Ray Allen: My Trip Overseas With The USO

Ray Allen grew up on military bases and recently went on an overseas tour with the USO. The NBA's all-time three point king recounts his trip and the lessons he learned along the way.

Ray Allen | Dec 26, 2016

Ray Allen: My Trip Overseas With The USO /

Before Ray Allen ever touched a basketball, the NBA’s all-time three-point kings was born on Castle Air Force base in Merchard, Cali. Walt Allen, a metals technologist, spent 21 years in the military, repairing planes and raising his five children on bases around the the world. One month after the third Allen child officially retired from basketball, Ray joined General Joseph F. Dunford on the USO’s Holiday Tour, visiting American troops in Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan and Germany. Allen recounted his life-changing experience to The Crossover's Jake Fischer.

As a child, I thought I was cursed. I never had the opportunity to live in one place for longer than three years. I never had an opportunity to keep my friends and I wasn’t good at writing letters either. But as I got older and started traveling and then got to the NBA, I realized it was a blessing because I was tailor-made to do what I do: travel around the world and meet and interact with so many different people. I felt like I was built for it.

Every base that I lived at as a kid, I have been back to visit, except for two: one in Oklahoma and another base in Germany. So when the USO called me up and invited me to go abroad—with a stop in Germany—I assumed we would be visiting the base I grew up at. I had so many memories from that base, but I always felt like I needed some type of conclusion or closure. So I was very much looking forward to going to Ramstein, but we ended up at a different base called Grafenwoehr. As it turned out, I still got that closure; being on that base and seeing a lot of young people, I saw a lot of the military members’ spouses and their kids and it still gave me that same feeling I had as a military dependent myself.

There was one gentleman in particular I remember at the Grafenwoehr base. He was 21 years old and had already gotten to see the world. It was so inspirational to hear that because you realize the military has given this young man wings, literally, to fly and be able to see things all around the globe.

In the NBA, often times we’ll be in the locker room and we’ll talk about “going to war” and “going into battle” and “being in the foxhole,” all these terminologies that we equate with being at war. I have such a greater appreciation for the conflicts going on around the world, now I try to not use those terms out of respect, because I know exactly what these guys are doing when they're in harm’s way. When we go on the floor, we make mistakes all the time—but it doesn’t cost us our lives. Those guys can’t afford to make mistakes and have to have each other’s backs. We look up to them far more than they realize.

The NBA and the Military

LeBron James

The NBA has a long and rich history with the military. Here's a look at the strong bond over the years, beginning with LeBron James and a soldier after Miami Heat Training Camp in 2010 on Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Tyson Chandler poses with members of the Armed Forces during the National Team Open Practice at the DC Armory in 2012.

Rajon Rondo high fives soldiers before a 2013 game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

A fan shows his support for the Los Angeles Lakers and the troops during the game against the Atlanta Hawks in 2003.

The Dallas Mavericks hosted Seats For Soldiers at a 2007 game against the Utah Jazz.

Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

Soldiers are honored for Memorial Day before the start of a Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers playoff game in 2009.

Kevin Garnett with a member of the 934th Airlift Wing as part of the Timberwolves' 2004 Operation Minnesota Heroes, a program honoring and recognizing Minnesota troops that served in the Middle East.

Robert Willett/Raleigh News & Observer/MCT/Getty Images

Sailors Christopher Huff, left, and Andrew Morgan pose with NBA great and Michigan State alum Magic Johnson aboard the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego in 2011.

Robert Horry takes time to pose before a 2005 Spurs-Hawks game with Sgt. Jonathon Witham, Staff Sgt. Brian L. Miller II, Staff Sgt. Marlow Mejia and Sgt. Daniel Angelo during Military Appreciation Night in San Antonio.

One of the things that General Dunford said that resonated with me was, “We’re over here at war, my job is to make sure that we have all away games.” So when I got back on U.S. soil, I thought about how privileged we are. That as much conflict that is going on in the world, we in this country, we have managed for the most part to be void of any war on our home soil. I don’t think people appreciate that enough.

Being in Afghanistan was a slap in the face for me. It woke you up. When you walk around and you see the young men and women carrying their M4s everywhere they go like we carry our iPhones, you realize the serious nature of the ground that you walk on. Anything can happen at any given moment. You have to be prepared. In this country we don’t live with those pressures and those constraints as we move every single day. It gives you a great appreciation for the freedoms and liberties you have as you move around this country.

Published Dec 26, 2016

RAY ALLEN