Agency caters to military members and their families

When many people think of the United Service Organizations, it brings up images of World War II dance halls or Bob Hope shows, but the modern USO has expanded its scope and provides a wide range of services to American military personnel, their families and veterans.

USO Las Vegas at McCarran International Airport sees between 3,500 and 4,000 troops each month, providing comfort, guidance and a chance to connect with loved ones. It also provides services for military personnel at Nellis and Creech Air Force bases, including twice-monthly deployed family dinners, which bring about 200 family members for a meal and a chance to interact with people who are going through similar struggles.

“The average salary of a local airman is $22,000, so supporting a spouse and a child is really challenging,” said Tim Mullin, who became the center director for USO Las Vegas in August. “Twenty-five percent of military families wind up in some sort of federal assistance program. Our goal is to close that gap so these families can stay above water.”

The Green Valley High School and University of Nevada, Reno graduate has been on the board of an assortment of volunteer organizations and spent several years working at the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth. He is one of two employees at the local USO, which has two locations at the airport, in terminals 1 and 3. The organization relies heavily on volunteers.

Bob Canfield served with the Marines and worked for the city of Los Angeles for 37 years before retiring to Las Vegas. He has been a volunteer with the USO for almost four years, although he began contributing financially to the organization during the first Gulf War.

“When I got back from Vietnam, we weren’t treated so well,” he said. “I started contributing because I wanted our service members to get a better reception when they came home.”

Canfield and his wife volunteer at the USO, greeting military service members and their families and making sure their needs are met. He recalled an evening when the wife of a serviceman showed up with a baby around midnight, inquiring how to get to the Strip to get a room.

He realized that her flight was so early that with travel time and check in, she would get no sleep, and she had no one to help her with her child. Canfield set her up with a place to sleep at the USO and had his volunteers keep an eye on the child so the mother could be rested for the early flight.

“It’s the volunteers like Bob that make the USO run,” Mullin said. “They’re the first person a service member sees when they come in and they’re the ones who help them, make sure they can relax, get them snacks and help them out.”

The USO was created in 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt by bringing together several volunteer organizations that had already taken on the task of lifting service members’ spirits with soft drinks and entertainment. The modern USO has widened the definition of that mandate by providing items such as books, access to video games and computers, phone cards and cellphones to borrow to call home.

“We get a lot of people who are dropped off on their way to basic training,” Mullin said. “For a lot of them, it’s the first time away from home, and checking in with their families can provide a lot of comfort.”

Service members who come to the USO can check their luggage and clean up in the restroom, which is stocked with toiletries.

“ChapStick is one of our most highly requested items here,” Mullin said. “A lot of people come here who aren’t used to the desert.”

Service members can watch a movie, play a game, read a book and enjoy snacks provided by one of the many corporate sponsors of USO Las Vegas.

“We have a lot of help from companies, particularly ones at the airport,” Mullin said. “We have a great partnership with HMS Host, and they provide us with snacks, including chips, yogurt, salads, fresh fruit and crackers. SuperPawn stepped up to be our ice cream sponsor. We’re getting a donation from Hudson Books to provide iPads for games for the children.”

USO Las Vegas keeps a running list of the items it needs most. The USO is a nonprofit organization that is not funded by the government.

“We do a lot of fundraising, and money raised locally stays local,” Mullin said. “We’re also always seeking more volunteers. We have a good core of them, but we can always use more.”

Volunteers work four-hour shifts, and the two USO lounges at McCarran are staffed 24/7. Volunteers also help at events outside of the lounges.

“Our goal is to get at least three people on all shifts,” Mullin said. “Our hardest ones to fill are the overnight shifts, from midnight to 4 a.m.”

Canfield began his stint as a USO volunteer on that shift, and he doesn’t regret the late nights.

“If you want to help the troops, I don’t personally think there’s any better way than to volunteer for the USO,” he said. “It’s the best way to have a direct impact on a military member or their family.”

For information about volunteering with the USO, call Kate Slawski at 702-261-6590.

Contact East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 702-380-4532.