Ceremony Dedicates the USO Exhibit to the Pentagon

Ceremony Dedicates the USO Exhibit to the Pentagon and Commemorates the USO’s 70-year Mission of Lifting the Spirits of America’s Troops and their Families

Ceremony Dedicates the USO Exhibit to the Pentagon and Commemorates the USO’s 70-year Mission of Lifting the Spirits of America’s Troops and their Families

Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn pays tribute to the USO and Admiral Mike Mullen reflects on his last four years leading USO Tours 

ARLINGTON, VA. (August 31, 2011) – Today marks a historic occasion for the USO and its 70-year mission of supporting America’s troops and their families. This afternoon at the Pentagon, Michael L. Rhodes, Director of Administration and Management in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, led the dedication ceremony of the new USO Exhibit at the Pentagon. Highlights of the ceremony included keynote remarks by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Sloan Gibson, USO President.

The new USO Exhibit tells the story of the USO’s broad history and the organization’s significant impact on lifting the spirits of America’s troops and their families through morale-boosting programs, services and engaging entertainment. The USO Exhibit showcases a decade-by-decade timeline illustrating the USO’s history with life size murals, photographs and memorabilia ranging from “Who We Are” to “What We Do”. Nostalgic panels highlight current programs, USO locations and entertainment tour veterans beginning in the 1940’s with legends including Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Lena Horne, Danny Kaye and Sammy Davis Jr. to name a few. Additional USO Tour veterans like Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and recent USO Tour entertainers like Robin Williams, Toby Keith and Stephen Colbert are also featured. In addition, a dual video display continuously plays historic footage of the USO in action from World War II through the Vietnam War alongside video of today’s USO delivering its special brand of service to the military.

The USO Exhibit will be added to the Pentagon Tour where the current displays highlight significant moments in military history. The Pentagon Tours fall under the purview of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and host more than 100,000 visitors annually.

The USO and Admiral Mike Mullen

Earlier this month, Admiral Mike Mullen made his tenth and final USO visit overseas as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with comedian, Jon Stewart, magician David Blaine and Hall of Famer Karl Malone. His six-day, three-country visit went through Kandahar Airfield, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Geronimo, FOB Delhi, Bagram Airfield, among others. The tour was designed to deliver a much-needed break to those on the front lines, by giving them an opportunity to mingle with some of their favorite stars.

The USO has worked with the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since 2000. Admiral Mullen led his first USO tour in December 2007.  In total, he has led 10 USO tours to 14 different countries, lifting the spirits of more than 79,200 service men and women.  He has also enlisted the support of 41 USO tour veterans, including Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lewis Black, Lance Armstrong, Roger Goodell, Drew Brees, Bradley Cooper, Anna Kournikova, David Robinson, among many others. Among the countries he has toured with the USO are Spain, Italy, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, Germany, Ireland, Oman, Kosovo, the United Kingdom, Qatar and Kyrgyzstan.

Quotes (in order of appearance):

Attributed to Michael L. Rhodes, Director of Administration and Management:

“It is a true honor to be able to recognize the wonderful partnership of the Department of Defense and the USO, a partnership that has lasted over 70 years. Personally, I’m the son of an Army Sargent Major, I have served as a soldier, and I have spent my entire career, after I graduated college, with the Department of Defense. So from many perspectives, I have been able to see that partnership and that relationship, and see how impactful it can be."

Attributed to Honorable William J. Lynn, Deputy Secretary of Defense:

            “For 70 years, they have been supporting our troops wherever they go. I‘ve personally in         the 90’s seen the USO’s contributions in Kosovo and Bosnia and then in Afghanistan and    Iraq. Also the medical facilities are a big presence in Landstuhl and of course at             Bethesda, and just until recently Walter Reed as well as Ft. Belvoir. They bring so much           to our troops and to their families. They’re known for their celebrity tours that you see,    starting going back to the era of Bob Hope. That’s certainly an important morale boost that they still do… But they do so much more in terms of care packages, phone cards, whatever it is the troops and their families need.”

Attributed to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

“I’ve been impressed with both how the USO has assessed itself, as well as how it looks to what it needs to do in the future. And it’s on a great, great glide slope with a terrific vision and a terrific plan. I know from the Pentagon’s standpoint, continuing to be a part of that and a partner in that is something we very much look forward to. Words cannot capture all the difference that the USO has made. It’s an incredible group of people at the USO, headed up by an extraordinary individual, who I have watched come in and change the model. It was time to move forward in a way that represents where we all need to be going in the future, with respect to our men and women and support for them, in incredibly concrete ways that make a difference in their lives.”  

Attributed to Sloan D. Gibson, USO President and CEO:

“As you go through the exhibit, I want to ask you to look past the troops and look past the celebrities because you are going to see a constant that’s existed for the 70 years of this organization, and that’s our volunteers. They were here back in WWII when we had, believe it or not, 3,000 USO centers all manned by volunteers. At whistle stops and bus stations all over the country, they were there making a difference. And today, we have tens of thousands of volunteers that are still there making a difference. It’s really these volunteers and the 2 million donors that we have that make the USO America’s way to show its appreciation to troops and families. That’s what makes us unique.”

Multimedia:

Social Media and Other Web Sites:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/the_USO and www.twitter.com/thejointstaff

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theUSO, http://www.facebook.com/admiralmikemullen, and

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/USO4troops

Web: http://www.uso.org and http://www.jcs.mil/

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Gayle Fishel

703-908-6433

gfishel@uso.org

About the USO

The USO (United Service Organizations) lifts the spirits of America’s troops and their families millions of times each year at hundreds of places worldwide.  We provide a touch of home through centers at airports and military bases, top quality entertainment and innovative programs and services. We also provide critical support to those who need us most, including forward-deployed troops and their families, wounded warriors and their families and the families of the fallen.

The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. We rely on the generosity of our volunteers and donors.  In addition to individual donors and other corporate sponsors, the USO is supported by Worldwide Strategic Partners: American Airlines, AT&T Inc., BAE Systems, The Boeing Company, Clear Channel Communications, The Coca-Cola Company, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Procter & Gamble and TriWest Healthcare Alliance. We are also supported through the United Way and Combined Federal Campaign (CFC-11381).  To join us in this patriotic mission and to learn more about the USO, please visit www.uso.org.

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