United Service Organizations

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"USO" redirects here, for other uses see USO (disambiguation)

The United Service Organizations

The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military worldwide.

1 Background
2 Financials
3 In the News
4 Notable modern entertainers
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Background

The USO was founded in 1941 in response to a request from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide morale and recreation services to uniformed military personnel. This request led six civilian agencies -- the Salvation Army, YMCA, YWCA, NCCS, NTAA and the NJWB -- to unite in support of the troops. The USO was incorporated in New York February 4, 1941.

USO centers and clubs opened around the world as a “Home Away from Home” for GIs. The local USO was a place to go for dances and social events, for movies and music, for a quiet place to talk or write a letter home, or for a free cup of coffee and a doughnut. The USO also brought Hollywood celebrities and volunteer entertainers to perform for the troops.

At its high point in 1944, the USO had more than 3,000 clubs, and curtains were rising on USO shows 700 times a day. From 1941 to 1947, the USO presented more than 400,000 performances, featuring entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, James Stewart, Danny Kaye, The Rockettes, Al Jolson, Fred Astaire, the Andrews Sisters, Joe E. Brown, Lucille Ball, Glenn Miller, Martha Raye, Mickey Rooney, Betty Hutton, Dinah Shore, and most famously, Bob Hope.

In 1950, when the United States entered the Korean War, the USO once again brought its services and entertainment tours, including Errol Flynn, Debbie Reynolds, Terry Moore, and Marilyn Monroe, to the troops. This effort continued after the war ended, and the USO expanded to serve the more than one million troops who remained stationed overseas. During the 1960s, as tensions escalated in Vietnam, the USO began to open centers in combat zones. The 23 centers in Vietnam and Thailand served as many as a million service members a month, and the USO presented more than 5,000 performances during the Vietnam War featuring stars such as John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Sammy Davis Jr., Phyllis Diller, Martha Raye, Joey Heatherton, Wayne Newton, Jayne Mansfield, Redd Foxx, Rosey Grier, Anita Bryant, Nancy Sinatra, Lola Falana, and (of course) Bob Hope. In addition, the USO operates centers at major US airports to provide a lounge and place to sleep for servicemen between their flights.

Comedian and political commentator Al Franken entertains troops at Ramstein Air Base, December 2000.

To support troops participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, USO centers opened in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Qatar. USO centers number more than 120 around the world. Recently, the USO opened the Rocky Mountain USO Center at Denver International Airport and a second center in Kuwait. The USO provides a variety of programs and services, including orientation programs, family events, travel assistance, free Internet and e-mail access, and recreation services.

Military personnel and their families visit USO centers more than five million times each year.

A nonprofit, charitable organization, the USO receives donations from private citizens, foundations, organizations and corporations. Additionally, the USO receives significant funding and support from the US Department of Defense. In fiscal years 2000 through 2002, the DOD provided at least $34.7 million in direct USO support.

From 2002 to today, the WWE - the world's largest wrestling federation - created a "Tribute to the Troops" special that is aired every Christmas evening in the United States. The WWE and USO visited Afghanistan and Iraq in recent times to entertain soldiers on the battlefields during the wars against the Taliban and Iraqi militias. [1]

[edit] Financials

Edward A. Powell is identified as current president & CEO, receiving compensation totalling $312,299 (2004 compensation, including annual salary, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances). It has a paid staff of approximately 240. Additionally, more than 26,000 USO volunteers provide an estimated 371,417 hours of service annually. As reported by the USO, the unpaid volunteer to paid employee ratio overseas is 20 to 1. Within the United States, the number is "significantly higher".

A former president is Vietnam Vet, Senator Chuck Hagel.

The following information is based on USO's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2004:

Source of Funds
In-kind contributions	$70,979,951
Public appeals	$21,741,417
USO center revenue	$15,624,947
Corporate, foundation and individual giving	$8,112,212
Investment income	$3,490,272
Entertainment sponsorships	$1,931,863
United Way, CFC and other federated	$1,051,113
Rental and other income	$300,099
Total Income	$123,231,874

Expenses
Program expenses	$100,904,086
Fund raising expenses	$8,907,075
Administrative expenses	$4,487,565
Total expenses	$114,298,726

In 1943, a United States Liberty ship named the SS U.S.O. was launched. She was scrapped in 1967.

[edit] In the News

In December 2003, the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a 40-page study which reported that the USO treated entertainers to approximately $433,000 of taxpayer money for luxury expenses, including 50 business- and first-class tickets worth about $76,000, limousine services and airport lounge costs of $3,054, alcohol, and $343,910 in various unsupported production support items and celebrity honorarium payments from 2000 through 2002. One example cited was the reimbursement of one unnamed celebrity $27,000, as well as a payment of $56,520 to an unnamed production tour manager, both without supporting documentation. Such expenses, while not improper in and of themselves, were paid for with taxpayer funds provided by Congress, rather than from private donations.

In a public response to the GAO report and the Los Angeles Times article surrounding it, the USO blamed the run-ups on inexperienced employees and poor bookkeeping, ultimately realigning the entertainment accounting function to full-time staff in their financial management office. They also reiterated the GAO report finding that there was no improper behavior on the part of any of the entertainers involved with the tours cited in the GAO report and no evidence of malfeasance on the part of any employees.

[edit] Notable modern entertainers

The following is a partial list of USO performers, since 2001.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

United Service Organizations

Official web site: USO Home
Official web site: USO of San Diego
Official web site: USO of Metropolitan New York
Other web site: USO Clubs in World War II

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../u/n/i/United_Service_Organizations_68ed.html"

Categories: Military of the United States | 1941 establishments

United Service Organizations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[edit] Background

[edit] Financials

[edit] In the News

[edit] Notable modern entertainers

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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