JBM-HH USO Honor Guard Lounge game room keeps service members connected

By Rachel Deloach, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Public AffairsApril 28, 2022

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander Col. David Bowling plays video games with service members at the USO Honor Guard Lounge Gaming Center April 22.
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander Col. David Bowling plays video games with service members at the USO Honor Guard Lounge Gaming Center April 22. (Photo Credit: Rachel Deloach) VIEW ORIGINAL
Executive Director for the USO National Capital District Lisa Marie Riggins gives opening remarks at the USO Honor Guard Lounge Gaming Center ribbon cutting April 22.
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Executive Director for the USO National Capital District Lisa Marie Riggins gives opening remarks at the USO Honor Guard Lounge Gaming Center ribbon cutting April 22. (Photo Credit: Rachel Deloach) VIEW ORIGINAL
Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Majeski, Joint Base Commander Col. David Bowling, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Soldier Spc. Edmundo Navarro, Executive Director for the USO National Capital District Lisa Marie Riggins, and E.W. Lilliewood, vice president of public sector programs and channels for Dun and Bradstreet, cuts the ribbon for the USO game room opening April 22.
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Majeski, Joint Base Commander Col. David Bowling, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Soldier Spc. Edmundo Navarro, Executive Director for the USO National Capital District Lisa Marie Riggins, and E.W. Lilliewood, vice president of public sector programs and channels for Dun and Bradstreet, cuts the ribbon for the USO game room opening April 22. (Photo Credit: Rachel Deloach) VIEW ORIGINAL

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., -- Since 1941 the mission of the United Services Organizations (USO) has remained the same -- to serve the men and women in the U.S. military, and their Families, throughout their time in uniform from the moment they join, during their assignments and deployments, and as they transition back to their communities.

During WWII, service members stayed connected to their Families, homes, and country through hand-written letters transported via ship. In the 1990s, prior to email and texting, they stayed connected through USO grams. More than 80 years later, service members now connect with each other through video games such as Halo.

To better support service members, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Honor Guard Lounge has replaced pool tables for personal computer (PC) games and instituted a game room in the community center to be more representative of the 21st century.

In a ribbon cutting ceremony highlighting JBM-HH’s new state of the art game room on Friday, April 22, Pam Horton, senior director of special projects for the USO for the National Capital District, said she is proud of the work that had been put into the facility over the past 18 months. Horton thanked several key players including the Morale, Welfare and Recreation team for helping secure the space for the game room, Executive Director for the USO National Capital District Lisa Marie Riggins for helping purchase the equipment, and Spc. Edmundo Navarro, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Soldier, for installing and testing the equipment.

Riggins, who lived at Fort Myer as a child, said she remembers her parents communicating only a handful of times during her father’s 6 month deployment to Vietnam, so she understood the need for the USO to grow with the rapidly changing technology – to include gaming.

“[Gaming] is truly the way our service members not only connect with just one person, but the entire globe whenever they want, however they want,” said Riggins. “They are more connected now than they’ve ever been.”

Despite service members’ constant connectivity, Horton said she hopes they will stop by the community center and use the equipment in the gaming room.

“The reason why people should come over here and game on our equipment is because we have a direct connect fiber line that is running into this building so the speed is very fast,” said Horton to the service members in attendance. “If you want to come in and game for a little bit during the day or participate in a gaming tournament, you have that ability here.”

For Riggins, the Honor Guard Lounge gaming center would not have been a success without support from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Commander Col. David Bowling.

“Command is what makes this happen,” said Riggins. “We can be in the background, we can be the force behind the force, but if we don’t’ have a commander to champion this, it doesn’t happen.”

Bowling, a self-proclaimed gamer of 20 years, stopped by game room opening to cut the ribbon alongside Riggins and Spc. Navarro, and play video games with the service members in attendance. Bowling applauded the work of the USO and encouraged the younger service members to gain a newfound appreciation for the USO.

“As you get older you will gain a better perspective and understand that there are a lot of people in this country that care about you and your families, who go out of their way to ensure you are taken care of,” said Bowling.

One of those ways is through the USO’s shift to gaming as a way to connect with others.

“Gaming is what you want, and gaming is what we are going to give you,” said Riggins.