JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va –
Top officials from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service toured Exchange facilities and met with top major command officers at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., April 10.
Thomas Shull, AAFES CEO, planned the tour to better understand JBLE's unique challenges and gain valuable insight to ensure AAFES is providing a great environment for JBLE Service members to shop, live and work.
"The Exchange's first priority is taking care of Soldiers, Airmen and their families," said Shull. "Offering comprehensive support through all stages of a military career is the foundation to maintain the relevance of the Exchange."
Shull, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served in the U.S. Army for 17 years. After his military service, Shull served as CEO of several companies, including Hanover Direct and Wise Foods Inc., and co-founded and served as CEO of Meridian Ventures, Inc. As the first civilian to be appointed as AAFES CEO, Shull feels his military and business experiences have equipped him to serve Service members.
"Joining the Exchange is like coming home," he said. "As a military and retail veteran, my decision to join the Exchange was one of duty and a sense of service. I am honored to serve those who serve."
The Exchange is a nonappropriated-fund entity of the Department of Defense. Ninety-eight percent of AAFES funding is self-sustaining and not subsidized by taxpayers. This means that even with the current uncertain economic climate, AAFES does not foresee any changes to its day-to-day operations.
Because of this, Shull said Service members should continue to utilize the Exchange for the multi-faceted benefit it provides to Service members. Roughly two thirds of profit earned is given back to the military community through military morale, welfare and recreation programs. In fiscal year 2011, AAFES contributed more than $203 million to military MWR programs, equaling a per capita dividend of $212 for every Soldier and Airman.
In 2012, AAFES gave back nearly $529,000 to the JBLE community alone, said Shull.
"The Exchange saves you money, and it's the only place you and your community get a return on investment," said Shull. "We have a dual mission to provide goods and services at value prices while also returning a dividend to support morale, welfare, recreation and services activities to each installation."
The remaining third of AAFES profit is used to build new stores or renovate existing facilities. At JBLE, AAFES is currently investing more than $23 million in facilities.
The Fort Eustis Exchange's image upgrade is currently underway, and is scheduled for completion May 15. The upgraded store will feature the Exchange's new branding, and the store's layout will be streamlined and divided into three sections - home, life and style.
As part of the image upgrade, new Arby's and Subway restaurants opened in the food court in December, and existing restaurants were renovated.
At Langley Air Force Base, the main Exchange-branded image upgrade is scheduled to begin this summer with a six-month completion timeline.
"Shoppers are essentially investing in a benefit that generates a healthy return by directly improving quality of life efforts such as youth services, outdoor recreation and child development centers," said Shull. "The Exchange is the retailer for Soldiers and Airmen, family members, Guard, reserves and retirees. Since our beginning, we've gone where our Service members go, be it war, training or home station."
As a testament to this, the Exchange provides school lunches to military children and operates bakeries and water plants overseas, invests in capital improvement on military installations and offers contingency facilities and telecommunication services to deployed Service members.
"It feels great to be part of a team that is dedicated to making the lives of Soldiers, Airmen and their families better," said Shull. "It's what makes us different from any other retailer."
As technology constantly evolves, AAFES strives to better serve military members and their families through their website, shopmyexchange.com. These initiatives are designed to ultimately expand the exchange's reach and service to the military community, whether active duty, Guard, reserve or retirees.
"All authorized customers are significant," said Shull. "We are committed to making the Exchange a benefit and value to not only the Service members and their families, but also the [entire] military community."
This is also important for smaller stores where it is not possible to offer everything found in the larger Exchanges. AAFES plans to overlap the in-store and website merchandise assortments to ensure online shopping is as close as possible to the in-store experience.
"This is the start of the experience we need to provide all customers," said Shull. "The entire organization is energized to improve the online experience for our customers, and we are planning improvements for the near future."
Not only is the Exchange website offering a wider selection of merchandise, but now has improved search and navigation features, and only requires users to login right before purchasing their items. These new features are designed to make the customer's shopping experience as convenient and enjoyable as possible.
"The Exchange is not a 'company,' but an earned benefit," said Shull. "It's a calling for many of our 42,000 associates, many of whom are former Service members or who are military family members. We truly are here for the military, and we take pride in supporting them at every stage of their careers, as well as in retirement."