JBPHH - Troop Movement Support

Did you know Hawaii is the headquarters of the United States Pacific Command? On our tiny island of Oahu, we have the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force! As you can imagine, this means there are LOTS of troops traveling to and from Oahu all the time.

Typically, when troops are traveling for training or deployments, they come through the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Passenger Terminal, often making the USO Center located inside the AMC Passenger Terminal the place to be. Our USO center provides entertainment and comfort via games, snacks, tv, lounge chairs, and more. Additionally, the unique location of our USO Center provides us with the opportunity to build community relationships with Service Members all over the world!

Our diverse USO team is comprised of civilians, military spouses, veterans, and active-duty military, providing a skilled force for this location. Many on our team have military travel experience and know the boredom of being stranded in an airport for hours. We use our experiences and knowledge collaboratively to find ways to cheer up our Service Members or relieve any anxiety or stress they may be feeling before deployment. Our goal is to ensure our Service Members know they are not alone.

We recently had a Troop Movement of over 300 Army Soldiers traveling to the Philippines for training. As it often does, the time and date of this movement changed last minute, but it didn’t phase our team in the least. We were ready for them when they finally arrived at 8 PM, and we did not leave until 1 AM when they began boarding their flight. We fed them snacks, freshly baked cookies, and coffee. They were so grateful for not only the food but the company too. A smile and a good conversation can help make the hours waiting pass by a little faster.

The team high-fived another incredible shift and began cleaning up from the night/morning when suddenly, over 50 Marines walked through the door of the AMC Terminal! The Marines expressed they had just disembarked unexpectedly from their boat and were to leave immediately and fly to San Diego. They were unprepared for this shift and were starving! Our team sprung into action and put together snack kits for each Service Member to hold them over until they could get something else to eat. It’s moments like this that we get to see our team’s true strength and devotion.

The USO JBPHH team is committed to putting the Mission First, so our Service Members know that USO JBPHH has their back!