Swift, Texas – the staging area for much of the military’s Harvey operations at the time – before heading various locations like Katy, Beaumont and Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base.

Service members passing through any of these locations were invited to visit the Mobile USO to relax, reconnect and stock up on snacks and hygiene items for the long days ahead.

Providing Additional Support

According to Hill, the USO also sent a large number of hygiene kits to U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama, to be airlifted to service members working out of Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base.

However, given the looming threat of Hurricane Irma and the activation of the Florida National Guard, Hill said some of these care packages have since been re-routed to support service members activated to to assist in the wake of the incoming storm.

Additionally, USO Georgia and USO North Carolina have sent hygiene kits to the USO team working in Texas for distribution among the military members serving in the Houston area.

Other USO locations, like the USO of Missouri, USO Dallas/Fort Worth, USO Gulf Coast, USO Fort Hood and USO San Antonio were on standby, ready to support further USO operations as needed.

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