Laura Dexter-Mooty is Fort Meade\'s new USO-Metro coordinator. The Ellicott City resident had served in the Air Force as a Russian linguist and worked at the National Security Agency.
By Lisa R. Rhodes/ SoundOff! Staff Writer
After graduating from high school, Laura Dexter-Mooty enlisted in the Air Force and trained as a Russian linguist.
Before she ended her four-year tour, Dexter-Mooty worked at the National Security Agency in the late 1970s.
Now, decades later, she has returned to Fort Meade as the new USO-Metro coordinator.
"I'm coming back home to the home-away-from-home for everyone," said Dexter-Mooty, who began her new tenure on Aug. 8.
She replaces Queen Waddell, who resigned in late June.
"She's fantastically qualified to serve the Fort Meade garrison," said John Falin, the new regional manager for USO Airport Services and Fort Meade. "I believe she will not only offer sustainability, but also exciting, new and innovative programs."
In her new position, Dexter-Mooty said she wants to remind the Fort Meade community of the recreational activities offered by USO-Metro for active-duty service members and their families.
"I want everyone on post to know that we're here and that this is a comfortable and inviting place to relax, kick back your feet and make new friends," said Dexter-Mooty, who resides in Ellicott City with her husband, Paul Mooty.
The USO-Metro, located at 8612 6th Armored Calvary Road at the corner of Mapes Road, provides a wide range of services and programs for service members. That includes a free food pantry and Operation Cinderella, which provides donated special occasion dresses in all sizes for teenage girls.
USO-Metro distributed free backpacks for military children on Wednesday morning.
Oriol Servia, driver of the National Guard IndyCar, will visit USO-Metro for a meet-and-greet lunch on Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Servia will sign autographs and take photos with service members and their families.
The event also will feature a simulator show car. A free lunch will be served to the first 300 attendees.
On Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. to noon, the Maryland Food Bank will distribute fresh produce for active-duty military families at no charge. Fresh produce is distributed at USO-Metro on the last Thursday of every month.
Prior to coming to Fort Meade, Dexter-Mooty served as the guest services coordinator for Grace Community Church in Howard County for nearly a decade. She also worked as a licensed funeral director at several funeral homes in Howard and Baltimore counties and as a real estate agent.
In the Air Force, Dexter-Mooty served as a Russian linguist at the Iraklion Air Station in Crete. She was then stationed at the NSA.
"I wanted to see the world, so I enlisted after high school," she said.
Dexter-Mooty, who ended her enlistment at the rank of sergeant, then worked in public relations for an American-Arabian oil company for about a year. She and her husband then started a family and she stayed at home to raise their two children. Paul Mooty now works in the plastics industry.
Dexter-Mooty said she wants to give back to the military because of the commitment of the nation's service members.
"It's refreshing to see young men and women volunteer to join and serve," she said. "We are the best military in the world and we still are the best country in the world."
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