Exchange Opens Small, Military-Run PX to Support Troops in Poland

ŚWIęTOSZóW, Poland – The Army & Air Force Exchange Service goes where you go—even to Świętosów.

The Exchange opened a small PX last month to serve the troops assigned to the camp in southwest Poland. The store operates as an imprest fund, meaning the military unit runs the store. The U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division’s Sustainment Brigade took the lead in establishing the PX to support the forward operating site in Poland.

Imprest-fund sites are a vital contingency support operation that the Exchange provides to military units in small, remote, short-term or high-risk locations, where a regular Exchange cannot be provided. In this case, the 2113th Transportation Company from the Kentucky Army National Guard in Paducah was charged with the setup, daily support and operations of the garage-sized store.

“Even when we can’t bring an Exchange to the troops, we find some way to make sure they’re taken care of,” said Alex Mamaril, Grafenwoehr Consolidated Exchange general manager. “The imprest-fund sites like this one allow the Exchange the flexibility to serve troops in the manner suited to their location’s particular circumstances.”

The store offers health and hygiene items, as well as snacks and beverages to bring a taste of home to the Soldiers.

With multination exercises taking place such as the U.S., NATO-led Dynamic Front 24 and more ahead, the continued expansion of support for permanent and rotational training populations via imprest-fund sites like the one in Poland is directly serving U.S. Warfighters throughout Eastern Europe.

U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Justin Locke, a motor transport operator assigned to 2113th Transportation Company from Paducah, Kentucky, and deployed to Świętoszów, prepares for the opening of an imprest-fund PX in Poland. The Exchange provides imprest-fund sites, which are run by the military, to units in small, remote, short-term or high-risk locations, where a regular Exchange cannot be provided. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jason Hull)