The USO operates anywhere the military does, no matter how far or remote that may be. This time, it was up north, deep into America’s largest state, where the summer sun doesn’t set for months at a time, contrasted by months of near-total winter darkness.

The organization sponsored a visit to military personnel stationed in Alaska by Winter Olympic athletes, who toured military installations and met with service members and their families.

“The USO goes where our service members go, and remote installations like those in Alaska are among our top priorities to visit and help boost morale,” said the USO’s Jennifer Nash, who works out of Fort Wainwright as an area operations manager. “The interior of Alaska has its challenges being isolated, but we also face very dark winters that last much longer than most are accustomed to.” 

The Olympians visited Eielson Air Force Base, Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely, in and around Fairbanks, the state’s second-most populous city. The trip was planned after a soldier at Fort Wainwright submitted a request to USO to sponsor winter athletes to visit and meet the troops. 

During the visit, the Olympians talked about their careers and how they manage the pressures of training as full-time athletes, relating their experiences to those of service members. 

“The Olympians visiting was uplifting and inspired many to get involved and get outside despite the conditions. It reminded the service members and their families that no matter where you are stationed, there are always positives! With the Summer Olympics starting the same week the Olympians were visiting, it made the visit that much more exciting,” Nash said.

Three Olympians made the trip to Alaska: Navy SEAL veteran and Paralympics cross-country skiing and biathlon champion Dan Cnossen traveled alongside snowboarders Hailey Langland and Red Gerard.

Langland, a native of Southern California, made her Olympic debut in 2018 at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, competing in big air and slopestyle snowboarding. She won a gold medal in 2017 and a silver in 2019 at the X Games. She also competed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Gerard, born in Ohio and a resident of Colorado, also competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal in men’s slopestyle. He also won gold at the 2024 X Games in Aspen, Colo. 

Cnossen, born and raised in Kansas, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2002. He completed multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. While serving as a Navy SEAL during the War in Afghanistan, he lost both of his legs to an IED explosion that nearly killed him. 

For his military service, he was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor. But his career was far from over. 

Cnossen stayed strong throughout his recovery. While enduring two years of surgeries and rehab, he began to pursue cross-country skiing, which led him to the Paralympics.

In 2014, he made his Paralympic debut in Sochi, Russia. Cnossen won his first gold medal in Pyeongchang in 2018, where he also won multiple silvers and was named Best Male Athlete. He went on to win another gold in Beijing in 2022. Additionally, Cnossen graduated with two master’s degrees from Harvard — in public administration in 2016 and in theological studies in 2018. 

With their diverse backgrounds, each Olympian brought a unique perspective to the Alaska trip.

“They [the Olympians] really wanted to connect with each of them [service members and their families]. Red spoke about how not to kill your knees when trying to land a jump, Hailey talked about how she started because her dad really wanted a riding partner, and she loved it so much her parents allowed her to home school and travel, and Dan related to so many being deployed and coming home to a new reality, and craving that team feeling again,” Nash said. 

In an interview, Cnossen told Stars and Stripes that he was grateful to make the trip to Alaska, meet with service members and learn about the military’s operations in the state. 

He characterized the trip as an “incredible experience for me personally, and I believe I can speak for my fellow Olympians… we just had an incredible time.” 

Cnossen related his military experience to his training as a Paralympic athlete.

“Everything that I had been doing in the military transferred to the Paralympic program. I felt like I could be part of a team again, a team that was doing something difficult,” said Cnossen. “And yet, there’s pride in doing something that is difficult, so this was similar to my experience in the SEAL community in the military, where you bond with teammates through adversity.” 

Cnossen also praised his fellow Olympians on the trip for their positive attitude and willingness to engage with the military communities they visited.

“Red and Hailey are great. They’re just awesome people and they’re really talented snowboarders. They have a great attitude, just all smiles. And it was really neat to see them interacting with the service members,” said Cnossen. 

All three Olympians are training to compete at the Milan Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which are scheduled for February and March of 2026. 

“They [Longland and Gerard] are now Olympians that I am going to follow. I’m really excited to see what they do in Italy in a year and a half,” remarked Cnossen. 

Returning to Alaska also had personal significance to Cnossen. He was last in the state in 2009, just two months before his deployment to Afghanistan in which he lost his legs. 

“I do have a special nostalgia for being in Alaska, specifically at Fort Wainwright, where we were doing training. So for me, it [returning to Alaska] was coming full circle — in the sense that I’m now returning — well past the devastation of my injury, physically and psychologically,” Cnossen said.

At Eielson Air Force Base, the Olympians toured a helicopter hangar, met with pilots and air crew and ate dinner with airmen. They also observed games during the base’s Wing Day, a day of “team building and celebration,” according to Nash. 

The games concluded with awards and a speech to troops on resilience by Cnossen, which Nash described as “remarkable.” 

At Fort Wainwright, they visited the base’s youth center where they let the kids wear their X Games medals. The Olympians even played basketball, foosball, pingpong and videogames with the children. 

Their tour of Wainwright concluded with a coffee meet-and-greet and yoga session led by service members.