129 Years of Family Serving Family: Paul Trocki, Fort Eisenhower
Who he is: Paul Trocki, Fort Eisenhower Express shift manager
Years at the Exchange: 15 years. Trocki started as a loss prevention associate at Fort Johnson.
Military connections: Trocki is an Army Veteran, serving five years active duty in the 18th Airborne Corp Finance Group after enlisting in 1983. He later joined the Florida National Guard, where he completed 16 years of service with the 153rd Financial Management Support Battalion. Trocki retired as a sergeant first class.
Trocki’s wife has completed 18 years of service in the Army and plans to retire in two years.
His son also served in the Army, retiring as a sergeant first class. Trocki’s father served in the Korean War.
What brought him to the Exchange: “My wife joined, and I had been working as a manager at a convenience gas station in Florida,” