• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Camp Victory opens new USO tent

By Spc. Robert Adams
August 2, 2005

CAMP VICTORY, Kuwait (Army News Service, Aug. 2, 2005) - As Soldiers redeploy from Iraq to Kuwait, they will be able to kick back and relax at the new United Service Organizations tent at Camp Victory.

Col. Brick Miller, Area Support Group Kuwait commander, Lt. Col. Larry Smith, Victory commander, Command Sgt. Maj. Gary Sirois, Victory command sergeant major, and Phillip Harris, USO Kuwait director, opened the doors to visitors July 25.

“The USO is a safe, secure area and is part of the reintegration for Soldiers returning home,” Harris said. “An essential part of reintegration is to help build morale for military servicemembers.”

One distinctive facet of the new tent is its outside deck area. It is surrounded by grass, plants and palm trees, and includes a big-screen television and stage area for performances, making it stand out from any other tent on camp.

The new tent is filled with couch areas, big-screen televisions with more than 500 movies, an Internet area, DSN phone lines, an XBOX gaming zone, recliner chairs, tables, a board-game area, an Arabic sitting area and dining area.

Thanks to the help of volunteers and contracting companies, the tent moved from a 1,500 square-foot tent into a 5,100 square-foot tent and was finished within three weeks.

Harris said, for 19 months the USO tent has been busting at the seams and was so crowded that long lines of people were waiting outside to get in.

“Military personnel would come in and sleep, play games and stay until the end of the night, and most would leave saying, ‘Thank you. For a few hours I forgot I was in the desert.’”

Of the many volunteers who helped get the USO on its feet, Harris said, Army Sgt. Lezlie Ornelas and three Marines – Lance Cpl. Wendell Carlisle, Cpl. Tippette Holcombe and Cpl. Jason Goodsell – deserve recognition for their efforts.