Talk:United Service Organizations

2017 comment
What happened to all the accurate information concerning USO indiscretions? Whittled away by USO PR while Wikipedia looks away? Is Wikipedia simply "ad space" for these entities now? What gives?

Wikipedia: you allow FAR too much discretion in allowing the entities themselves to toot their own horn (and to remove derogatory, yet truthful information) at will, greatly damaging the reputation of Wikipedia.

--JJ-- — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:6:2347:D433:2CF1:BE2B:54D0:802C (talk) 15:36, 8 November 2017 (UTC)

2018 comment
Grade inaccuracy: In November and December 1968 Jennie and Terrie Frankel (the Doublemint Twins) performed in Vietnam with the USO - Hollywood Overseas Committee[29] and were shepherded around Vietnam by escort officers (USO Performers were given GS15 ratings[clarification needed], equivalent to generals, to help maintain their safety) to entertain troops in the field, where larger USO shows could not perform.

I've never done this before, so apologize if I break standards, but GS15 is US COL (O-6) equivalent, not "equivalent to generals." Source being that I was a GS14, and there are plenty of resources online WRT the US Federal Government to confirm — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.81.94.76 (talk) 11:47, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

General Comments
Over the years, everything objective in this article has been whittled out by the USO propaganda machine. This is now a USO advertisement. For example, the references to their CEO earning nearly half a million dollars a year, along with his military retirement pay. While many of the lower echelon employees and volunteers truly serve the military members, the mid- and upper staff shaves cream off the top. Company cars from sponsors and more. Management, you should be ashamed although I doubt you have any ounce of it in you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.246.251.6 (talk) 23:29, 24 November 2012 (UTC)

I was coming in here to make a similar comment. I don't know anything about the USO, and came to this page to learn about it. It's painfully obvious that this article has been massaged by USO employees or people who believe that the USO is pretty damn amazing. Also, can someone please explain why there's an entire subsection on Bob Hope? Anybody? Please?
 * The first paragraph of the section implies his personal contributions were unique, it seems. --Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 04:38, 1 December 2012 (UTC)

I find it disgusting that here in Afghanistan some of the employees of the USO have taken it upon themselves to put up signs inside that say "snacks and beverages are for uniformed military only". Kind of a kick in the nuts to a retired Sergeant Major who spent 30 years telling his troops what a great organization USO was and that they should donate to it. Meanwhile these same clowns have the audacity to allow THEIR civilian (likely never served a day in their lives) friends and foreign troops to take whatever they want. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.255.195.66 (talk) 18:25, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

I'm very much inclined to agree with this - at least from the tone of the introduction, the article reads somewhat like some sort of promotional material for the USO, even if it doesn't seem to be overtly advertising it. Anyone feel if adding a neutrality tag would be suitable here? Morningcrow (talk) 09:38, 19 December 2013 (UTC)

Europe Tour in 1942
"Songwriter Irving Berlin took the entire 100-person, all-soldier cast of his Broadway production “This Is the Army,” on tour in Europe in 1942, raising nearly $10 million for the Army Emergency Relief Fund."

This seems a little odd, as a European tour wouldn't have been possible before 1943 as Europe was enemy-occupied. IMDB confirms the "This Is The Army" film is from 1943; would it be possible to get a source for this tour? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.74.92.208 (talk) 18:55, 5 November 2010 (UTC)

March 2009 overhaul
While the cleanup was excellent, we're left with a wiki which continues to look more like one of the USO's own press releases. When factual entries are even remotely negative, they're removed or edited. The USO president's compensation is mysteriously absent now. If we want slant, we can all go view the USO's $1,000,000 (yes, $1 million) website. I prefer to believe we want encyclopedic truths. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.45.122.180 (talk) 13:48, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

Grammatical Error
The second sentence in the quote below, found in this article, "21:22, 18 May 2006", appears to be lacking a main verb. I would fix this myself, but I am busy/tired. "From 1941 to 1947, the USO presented more than 400,000 performances. Entertainers such as Bing Crosby, Ann Sheridan, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, Fred Astaire, the Andrews Sisters, Joe E. Brown, Glenn Miller, Martha Raye and most famously, Bob Hope."

Mathematical error in Financials
I'm still new at Wiki editing so bear with me. I did notice that the the table listing the financials did not add up correctly. I noticed a $237,349 discrepancy. If there is no objections I would like to modify the table using data from the 2012 annual report — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deano252 (talk • contribs) 11:50, 21 June 2013 (UTC)

About the picture
A couple times, an anon has removed Image:Miss USO.jpg. I think the image is a good illistration of USO entertainment. A good arguement could be made for showing other entertainers (if there's a PD picture). I would like anybody objecting to the image, to please explain their objections. Also, I note that the latest anon is User:65.165.212.164, which, interestingly, resolves to "United States - District Of Columbia - Washington Navy Yard - Uso World Headquarters". So I would be quite interested in why you don't like the photo. If a good reason is given, than the image will be removed. But just taking it out, without comment, will likely just be reverted. I note, that as the image is a work of a person employed by the U.S. government (U.S. marine Cpl. Lameen Witter), it is public domain. The same image is currently on public display on a marine web site. So, its not like this is an unauthorized reproduction. --Rob 14:59, 14 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I am not the original person who removed the image but the current picture is clearly an inappropriate use of an animated GIF. While not explicitly forbidden in the MOS, animated GIFs detract from the legibility of the page and should be avoided unless justifiable by a reason beyond vanity (e.g. animiated GIF illustrating the movement of a mechanism or time progression of a graph). Please extract out one frame and use that instead, or choose several and insert as separate images. Please note this is strictly a technical objection. I have nothing against the content of the images.


 * Because the objection to the slide-show (animated gif) is one of affecting legibility, I wonder if a consensus would be reasonable. As the article is mostly about entertaining troops, some might feel that the slide-show format in this case is reasonable, and probably better than a single image. --Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 20:16, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

United Service Organizations
Rob, the reasons the picture of Miss USO has been taken down are:


 * There is no such person as Miss USO. The person depicted is a former Miss USO of Metropolitan NY, but she in no way represents the USO world headquarters mission.
 * Only about 20 percent of the USO's mission is entertainment. If an entertainment photo is going to be used, it should be one that represents USO-sponsored entertainment, not a singing troupe that is  authorized to perform only in the greater NYC area.  More than than, though, as important as our entertainers are, we want people to know that the USO is about the day-to-day, 365 days a year service of people at USO centers around the world.  More than 33,000 volunteers deliver a consistent message of support to troops -- most of whom never see a USO show during their military tours.
 * If it seems this is coming from the USO, there's a reason for that.  It is.  One of my jobs here is to do all I can to ensure that our brand is portrayed properly.  I will continue to do that.  A member of our staff has been assigned to monitor online use of the USO and its mission, and she is the person who has been taking down that picture -- at my direction and encouragement.
 * There are a lot of public domain photos out there, and most of them have nothing to do with the USO. The one of the Metro NY USO troupe is fine for the NYC USO's website, but not for an entry in an international source for information.

Thanks for understanding

John Hanson Senior VP, Marketing and Communication —This unsigned comment is by 65.165.212.164 (talk • contribs).


 * A more constructive approach is suggest another photo, that's in the public domain, that better illustrates USO entertainment. Also, I would point out, there is an issue apart from the picture.  This is a Wikipedia page, and it is about the USO, but is not run by the USO.  You're welcome to explain mistakes/misunderstandings (as you've done, and are thanked for).  But you are not going to control, or direct the content of this page.  Aside from the picture, there have been a number of other anon edits (probably through the USO) which have been promotional in nature.  That's not ok.  Any, and all information on this page, should be neutral in tone.  As an example "Today, the USO is alive and well, observing 65 years of serving our men and women in uniform and their families around the world." is totally unacceptable in tone.  That's advertising, and its not allowed (Also, they are not "our" men and women, because this ain't an American-only place).  So feel free to participate, and edit the article (I suggest getting one account for your org), but only to provide neutral independently verifiable information.  (p.s. I removed the photo, for now, and wish to find a better one)--Rob 19:18, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Suggested improvements
Here's some things I think this article needs:
 * A complete explanation of the structure of the organization, and its subunits
 * A breakdown of where its resources come from, and go to (with neutral sources, of course)
 * A non-promotional explanation of non-tour things the organiation does. A lot of info has been removed for being promotional, but it needs to come back, in a neutral manner.
 * A good explanation of system oversight and control of the organization.

I think a problem with this article, is that some editors are informed, but bias; while other editors are neutral but uninformed (I'm guilty of not being informed). We need informed editors, to put in neutral, accurate, verified, sourced information. --Rob 19:28, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

Rob, I've tried to make an effort at expounding a bit on points 2 and 4. Unfortunately I haven't provided much in the way of citations there but I hope to come back and enhance a bit over time. Hopefully noone will maliciously remove the information that I've posted thus far. 84.166.245.100 23:52, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

How many organizations?
"The United Service Organizations (USO) is a volunteer organization ..." is intrinsically confusing. Is it one organization or several? JackofOz 12:56, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
 * As far as I know, it is an organization of organizations. That seems perfectly reasonable. But the article, does need to be improved to better explain the inter-relationships. --Rob 21:52, 30 April 2006 (UTC)
 * It's perfectly reasonable to have a structure whereby Organization A comprises organizations B, C and D etc. But to give Organization A a plural name seems crazy to me.  As an analogy, the Commonwealth of Nations consists of a number of countries, some of which are republics, some of which are monarchies, and some of which are themselves commonwealths.  The Commonwealth is still a single entity and therefore takes a singular name.  It is not "the Commonwealths".  Maybe it's just my crazy antipodean logic.  JackofOz 06:45, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
 * I guesse it's like "The United States" which can be used as a singular word referring to the federation (the modern standard) or a plural word referring the states (more common in the past). Anyway, I think the main justification for the current wording, is that the USO itself, refers to itself, in the singular, not the plural.  It just doesn't look "funny" when they do it, because they always use the abbreviation "USO", instead of spelling it out (putting the spelled out name in brackets). --Rob 07:27, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
 * That makes sense now. The USA analogy reminds me of the United Nations, which we have no difficulty in conceptualising as a single entity.  But if you give it its full title United Nations Organisation, and extend that to the USO, you'd end up with United Service Organizations Organization.  I now see why they kept it the way it is, despite the risk of crackpots like me quibbling from time to time.  Cheers  JackofOz 11:07, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Additional sources
The following are some references that could be used to add quotes and cite various parts of the article, especially the lead section which might benefit from more details. The text is verbatim from the source listed so feel free to use anything. Wikiwatcher1 (talk) 23:49, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

The Columbia Encyclopedia
United Service Organizations (USO), organization that supplies social, recreational, welfare, and spiritual facilities to members of the armed services. The associated agencies include the YMCA, the YWCA, the National Catholic Community Service, the Salvation Army, the Jewish Welfare Board, and the National Travelers Aid Association. USO was organized in 1941; its services, discontinued at the end of 1947, were resumed early in 1949 at the request of President Truman. With programs in over 120 centers worldwide, it is supported by voluntary contributions.

The Oxford Companion to American Military History
USO —the United Service Organizations—is a civilian, voluntary, nonprofit organization serving the morale needs of U.S. military personnel and their families worldwide. Although congressionally chartered, it is not a government agency and is supported by individual and corporate donations, United Way, and Combined Federal Campaign. USO was created on 4 February 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who determined that private organizations should handle the on‐leave recreation of the rapidly growing U.S. military. Six civilian agencies—the Salvation Army, Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), National Catholic Community Services, National Travelers Aid Association, and National Jewish Welfare Board—coordinated their civilian war efforts to form the USO.

During World War II, USO became the G.I.'s “home away from home,” and began a tradition of entertaining the troops that continues today. Comedian Bob Hope presented his first USO tour in 1942, a practice he continued into the 1990s. USO regrouped in 1950 for the Korean War, after which it was recommended that USO also provide peacetime services. During the Vietnam War, USOs were located in combat zones.

USO began a new era of social services in the 1970s and 1980s. A 1987 Memorandum of Understanding between USO and the Department of Defense named USO as the principal channel representing civilian concern for American forces worldwide. In the 1990s USO delivered services to 5 million active duty service members and their families. Through 125 airport, fleet, family and community centers, mobile canteens, and celebrity entertainment, USO continues to be a touch of home to America's troops.

