Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - When the military liaison in the Tucson International Airport was forced to shut down volunteers stepped in to keep a place for service men and women to go while traveling.

The military liaison has been around for as long as Dee Brunner can remember, but two years ago when it had to be shut down due to lack of staff from Fort Huachuca.

She heard about how much it was missed. "People didn't like it and they needed it. They wanted the space. They really wanted to have the opportunity to have the military in here and we wanted that as well. That's why we stepped in and said, 'Nope let's reopen it,'" said Brunner.

When it was reopened it was a complete volunteer operation.

"If they are looking for some support or information, contact the unit at Fort Huachuca. They deserve to have a little bit of a break. They are sleeping on the hard ground and everything just doing their regular duty. If we can make their travel experience any more pleasant we are certainly glad to do that," said Brunner.

"It's great that we don't have to worry about stuff like that and that there are volunteers that are willing to you know help out with snacks and even if we have a long layover it's nice to go in there," said April Agresta who is part of the Air Force.

The military office is located between carousels four and five on the ground level of the airport. Military and their families can stop by at any time. Refreshments and snacks are on hand, as well as movies, internet access, and information they may need.

"A lot of them are the young people who don't know a lot about military life and how to get to where they are trying to go. It's really an asset for this lounge to be here," said veteran and Public Service Officer Supervisor Jerome Cogborn.

Each month the office sees between 100 and 500 service people come through the doors. Some right before they are deployed.

"They might have had to share the service member with extended family and this was really the last few minutes before they went out with immediate family kind of thing," said Brunner.

"It's great to have volunteers especially to help the military out. It's great that we have so much support. It's very, very helpful especially when you know we are overseas," said Agresta.

Many of the military liaisons volunteers come from organizations like Tucson Troops Support Group, Veteran Affairs Committee, and Marine Moms.

If you would like to volunteer, contact Brunner at 520.573.8374.