About SOS a ride home

Never leave a Marine behind.

One evening in 2007, Erica Stone, founder of Soldiers Organized Services (SOS), was at the Palm Springs International Airport where she met a young Marine. He was hobbling on crutches, with a waist high cast and wrestling with two large duffel bags.

The Marine had been shot, then fell off a roof during combat operations in Afghanistan and was returning to base after a long deployment.

Erica agonized over having to tell the wounded warrior that he’d missed the last bus and that a cab ride up to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) in Twenty Nine Palms would cost him between $150 and $200. His only other option was to spend the night in the airport lobby and wait for the next day’s bus.

The desperation in his face and his exhausted eyes were unbearable to see, so Erica insisted that he allow her to drive him to the Marine Corps base. Thus, was the beginning of SOS.

Marines are not referred to as “soldiers”. The name Soldiers Organized Services, or SOS, refers to our volunteer “soldiers” who have organized to serve our American Heroes in uniform. They serve those who serve us; the brave men and women who defend our freedom.

SOS is a 501C(3) non-profit organization providing active-duty servicemen and women with free transportation, any day or night, between the Palm Springs and Ontario International Airports, and the USMC base at Twenty Nine Palms, CA.

Services

SOS volunteers provide no-cost transportation for active-duty military personnel, their families and sweethearts. They also provide a sense of family and support to those who call on them. Our volunteers often offer a friendly ear to listen to our servicemen and women.

SOS services are offered to families, spouses and sweethearts who visit their servicemen and women, whether returning, deploying, recovering or just visiting. Volunteers offer hope, encouragement, gratitude and respect to military personnel prior to an uncertain deployment.

Goal

Since May of 2007, SOS has transported tens of thousands of troops. Our goal is to establish SOS stations near every military base in the Country.

Funding

SOS has never and will never accept contributions from the troops or their families. SOS solicits nothing and only offers friendly conversation during a safe and comfortable ride. Only through the generous support and contributions from our community will SOS continue to assist our military, and eventually offer services to every military member and their families across this great nation.