The outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19, hasn’t stopped the United Service Organizations (USO), the Navy Exchange (NEX) and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) office at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola from their mission of supporting service members.

Together these agencies have been diligently working to provide not only morale items to the Sailors, Marines, Coast Guard and Airmen students training at NAS Pensacola, but in some cases, alleviating the fear and worry that has occurred due to the pandemic.

For the NEX, their mission is to improve the quality of life for the base residents.

According to Steve Foster, NEX general manager, “NAS Pensacola is special because the community is mostly comprised of students and the [NEX] wants to keep their quality of life going during this pandemic.”

The NEX, along with the staff at the MWR and the Liberty Center/Single Sailor program, have gathered and distributed over 2,000 packs of playing cards, as well as, pallets of candy, snacks and sodas from various venders for the service members residing in the barracks.  

One special arrangement the NEX has implemented during this time is the “Quarantine Program.” An unprecedented plan of action that allows students who are unable to leave the barracks to order what they need from the NEX. A NEX employee gathers the order, bags it, and delivers it to the student.

The USO, which is a prominent non-profit organization within every military installation, has been assisting the NEX and the MWR in their efforts to support the service members at NAS Pensacola. Known as the “Force behind the Forces,” Dana Cervantes, the senior director of the USO Northwest Florida Chapter, said that the USO on NAS Pensacola “desperately miss having their doors open, but their mission hasn’t stopped.”

The USO has adjusted their programs due to the restraints that the COVID-19 virus has placed on them and reformulated their approach to how they bring their benefits to the service members. The Northwest Florida USO team has ramped up their donation endeavors by coordinating large food donations from local restaurants, provided personal hygiene kits to the students and through various philanthropic partners and generous donations from the local community, the USO has been able to serve up to 150 service members at a time between the many different barracks and bases they rotate through in their widespread service network.

The outbreak of the coronavirus, COVID-19, hasn’t stopped the United Service Organizations (USO), the Navy Exchange (NEX) and the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) office at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola from their mission of supporting service members.

Together these agencies have been diligently working to provide not only morale items to the Sailors, Marines, Coast Guard and Airmen students training at NAS Pensacola, but in some cases, alleviating the fear and worry that has occurred due to the pandemic.

For the NEX, their mission is to improve the quality of life for the base residents.

According to Steve Foster, NEX general manager, “NAS Pensacola is special because the community is mostly comprised of students and the [NEX] wants to keep their quality of life going during this pandemic.”

The NEX, along with the staff at the MWR and the Liberty Center/Single Sailor program, have gathered and distributed over 2,000 packs of playing cards, as well as, pallets of candy, snacks and sodas from various venders for the service members residing in the barracks.  

One special arrangement the NEX has implemented during this time is the “Quarantine Program.” An unprecedented plan of action that allows students who are unable to leave the barracks to order what they need from the NEX. A NEX employee gathers the order, bags it, and delivers it to the student.

The USO, which is a prominent non-profit organization within every military installation, has been assisting the NEX and the MWR in their efforts to support the service members at NAS Pensacola. Known as the “Force behind the Forces,” Dana Cervantes, the senior director of the USO Northwest Florida Chapter, said that the USO on NAS Pensacola “desperately miss having their doors open, but their mission hasn’t stopped.”

The USO has adjusted their programs due to the restraints that the COVID-19 virus has placed on them and reformulated their approach to how they bring their benefits to the service members. The Northwest Florida USO team has ramped up their donation endeavors by coordinating large food donations from local restaurants, provided personal hygiene kits to the students and through various philanthropic partners and generous donations from the local community, the USO has been able to serve up to 150 service members at a time between the many different barracks and bases they rotate through in their widespread service network.

For more information on the USO, visit www.uso.org or www.uso.org/northwestflorida for information about the USO Northwest Florida chapter. More about the MWR, the Liberty Center, the Single Sailor program, the NEX and other programs offered at NAS Pensacola can be found at: www.navymwrpensacola.com and www.mynavyexchange.com.

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For more news from Naval Air Station Pensacola, visit www.navy.mil/.