The Exchange’s passionate associates exemplify our core value Family Serving Family, making the organization stand above the rest in the retail industry.
Our general managers and main store managers will gather in Dallas on May 7 for their annual conference, where they will talk about roles of associates in protecting the Exchange benefit through strategic priorities and initiatives that will guide the Exchange well into the future.
Family Serving Family will be on full display.
Doing her part to serve, despite hardships
One of the finest examples of this core value comes from Fort Buchanan. The morning after Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico last fall, Carmen Jordan showed up to work at the Exchange’s Taco Bell, although her house had no electricity or phone service. She had no way of knowing whether she needed to report to work that day. Despite personal hardships, she showed up anyway, wanting to help and doing her part to serve, just like she has throughout her 30-year career with the Exchange.
Like Carmen, our associates know that retail, food and services, with the support of our directorates, bring a sense of community to military installations around the world. No civilian retailer comes close to providing what the Exchange provides to so many Soldiers, Airmen and their families.
Even in a seemingly interconnected world, today’s Exchange benefit remains a vital lifeline to America, especially at the tip of the spear, where our associates are key enablers of the armed forces’ readiness and resiliency.
Way of life
Serving those who serve is a way of life for our 35,000 associates, who have devoted their lives to supporting military communities around the world. For instance, since 9/11, more than 4,600 Exchange associates have deployed voluntarily—often more than once—to dangerous and austere locations around the world.
No matter where they serve—at our headquarters, distribution centers and our stores in CONUS and overseas—every associate is essential to our mission.
–Dave Nelson
Far from the comforts of friends and family, our teammates selflessly deploy to provide a needed taste of home to those who need it most. From the Middle East’s warzones to remote outposts, Exchange associates take the benefit we are privileged to provide wherever it is needed. For instance, Eastern Europe’s Bosnia, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Poland and Romania and Bulgaria have an Exchange presence, from mobile field exchanges to more conventional retail stores.
Duty and honor
For some associates, Family Serving Family means deploying. For others, like our Fort Buchanan team, which includes Carmen, this powerful phrase takes on meaning closer to home.
No matter where they serve—at our headquarters, distribution centers and our stores in CONUS and overseas—every associate is essential to our mission.
Without a doubt, the Exchange serves the greatest customers in the world because they are heroes who put their lives on the line and forgo precious time with their families to ensure ours are protected. For nearly 123 years, the Exchange has supported service members and their families.
It is our duty and our honor to serve those who serve! Nobody does it better than our Exchange team!
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