{"id":268005,"date":"2026-05-12T13:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268005\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:55:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:55:07","slug":"how-the-uso-offers-a-taste-of-home-to-service-members-near-nas-jax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/268005\/","title":{"rendered":"How the USO offers a taste of home to service members near NAS Jax"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">NAS JAX, Fla. \u2013 For service members serving thousands of miles from home, often in combat zones, a visit to the USO can be a reminder of home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/topic\/Help_on_the_Homefront\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/topic\/Help_on_the_Homefront\/\">Click here for all Help on the Homefront coverage.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The organization operates locations from airport terminals to overseas bases, including a center outside Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The USO offers a place to relax, play games, watch TV and connect with others, volunteers and veterans say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cShooting pool, playing games, snacks, watching TV. Back then we didn\u2019t have computers,\u201d Bob Neely, a Vietnam veteran who served 22 years in the Army, said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He recalled time spent at the USO during the war. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt helps to give you a feeling of being home when you\u2019re not there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Soldiers were singing karaoke at a USO in Kuwait last year, underscoring how active-duty troops continue to use the centers today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe younger soldiers or sailors, it\u2019s their first time away from home, they\u2019re alone, they don\u2019t have any family \u2014 and the USO helps to give them a nice place where they can sit back, relax, talk with people,\u201d Neely said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Jenny Lyon, a Navy veteran and USO volunteer, said the support matters to mission readiness. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe more support you have, the better you do your job, and that\u2019s what they are all about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For Military Appreciation Month, News4JAX is partnering with Navy Federal Credit Union and the USO for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/topic\/Help_on_the_Homefront\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/topic\/Help_on_the_Homefront\/\">Help on the Homefront<\/a>, a donation campaign to collect items for care packages. Donors can drop off approved goods at local Navy Federal branches.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Suggested items include granola bars, fruit snacks and boxed macaroni and cheese, which can be assembled into care packages and sent overseas.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NAS JAX, Fla. \u2013 For service members serving thousands of miles from home, often in combat zones, a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[19142,110691,116,118,117,5436,70465],"class_list":["post-268005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-4-your-service","tag-help-on-the-homefront","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news","tag-morning-show","tag-nas-jax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}