Last modified Wed., April 11, 2007 - 04:23 PM
Originally created Thursday, April 12, 2007

New USO Mobile Canteen visits Jax

By Kaylee LaRocque, Editor

The USO's new Mobile Canteen is equipped with a movie theatre, video game room, wireless Internet access and a kitchen to serve the troops out in the field. Photos by Kaylee LaRocque

You may have noticed a somewhat unique recreational vehicle cruising the streets at NAS Jax last week when the new USO Mobile Canteen made its debut here during the annual Capt. Bob Coonan USO Golf Tournament last Thursday. The state-of-the-art recreational center on wheels was also featured at the annual Navy Run, a Jacksonville Sun's game and the Clay County Fair.

The vehicle was recently purchased by USO Headquarters and is homebased in Norfolk, Va. It will be on display at numerous events up and down the east coast to provide a little recreation to military members and to promote the USO. "We go to a variety of events. We have NASCAR events on our schedule, parades, homecomings, USO sponsored events, Fleet Week in N.Y., etc.," said Leigh Edmonds, manager, Programs and Events Mobile USO (Eastern Region). "The USO also purchased this same vehicle for the mid-western area and another one that will handle the west coast."

The vehicle features a movie theatre/lounge area with DVDs and VHS capability, stereo surround sound, X-Box 360 connections, music and a small library. Another area allows four people to play X-Box games or watch movies on separate individual television screens with headsets and the whole vehicle has wireless Internet.

There is also a small kitchen for small snack items and beverages. "We don't have a lot of storage space, so we purchase the items before each event and get rid of everything. We usually provide, drinks, small snack items and donuts," added Edmonds.

"The concept is that it puts the USO on the road and takes the USO to the troops. We can serve more people in different locations by having mobile canteens. It's a rolling advertisement for the USO. It's basically a recreation center and mobile canteen on wheels," said Greater Jacksonville Area USO Executive Director K.C. McCarthy.

Leigh Edmonds, manager, programs and events for the Eastern Region Mobile USO shows off the video game room in the USO Mobile Canteen. Edmonds and her partner, Chuck Lesieur travel up and down the East Coast taking the vehicle to a variety of events to help out military members and to promote the USO.

Edmonds and her partner, Chuck Lesieur plan to spend about 75 percent of the year traveling to different events. "We both drive the vehicle and have commercial licenses. We also do a lot of promotional stuff for the USO because we are non-profit and are always trying to raise money to support our programs," said Edmonds. "It's really a fun job, we get to meet a lot of people and are helping our troops."