USO South Carolina opens new center at Fort Jackson

When a new recruit enters any branch of the armed services, the first day can be traumatic.

No, it’s not the first day of basic training – although that is traumatic. It’s called Military Entrance Processing, or MEPS, where the recruit is given medical checkups, tested for aptitude, checked for any criminal past, even examined to make sure any tattoos are not racist, derogatory or sexist.

Fort Jackson is the entrance station for all five branches of the military in all of South Carolina and seven counties in Georgia. On Friday, the USO South Carolina organization opened a facility at the station intended to make that first day less stressful for the recuits and their families.

“They can get some of the creature comforts of home,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. William Busch, the Fort Jackson MEPS commander.

The USO is opening several new centers inside MEPS around the United States. It’s part of the organization’s efforts to support service members and their families throughout their military career – a career that often begins at a MEPS station.

These centers feature entertainment like televisions and video games, snacks and support services aimed at comforting recruits and their families during the military entrance process. That process begins at 4 a.m. and lasts until about 4 p.m.

More than 10,000 new service members cycle through the station each year.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 7:01 PM.