Supermodel Mayra Veronica shows off the official 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment T-shirt with Sgt. Maj. Richard Mathern, the 2/8 sergeant major, on Forward Operating Base Hanson, Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 20. Veronica and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese visited Marines and sailors as part of a USO tour.

Bob Griese drops back to pass. He sees his target is wide open, and with a quick release he delivers the football to his receiver’s hands.

Except this time Griese was not playing in Joe Robbie Stadium and he was not throwing to his favorite receiver, Paul Warfield. The NFL Hall of Fame quarterback was at Forward Operating Base Hanson, Helmand province, Afghanistan, throwing to Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Carlo Carbonell, a hospitalman with Headquarters and Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment.

Carbonell, a native of Rockville, Md., just so happened to be throwing a football with his buddies when the two-time Super Bowl champion walked through the Hesco barriers alongside supermodel Mayra Veronica. Griese quickly spotted Carbonell and said, “I’m open!” Carbonell obliged him, not realizing he was throwing to a former NFL star.

“I thought it was just a one-time thing, but he threw it back,” Carbonell said. “Then he kept wanting it. I played catch for about a minute with a Hall of Fame quarterback. That’s pretty cool. Not a lot of people can say that.”

Griese, of Evansville, Ind., along with Veronica, a popular pinup girl among Marines, visited Marines and sailors of 2/8, for a USO tour in Afghanistan, April 20.

This was Griese’s first time participating in a USO tour.

“It’s a pleasure to get out and see our young men working in the field,” Griese said. “I’ve always been interested in the USO and going out and seeing our troops in different countries. Coach [Don] Shula went on one and said he had a great time.

“The more you see the background, you just know that [U.S. Forces] are really prepared. We know what we’re doing and it makes me feel safe.”

The one thing that really stood out to Griese was how Marines work as a team.

“Wherever I go and whatever camp I’m in, I see a bunch of over achievers, team players that are molded together by some of the finest men running the team. These guys could play on any one of my teams.”

For Veronica, who is also an official spokesperson for the USO, this was her fourth tour visiting troops in Afghanistan. However, this was her first time being able to visit a FOB. Hanson, which is located outside of Marjah, is considered one of the safer FOBs in the area, but only after a year of hard-fought battles with insurgents.

“I’m not going to lie, it is a little bit nerve-racking at times,” said Veronica, of Miami. “It’s nothing compared to the work the troops do for us. They’re here battling it out every day.”

Though this is not her first time visiting Marines, Veronica says she is the one who benefits the most after being with them.

“One of the things I’ve always taken from the Marines, and the service members in general, is the sense of heroism that you don’t see often see in the states,” Veronica said. “They are brave souls. The way they give back to us is so amazing. You leave here a new person. You leave here with a different set of values and priorities.”

DVIDS
Story by Lance Cpl. Bryan Nygaard

Senior Master Sgt. Robert Childress, right, directs family members from Japan to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport USO March 19, 2011. More than 230 DoD personnel and family members landed at Sea-Tac in what is to be the first flight of many arriving from Japan.

Members of Team McChord helped welcome 233 Department of Defense personnel and family members who voluntarily departed Japan after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck the island March 11th.

“This is a tremendous team effort from the entire Joint Base community aimed at easing a difficult time for DoD families,” said Col. Kevin Kilb, 62nd Airlift Wing commander.

The first wave of family members, including 190 children and nine pets, arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) Saturday morning.

The operation, led by U.S. Army North and carried out by Team McChord Airmen as well as Soldiers, Sailors and the USO, received, accounted for, and provided immediate support to DoD family members as they arrived in the U.S.

“It was a long flight with lots of turbulence,” said one passenger, “I’m happy to be on the ground, I’m happy to be here, and I’ll really be happy when I make it to my family in Atlanta.”

The ten hour flight took off from Yokota Air Base, Japan, and is the first of many expected to bring family members from the country.

After arrival and customs, passengers were met by members of the 62nd Airlift Wing, the 627 Air Base Group, Joint-Base Lewis McChord, the USO and Naval Base Kitsap, who helped them with their luggage and escorted them to the Joint Reception Coordination Center.

At the Joint Reception Coordination Center a support team of members of several military services assisted travelers with financial concerns, travel arrangements to final destinations, and legal and medical assistance.

“Everyone’s been really helpful,” said a military spouse traveling with her two daughters. “It may look like chaos with all these people in here at once but it’s nice to know there’s this much support.”

Staff Sgt. Nickolas Milton, 62 AW Comptroller Squadron, said he was glad to be part of the operation.

“I’ve been able to help with some finance questions,” said Sergeant Milton. “Finance is the last thing people need to worry about during a situation like this.”

The next flight is expected to arrive on Monday with additional flights planned.

“I’m proud of the team and their great work and pleased we have the opportunity to welcome and take care of these family members,” said Colonel Kilb. “We’re very grateful of the heroic support of the USO at SEATAC.

by Laura McAndrews
62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Air Force

The familiar refrain of “There’s nothing to do around here after work” will hopefully be a thing of the past with the opening of a new center for rest and relaxation.

The local United Service Organizations (USO) office and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) coordinator for 34th Red Bull Infantry Division are teaming up to create an oasis in the middle of the Basrah desert for servicemembers and civilians to escape the pressure of operations.

Sarah McConnell, USO director here, said the center, housed in a former dining hall, already has undergone a “soft opening,” meaning there are some services already available.

“We have 13 Internet stations set up already, along with 18 phone lines for people to call home,” McConnell said. “Both services are free of charge to anyone who uses them.

“We wanted to get something started for the troops here right away,” she continued. “We’re not fully functional yet, but we got the computers and phones set up so we could at least offer some services.”

The USO center is designed from the same template as a similar facility that opened recently at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, according to Army Col. Ronald Albrecht, deputy chief of staff for the 34th Infantry Division.

The USO will share the space with MWR, Albrecht said.

The fitness center is under construction now and has a target opening of July 1, said Army Sgt. 1st Class Deborah Allen, MWR and event coordinator for the 34th Infantry Division.

In addition to cardiovascular machines already in place, the fitness center will feature Nautilus equipment, free weights and ample space for aerobic training and various self-defense classes, including Modern Army Combatives, she added.

“We will be putting padding on the floors and walls in one of the large rooms for combatives training,” Allen said. “We will still have a large amount of space on the other side of the room for additional fitness machines.”

Albrecht said the fitness center will be an important part of the division’s emphasis on physical fitness.

“We wanted to create a clean environment for Soldiers to work out,” Albrecht said. “We’ll have all new machines in place for them to train.”

Though the USO and MWR areas will be separated by a wall, extensive cooperation between the two has marked a positive beginning for the cohabitants.

“Cooperation with [the USO] has been splendid,” Allen said. “I really look forward to working with them in this building.”

McConnell added that she is appreciative of the help she has received from the military in making the USO presence a possibility here.

“I am very grateful to the military leadership here for the generous space allotted to the USO,” she said. “Thanks to them, their Soldiers will have a place to escape when they are able.”

Soldiers who are interested in volunteering with the USO may sign up at the center, McConnell said.

“The USO thrives on volunteers,” she said. “They are the backbone of everything we do.”

MNF-I
By Army Sgt. Frank Vaughn
Multi-National Division – South

Chief Master-at-Arms Michael Minotto, assigned to Riverine Squadron 2, explains the functions of the M4 Battle Rifle to actress Hilarie Burton from the show, “One Tree Hill”. Burton is on a scheduled United Service Organizations trip to Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael R. Hinchcliffe/Released)