SEATTLE — It’s tourist season in Seattle, with tens of thousands of travelers moving through Sea-Tac airport every week, and mixed in with them are military members, not on vacation, but moving to a new base they’ve been assigned.
While tourists may be popping in and out of airline lounges, the military benefits from an exclusive lounge, run by the USO Northwest. They are a non-profit group, reliant on donations and volunteers.
KOMO News talked with a group of young men traveling to their first duty station in the U.S. Marines.
They said they just came from Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, but they’re originally from states across the country, Virginia, Arizona, California, and others. Now they are headed to Okinawa, the first duty station for them, after completing their heavy equipment training.
Alex Milholland, one of the USO volunteers, remembers when the Marines sent him to Okinawa.
“Yeah, I was scared out of my mind. It was the other side of the world. And it was the Marine Corps, so it’s not going for a party or a good time,” Milholland told KOMO News. He was unaware of the USO until he came back from Japan.
“I was one of the very few Marines who maybe didn’t have any family over there, so we went over to the USO. And it was good, we had a whole bunch of food and drinks for ourselves,” Milholland explained.
He served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, and now a realtor who lives in Kent, he’s giving back by volunteering at the USO NW Sea-Tac Center.
“I like it because I get to talk to Marines on their way to Okinawa, which is where I was 22, 23 years ago. So I get to give them a little insight, but no, it’s not the end of the world. Maybe a little close,” Milholland said.
Regardless of where any service member has been for training, duty, or leave, Sea-Tac airport is the designated gateway for all service members stationed in Asia.
“So, mainland Japan, Okinawa, Korea, and Guam. And so they have very long layovers. Some of our people might have 12 or 20-hour layovers. They can’t go through security; they’re in the main terminal, which is before security,” Matthew Sult, the center’s director, told KOMO News.
So, this is why the USO Northwest Sea-Tac Center is located outside security on the mezzanine level of the airport. They provide an airport lounge just for military members and veterans. It is stocked with food and drinks, plus recliners, televisions, a quiet family room, a theatre room, a bunk room, showers, and more.
The service members on flights to Asia must attend a briefing in the middle of the night, sometimes, it’s at midnight, and other times, it’s at 1:30 am. And the flight is scheduled to leave, usually between 5:00 and 9:00 am.
The USO Northwest is a non-profit group, so they rely on donations and volunteers to keep everything here open and stocked.
