Travel-weary military service men and women and their families will have some respite from the chaos and commotion of air travel thanks to the new USO Airport Center at Salt Lake International Airport.
The new airport center will provide support for military service members and families serving, training, and traveling through Utah.
The United Service Organizations, or USO, soft-opened the new facility in December of last year and plans a grand opening of the airport center on Feb. 4 according to a news release issued Friday.
The 933 square foot facility will include comfortable furniture for resting, computers and Wi-Fi access, complimentary snacks and beverages, luggage storage, as well as a lounge area with TV entertainment, movies and family games.
“The larger airport has allowed us to provide an exceptional location and space for our military men and women,” said Bill Wyatt, executive director, Salt Lake City Department of Airports. “We hope military members connecting through SLC find rest and relaxation here and that it makes their travels more enjoyable.”
Military members are no strangers to long travel days with multiple layovers. When an enlisted service member receives traveling or relocation orders they often ship out before other members of their family, leaving spouses and children to navigate the trials of travel without the aid of their partner.
The new airport center hopes to alleviate some of the stress of traveling.
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In addition to airport center amenities, USO Utah will provide support operations and program delivery to the five military bases across the state. Support operations include USO transition programming, emotional wellness programming, kid’s camps, and family days officials said.
“I’m excited to share a little bit of Utah with each visitor to the new USO Center,” said new Operations & Programs Manager of USO Utah Nate Vandenberg.
USO Utah is looking for volunteers to join the team of over 30,000 USO volunteers who support local military service members and their families. Those interested in donating or volunteering should visit utah.uso.org.
