United Service Organizations | Introduction
Introduction
USO World Headquarters
Washington Navy Yard, Building 220
1008 Eberle Place S.E., Suite 301
Washington, D.C. 20374
U.S.A.
Telephone: (202) 610-5700
Toll Free: (800) 876-7469
Web site: http://www.uso.org
Nonprofit Corporation
Incorporated: 1941 as United Service Organizations for National Defense, Inc.
Employees: 800 (est.)
Sales: $37 million (2001 est.)
NAIC: 813410 Civic and Social Organizations
The United Service Organizations (USO) is a nonprofit corporation that operates various support services for people enlisted in the United States armed forces. The group began in World War II, and it was widely known for providing entertainment to the troops. Some of Hollywood's biggest stars and the country's leading musicians donated their time to entertain U.S. soldiers at home and abroad. The USO continues to arrange entertainment for the armed forces, setting up tours at domestic military camps and at installations across the globe. The group supports the military in many other ways as well. The USO provides childcare for the families of military personnel; it runs deployment centers, providing snacks and rest areas for personnel in transit; it operates a contingency travel fund to help military families in need, and it runs Operation Phone Home, providing donated prepaid phone cards to servicemen and women. The USO also runs mobile canteens, which are four-wheel drive vehicles that can go out in the field to provide troops with rest facilities and access to phones and e-mail. The USO also runs cyber-canteens, which provide Internet access to military personnel. The group operates family and community centers domestically and abroad. Besides serving currently enlisted military personnel, the group provides services to veterans and to the families of people in the military. The USO is not funded by the government, though the President of the United States serves as its honorary chairman. It is backed by individual and corporate donations and has an endowment of around $25 million. The group is run by an estimated 12,000 volunteers worldwide. The USO operates more than 120 centers, split almost evenly between domestic and international operations. The USO serves roughly five million people each year.