BLOCK LEAVE (Operation: I'll be Home for the Holidays)

Each year, base facilities partially close down for the holiday season, or Block Leave. Thousands of service members will fill area airports awaiting flights to their hometowns. Often times, due to limited resources and transportation schedules, service members will spend upwards of 6 hours, and occasionally spend the night, at USO welcome centers before boarding their outbound flights.

Operation I’ll be Home for the Holidays provides a sense of comfort for service members at our Norfolk International Airport, Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, and Richmond International Airport. While the task of providing a home away from home for troops in such large numbers seem daunting, staff and volunteers for the USO are unphased, serving our military around the clock from the second they step into our comfort centers til they board their flights. With the support of local businesses and organizations like ADS Inc., Dunkin’, Coca-Cola Consolidated, Papa John’s, and MORE, we offer meals, snacks, entertainment, and a place to rest their head at our comfort centers.

To find out how you can support Operation I’ll be home for the holidays, email us at usohrcvcontactus@uso.org

See how we’ve made an imapact: https://hrcv.uso.org/stories/22