By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

When Army Specialist Dakota Barnes considered flying home to California for Christmas last year, she knew she couldn’t afford it without giving up her yearly food budget.

That’s when she heard about a nonprofit that could help through Fort Bragg’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program. She contacted Miles for Military, a Boston-based nonprofit that helps newly enlisted members get home for special occasions.

Maureen Byrne started the program in 2023 after flying her son, Ronan, a Marine, home from base. At one point, she spent $900 to fly him home for less than 48 hours. That led to a question: How can junior enlisted troops making around $30,000 a year afford to go home?

She got the answer from her son: “He’s like, Mom, nobody goes home. And it broke my heart.”

That was the beginning of Miles for Military, but the idea didn’t fully come together until Byrne learned that her son was going to Raleigh, North Carolina, to volunteer with the Special Olympics.

Talking to a friend about the situation, she came up with a plan. She’d offer to fly junior enlisted military members home if they spent 25 hours volunteering off-base in their communities. That part is key to the program. Byrne sees value in getting military members out to help in the community.

“We really want to get them out of the barracks, especially off base, into the community, making a difference,” she said.

Byrne said volunteering is at the heart of Miles for Military. She said it helps service members engage outside the military and that nonprofits are grateful for the hands-on help. Not only did it help local nonprofits, it also helped military members make new connections.

For Barnes, it was easy. She was already volunteering at Manna Church. The 31-year-old Army behavioral health specialist filled out a Miles for Military application and was soon in touch with Byrne.

“I told her what I was trying to do, and she made it happen,” Barnes told The Center Square about working with Byrne.

A few weeks later, Barnes flew home to see her family in Placerville, Calif.

“The best part was that my entire family, even the ones who live far away, were all able to make it home for Christmas and having the opportunity to watch the people I love opening the gifts I got them in person,” Barnes said.

Barnes isn’t done with Miles for Military. She now makes a point of putting up flyers around base and letting other newly enlisted people know about how the program works.

So far, Miles for Military has flown more than 100 troops from dozens of bases back home to states from all over the world.

Round-trip tickets during the holiday season can be pricey. Byrne estimates each flight costs about $1,000 on average.

Miles for Military is a nonprofit and runs on funds from donations. Byrne said the organization is still small enough that every dollar donated goes directly toward airline costs.

Nonprofit and volunteer groups also like to have veterans help out.

“I think they’re more grateful than the kids that get the tickets,” Byrne told The Center Square. “It’s actually phenomenal. We’ve had kids, and they go back to continue to volunteer and they not even earning a ticket. They just go back because they they really enjoy it. And meeting the veterans, you know, is really cool for them too, you know, because they’re future veterans too.”