FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program hosted its Holiday Bounce Party Dec. 11, welcoming 100 Soldiers to an evening of holiday festivities, team building and fostering meaningful connections.
“The goal in hosting the BOSS Holiday Bounce Party is to be able to reach single Soldiers, single parents and geo-bachelors and bring them some holiday cheer during what may be, for some of our Service Members, a hard time,” Spc. Nieves, Fort Bragg BOSS President, said. “The event was packed with fun challenges, free food, and prizes our Soldiers could take home.”
Activities throughout the evening included basketball, dodgeball and an obstacle course, giving Soldiers the opportunity to unwind and engage with one another in a relaxed setting. While BOSS year-round events share a common mission, this gathering was intentionally focused on providing a sense of familiarity and spreading cheer this holiday season.
“The most memorable part of the night was seeing Soldiers smile and laugh,” Tyreek Logan, BOSS Advisor, said. “Our Soldiers fight for us every day and, sometimes, they need someone to share a laugh with and have a good time. We witnessed that all night during this event.”
Events like the BOSS Holiday Bounce Party contribute to a resilient installation by fostering cohesion and readiness. By creating spaces where Soldiers can recharge, BOSS strengthens the human dimension of Fort Bragg’s strategic power projection capability, ensuring Soldiers are mentally, emotionally and socially prepared to meet mission demands.
"We had four Soldiers who arrived at Fort Bragg two days prior, signed up for the event and won every competition," Logan said. "We were also able to help a single parent enjoy some time with his kid, and one of the Airmen built some confidence in the 10 ft. trust fall.. So many Soldiers were able to build camaraderie and have a great time with each other."
The holidays can be a difficult time for many Soldiers, often amplifying feelings of loneliness or stress. Events like this play a critical role in supporting morale by removing barriers such as cost and creating a carefree space for Soldiers to connect.
“This event supports Soldiers’ morale by allowing them to be in a space that is free of any problems or stress,” Nieves said. “When finances are an issue, there are no worries here because everything we provide is free. It also allows Soldiers to make connections and realize they’re not alone.”
For the BOSS team, this event served as a reminder of the program’s purpose, which is advocating for and supporting the quality of life of single Soldiers across the installation.
“I hope Soldiers walk away fully confident in knowing that they are not alone,” Nieves said. “This event is for them. The prizes are for them. The food is for them. Everything we do is for our Soldiers’ personal and professional needs.”
Planning an event of this scale requires coordination across multiple areas, from budgeting over the course of the year and scheduling around training requirements to advertising on social media. The team holds monthly and mid-month meetings, in which the floor is open for Soldiers to provide feedback on what they’d like to see. This Soldier feedback plays a key role in shaping future events.
“Not a lot of commands fully understand what the BOSS program is and how great of an asset it is for the audience it takes care of,” Nieves said. “With significant progress in leadership support, we’ve hosted installation-wide events and built strong rapport across Fort Bragg to ensure we are enhancing morale, increasing retention and sustaining combat readiness within the single-Soldier population.”
At the beginning of the year, the team thought quantity was best for participation, so they would schedule events very often. They then realized that Soldiers were overwhelmed and stuck between choosing which event to attend, so the team took a step back and focused on a quality approach to ensure bigger impacts on Soldiers.
“Increasing the quality of our events has been a huge accomplishment for us,” Logan said. “We’ve noticed a drastic shift in excitement and interaction with our Soldiers, and we continue to build onto that to ensure we are impacting the Soldiers and their quality of life in a big way.”
The BOSS Holiday Bounce Party marked a strong finish to the year, reinforcing BOSS’s role as a vital advocate for Soldier well-being.
“This event shows Soldiers that no matter what is going on, BOSS is always here to help,” Logan said. “We will always be the voice of the single Soldier.”
Soldiers interested in getting involved with BOSS can register for events through the program’s Linktree and follow the Fort Bragg BOSS Program on social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook and Discord for updates and opportunities throughout the year.
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