Navy Midshipman Andrew Brunsting sat at the airport Sunday for nearly seven hours waiting for his flight home to Nebraska for Christmas. As uncomfortable as that sounds, his time at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport always has been pleasant ? a sharp contrast to a serviceman?s daily rigors.
He and other service members get a respite from the hardships of training in separate lounges provided year-round at the airport by the United Service Organizations: A flat-screen TV, Xbox gaming console, recliners, food and phones are all available.
“It was nice having a place to relax just getting out of training before being thrown into something else,” says Brunsting, 20, who?s passed through BWI several times in the two years he?s been in the Navy.
He works in Navy law enforcement and is stationed in Annapolis. But the lounges are just one of the smaller things the USO does year-round for service members. Many civilians may donate time and money during the holidays, but the USO knows that war doesn?t end just because the season for giving is over.
“Things like emergency housing and hospital services, there are wounded soldiers coming back weekly,” says Nichole Causey, spokeswoman for the USO in Washington, D.C. “So it?s essential. We?re pretty busy year-round.”
Throughout the year, the USO provides:
» Emergency housing for service members who may need it when they return home
» Celebrity handshake tours and concerts with, most recently, Jimmy Buffett and Bruce Springsteen
» Ticket giveaways for concerts and sporting events
» Family picnics
» Hospital help at places like Walter Reed for injured service members.
For those like Brunsting, every little bit helps ? during the holidays, but also during times that often go overlooked.
“I?m anxious to get back [home],” he says, “and I hate sitting in the airports.”
To donate
USO World Headquarters
Department WS
P.O. Box 96860
Washington, D.C. 20090-6860
www.uso.org/donate
1-800-876-7469
