A Visit to Grazzanise Air Base

One of the lesser-known bases in the Naples area is a small installation of Army and Navy personnel at Grazzanise Air Base, more commonly referred to as GAB. The soldiers at GAB are not able to make it to the weekly Troop Lunches at the center on Capodichino, making our presence there a special treat. USO Naples decided it was high time to pay them a visit! The team woke up extra early on Tuesday morning to ensure there was plenty of time to get everything ready for a Traveling Troop Lunch at GAB. Dedicated volunteers cooked and packaged up 50 bagged lunches complete with hot dogs, chips, and a cookie. The lunches were then loaded into the USO van for the journey to the neighboring base just in time for lunch.

Even as the team was setting up, curious soldiers began to wander toward the table. “What’s going on?” they asked as they eyed the brown bags lined up on the table. “It’s lunch time! How about a hot dog?” Their eyes immediately lit up with the excitement of a free, hot lunch as they nodded their heads enthusiastically. While the lunch may not have been as extravagant as we would have liked, the soldiers were elated to see that the USO was on site to show them some love. The smiling volunteers and the familiar logo drew them in one by one to receive their lunch. This lunch was but a small token of the insurmountable respect and appreciation we have for their service and the USO Naples team can’t wait to visit again soon.