Robert Tellez, 29-year Marine Veteran Appointed as USO North Carolina Advisory Board Member

After serving almost three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps holding numerous leadership billets, taking care of Marines, sailors and their families, Robert Tellez is continuing to serve the military community post retirement as USO North Carolina’s newest Advisory Board Member.

“I volunteered to serve as a USO Advisory Board Member because, since my recent retirement from active duty – I feel the urge to give back and support military members, their families and the local community,” said Tellez.

Tellez’s last assignment in the Marine Corps was as the Senior Enlisted Leader for Marine Corps Installations East-Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he retired in Nov. 2022, and currently serves as a Military Financial Counselor-Military Liaison for Marine Federal Credit Union in the Jacksonville, N.C., area.

In his new role as a USO Advisory Board Member, Tellez will work with his fellow board members and USO North Carolina leadership and staff to increase the visibility of the USO throughout eastern North Carolina, and will seek a more focused approach to better utilizing national USO resources to benefit the local military communities.

Tellez will also concentrate on reaching new donors to help support the USO’s overall mission, helping to build connection and resiliency between service members and their families as they prepare for deployments, and especially while they are deployed and away from their loved ones.

“The USO seems to have always been there for me throughout the years. As a young private first class at my first duty station on Okinawa, the USO was a sanctuary for homesick, bored or restless service members,” said Tellez. “I cannot count how many times I’ve frequented USO centers at airport terminals and near or on military installations throughout my time in service, and I am proud to give back to the USO an advisory board member.”

When asked why it is important to volunteer as a USO advisory board member, and what he would say to others in the corporate sector who may interested in volunteering in this capacity, Tellez had this to say.

“It is important to volunteer as a USO board member for the benefit of all military members and their families,” said Tellez. “It is mutually beneficial to serve the military and the local community; the individuals and organizations who volunteer or sponsor the USO gain wholesome exposure while providing essential services to military members and their families.”

The southeastern, U.S., is home to over 1.1 million service members and their families, with North Carolina itself having the fourth largest active-duty military population in the U.S., as reported by the 2021 Demographics Report: Profile of the Military Community.

Since 1941, the USO has been the nation’s leading organization to serve the men and women in the U.S. military, and their families, throughout their time in uniform. From the moment they join, through their assignments and deployments, and as they transition back to their communities, the USO is always by their side.

To learn more about the USO and how you can get involved with helping to strengthen America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation, please visit USO.org.