Country music star and Army reservist Craig Morgan has been announced as the newest USO Global Ambassador, joining the current team that includes David Boreanaz, Vanessa Lachey and Wilmer Valderrama, among others.
“We’re so excited to welcome Craig as a USO Global Ambassador after more than 20 years of supporting the USO,” said USO Vice President of Communications Jennifer Passey. “As a service member himself, Craig understands what military life is like and how meaningful these moments of connection can be. We’re incredibly grateful for the way he continues to give back through his music and for his genuine appreciation for those who serve.”
“It’s exciting,” Morgan told Military Families Magazine. “I have said in my career — because of my relationship with the military and having served for so long — that two things that were important to me that if I could accomplish it while I’m doing this. One was be a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the other was to serve as the ambassador for the USO. I always had such a great deal of respect for [the USO].”
Morgan has volunteered with the USO for over 24 years and received the USO Merit Award in 2006. However, he said he still looks to one particular USO icon as an example of service: the legendary Bob Hope.
“When you think about the USO, you think of Bob Hope: a musician, an entertainer who really was the face of the USO… I’m not trying to say I’m Bob Hope by any means, but I really wanted to fill that role and try to pick up where he left off and run with the baton.”
‘Sense of gratitude… sense of humility’
Morgan has a unique understanding of the importance of the USO from both the service member and volunteer perspectives; he has served in the Army and Army Reserve for almost 20 years, including in the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
“I understand the sense of gratitude that [service members] have, and now on this side [as an ambassador], I have this sense of humility,” Morgan said.
“…the USO is very honored to be able to take care of our service members.”
Taking ‘home’ to deployed service members
Morgan has visited 56 bases in 18 countries with the USO in his 24 years of volunteering, with 12 USO tours overseas. He shared why the USO tours are so meaningful to him, including his most recent visit to the Middle East.
“Anytime that we go to a place like that, we really are bringing home to them because they’re so far from home. I have learned that it gives them a renewed sense of energy and hope and an appreciation for the fact that they do hear from us that home is grateful for their service and for what they’re doing,” Morgan said.
“For me, one of the most rewarding thing is hearing the service members talk about our presence there gives them energy and hope to get through the rest of their deployment,” he went on.
“Just recently on a trip, and we were in a place that was… just [a] difficult place — again, [it’s] not home — and to have the service members come up and say, ‘you know, I’ve been here for three months,’ or ‘I’ve been here for six months, and now that y’all have come, I feel like I can get through the rest of this deployment without any problems.’ That’s probably one of the most rewarding things that we hear.”
‘Thank you’
The USO Global Ambassador had one final message before ending our interview:
“Thank you to all the families that are out there. They’re standing in line here at home while their loved ones are abroad, and their service is not overlooked as well. So thank you… and tell my 82nd Airborne Division family I said hello.”
