BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Pfc. Cedric Savage learned a lot from a simple fork as a result of being in the Army.

During basic training, he and his fellow soldiers had to eat without a knife and spoon.

“It’s the little things that you take for granted, like having three utensils,” said the 18-year-old from Milwaukee. “It’s meant to show you to take advantage of things and take what you need and move on.”

Early Sunday morning, Savage and nearly 2,000 Army service personnel from the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County departed for holiday leave at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Volunteers at USO of Metropolitan Washington, a private nonprofit organization that caters to armed forces personnel and their families, prepared for the event all night Saturday.

Uniformed soldiers gathered at the USO International Gateway lounge, a 5,000-square-foot facility within the airport where military members can store baggage, watch TV and DVDs on a 72-inch screen, play video games and get transportation assistance. They also can make free international calls and have free wireless Internet access.

A sleeping room is even available with wake-up calls for plane departures.

“It provides a haven for them to go to get outside of the hustle and bustle of the airport,” said Allan Grossberg, an administrative assistant with USO and a retired Army veteran.

“They may not know when the next time they’ll be coming home for the holidays.”

In his four months in the Army, Savage, who is training to become a mechanic, said the Army was a lot different than what he expected, but in a good way.

“You see on TV and in the movies and it’s all about the yelling, but they actually train you well,” he said. “But don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of push-ups.”

Pvt. Justin McCleskey, 19, of Fort Worth, Texas, a mechanic who works on Humvees and other military vehicles, said the Army changed his life.

“I used to be a completely different person,” he said. “And used to walk around with my head down and slouching all the time. The military made me a better person.”

While Savage and McCleskey learned about discipline, Pvt. Misty Floyd, 20, of Tupelo, Miss., overcame some fears.

“I was terrified of bridges and deep water,” she said. “And never in a million years would I have thought I could run two miles like this before.”

As for her plans for the holidays, she has one important thing to do.

“As soon as I get home, I’m going to be sleeping,” Floyd said. “My mom has my first week already planned out, but we’ll see how it goes.”

jkowalkowski@baltimoreexaminer.com