The Southwest Asia Exchange team has begun supporting troops in Syria by traveling to the remote locations and hosting rodeos.
A rodeo, which sells a small selection of items such as personal hygiene products, snacks and drinks from a temporary location, helps to bring a small taste of home to troops deployed in austere locations.
Two Exchange associates—one who returned from retirement and one who doesn’t usually work in retail—were the first to volunteer for the mission and conducted the first rodeo to serve the deployed troops.
The rodeo was set up by Mike Lowry, an Exchange retiree who came out of retirement to deploy and is currently serving as the Erbil Exchange store manager in Iraq; and Marcus Vail, an Exchange associate from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
“These Soldiers don’t just have one job and the operation tempo they work in is tough—then add the environment,” Lowry explained about the hardships while operating at an austere location. “I volunteered because this is the mission. It’s what we do, it’s why we’re here.”
The team was given a few hours to turn a trailer into 20 feet of retail space for the troops who waited patiently for the team to open the temporary store.
“The Soldiers were so grateful. So many of them would come up and thank us and offer their help,” Vail said. “They were truly appreciative that we were willing to come out and take care of them.”
Lowry said he is no stranger to deployments because he grew up as a military brat. While Lowry had retired in 2013 after 28 years of service to the Exchange, he did not hesitate to return to the fold so that he could serve deployed troops.
“I have always been proud to make our troops’ lives easier,” Lowry said. “To have that comfort when they have downtime and helping to improve their quality of life, it’s what this job means to me.”
Though Vail is in the Loss Prevention career field and is stationed at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, he volunteered to be a “temporary retail guy” to serve the troops in Syria.
“It was a great opportunity to serve our Warfighters when they needed us the most,” Vail said. “It was a rare opportunity to see the Exchange’s true mission in full effect. I saw in real time what ‘We Go Where You Go’ truly meant.”
The duo operated the rodeo for four days, taking care of more than 700 Warfighters who nearly bought the store out.
“I will never forget the looks on their faces when they walked in for the first time,” Vail said. “I can remember one soldier yelling, ‘They have hot fries!’ and another saying this feels just like Christmas. I am not one to show that much emotion, but this was probably the greatest honor of my career.”
The Southwest Asia Exchange team has completed three rodeos with plans to continue serving troops in Syria with future rodeos.
“Providing support to our Warfighters who are deployed in remote locations helps to boost morale,” said Col. Don Nowlin, Exchange Europe/Southwest Asia region commander. “The lengths our associates will go to provide that support speaks volumes to the dedication and heart they have and I’m honored to be a part of such a great organization.”
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