AAFES chief tours base exchanges

  • Published
  • By Carl Bergquist
  • Air University Public Affairs
The Air Force chief master sergeant who represents the Army and Air Force Exchange Service paid Maxwell-Gunter a visit June 30.

Chief Master Sgt. Jeffry Helm, senior enlisted advisor for Commanding General Command Group, was at the base to see firsthand the exchange operation, recognize AAFES associates and answer questions regarding the day-to-day functions of the service.

The chief said he has been in his position since September 2008, and travel is part of the job.

"A part of my job as the senior enlisted advisor is to travel to AAFES facilities worldwide, and find out how things are going," he said. "I talk with base leadership, visit with AAFES associates and talk with store customers. I let store patrons know that AAFES is here to serve them, and if they have problems they should let the store manager know, or they can contact me at www.aafes.com."

Chief Helm said there are more than 3,100 AAFES facilities around the globe, and during his term as senior enlisted advisor he will visit all of them. That part of the job keeps him on the road about six months out of the year, and he has already seen 80 bases since taking the job in September. He said AAFES is also involved in running some Marine Corps exchanges and a few Navy exchanges.

"My job is to look at things through the perspective of the customer," he said. "If I see something that could be done better, I will make a recommendation to a store manager."

Chief Helm said the average AAFES store has between 200,000 and 300,000 items on its shelves and in addition to shopping AAFES facilities, customers can access more than 18 million items on the Web site. He said AAFES is a "114-year-old military command with a retail mission," and the mission is to provide quality merchandise and services at competitively low prices and generate earnings to support Army morale welfare and recreation and Air Force services programs.

"We do price checking to see what our competitors are selling items for, and also have price-matching that allows our customers to get the downtown price and also have the tax break," he said. "AAFES goes where our patrons go. From Killeen, Texas to South Korea, Japan, Germany, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq, we're there. You can't say that about our competitors."

Chief Helm said more than 60 percent of all AAFES earnings are given back to troops. In 2008, AAFES gave back more than $260 million to all four branches of the service, and in the past 10 years, AAFES has generated more than $2.4 billion for the services.

"We care about our patron, and when troops shop AAFES, they pay themselves back," he said. "The average savings is about 20 percent, and our motto is: 'We Go Where You Go.' It's a motto we take very seriously."