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre
Stage Door Canteen (New York). This cabaret and dining room was established during World War II to entertain soldiers free of charge. It was founded by the American Theatre Wing and the USO (United Service Organization). The first and principal one was established in the basement of the 44th Street Theatre. Broadway performers and others passing through New York offered their services gratis, not merely entertaining but often serving as waiters and dishwashers. Irving Berlin saluted it in his all‐soldier show, This Is the Army (1942), with the song “I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen.” Similar, smaller establishments were opened in other major theatrical centers, and Los Angeles copied the idea with the popular Hollywood Canteen.

The New York Public Library Book of Popular Americana
Martha Raye (1916- ) Singer, comedienne. Onstage from the age of three, Margaret O'Reed capitalized on a large, plastic mouth and booming voice to forge a successful career in vaudeville, Broadway, and Hollywood. Her USO tours in three wars earned her a 1969 special Academy Award.

Bob Hope (1903- ) Entertainer. Born Leslie Townes Hope in England, Bob Hope appeared in comedy shorts in the 1930s, then hit it big with the first of many "road" pictures, "The Road to Singapore (1940), costarring his lifelong rival Bing CROSBY and Dorothy Lamour. His comic timing brought him dozens of other film roles, TV specials, and a nightclub career spanning five decades. At one time the richest comic in the world, he was known for his humanitarian work and his USO tours, on which he entertained U.S. troops in three wars. His theme song is "Thanks for the Memories."

NY Times
The U.S.O. (United Service Organizations) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide morale, welfare and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform. The original intent of Congress - and enduring style of U.S.O. delivery - is to represent the American people by extending a touch of home to the military. The U.S.O. (www.uso.org) currently operates more than 120 centers worldwide, including seven mobile canteens located in the continental United States and overseas. Overseas centers are located in Germany, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Iceland, Japan, Qatar, Korea, Afghanistan, Guam, and Kuwait. Service members and their families visit U.S.O. centers more than 5 million times each year.

Why?
Why is this poorly written sentence in the article?:


 * "From June 8 to 11, 2009, T.V. personality Stephen Colbert traveled to Iraq to film his show The Colbert Report for four days in a USO sponsored event."

If no one has any objections, I'll remove it.PokeHomsar (talk) 07:52, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Unsourced additions from one who was there
User talk:TwinsofSedona, who is apparently one of the original Doublemint Twins, has added unsourced material based on her personal attendance with the 1968 chicago USO tour. I really hope we can get sources on this somehow. she has added 2 nice images, here and here, to the Commons, which might be appropriate here. oh, heres a link: Mercurywoodrose (talk) 05:53, 27 June 2013 (UTC)

List Of WWII Entertainers Cleanup
The list of entertainers during World War II seems awfully messy and perhaps it could be reorganized into more of a list form. If it's going to be too long for this page, perhaps it could be done as a separate page. (Satanhhh (talk) 10:52, 6 December 2017 (UTC))

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New "List of USO Performers" article?
So I was appalled to see the bulky "List of WWII entertainers section on the page, and really want to move it all to another page. I'm thinking of creating a "List of entertainers who performed for American troops" article. List of entertainers who performed for American troops in Vietnam is one such article, but I think maybe it would make more sense to do it for all wars/time periods with different sections. Figured I'd see if anyone on this page had thoughts before I started doing it. - - mathmitch7 (talk/contribs) 20:19, 18 December 2017 (UTC)


 * I had the same idea, although I haven't done anything with it as I was waiting to see what ::others said on the subject. It's definitely way too bulky and a bit of a cluster.Satanhhh (talk) 10:02, 6 January 2018 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:38, 5 September 2020 (UTC)
 * USO Show Vietnam 1968 Terrie Frankel, Sara Sue, 3 Soldiers, Jennie Frankel.jpg

Jane Hope Hastings
This person has a poor stub and it could be expanded and linked to this article. Bearian (talk) 01:47, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
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 * USO Show Vietnam 1968 Terrie Frankel, Sara Sue, 3 Soldiers, Jennie Frankel.jpg