HOME

USO Osan has a bigger "home away from home"

By Staff Sgt. Kelly CarltonAugust 12, 2016

USO Osan has a bigger "home away from home"
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – David Yoo, Osan USO center manager, and Greg Phillips, Korea area USO director, both center, joined by Osan command teams from 3rd Battle Coordination Detachment-Korea and 51st Fighter Wing, lead the ribbon cutting to the newly expanded USO Osan faci... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
USO Osan has a bigger "home away from home"
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Joseph Grooms, a member of 51st Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron, receives special permission while on shift to stop by the USO Osan grand opening ceremony to see how visitors liked the new space, Aug, 5. A USO staff member said Groom... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
USO Osan has a bigger "home away from home"
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – David Yoo, Osan Air Base USO center manager, looks on as service members populate the newly expanded USO facility after the ribbon cutting at the grand opening ceremony held at the facility, Aug. 5. Yoo, along with Osan command teams and many USO vol... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- The USO on Osan Air Base was experiencing growing pains over the last year, but the all-volunteer organization who provides "a home away from home" for service members and their Families celebrated an expansion with a grand opening ceremony held in building 916, Aug. 5.

"Over the last year, we have continued to outpace the facility," said Greg Phillips, Korea area USO director. "I told past leaders that I needed more space if I was to meet or exceed their expectations. Now we're expecting to see 4,500 to 6,000 service members a month."

This expansion has been more than a year in the planning, said Hasi Jackson, USO Osan duty manager. Much of the growth is due to more and more of the Osan community utilizing the facility and taking advantage of the offered programs.

"We have seen a rise in participation in our programs so the area office approved our request for additional space," Jackson said. "We were donated the Community Center's gaming room so now we have more computers, new massage chairs and also a gaming room of our own.

The USO operates solely on donations and the Osan community is projecting many more services and programs as a result of this improved facility.

"We have more computer systems, more TVs, and we even have Skype phones," Jackson said. "We want this to be a place to come and relax so we were able to add a new luggage rack for anyone waiting for a flight."

Not only will those who call Osan home be able to enjoy the larger facility but so will all of the service members who deploy to the peninsula for various training events.

"We have so many transient folks that come in for exercises," Phillips said. "I remember last summer we had 100 Marines laying on the floor in the smaller space. There was no other place to put them and we were trying to feed them."

Today, the dream has come true said Phillips.

"It's no longer the three little chairs and four little computer tables. Now we own the whole thing and eventually this entire building will belong to the USO. We're going to be even more robust," he said.

For more information find USO on the internet and social media:

https://www.uso.org/

https://www.facebook.com/USOatOSAN/?fref=ts

Twitter: @the_USO

RELATED STORIES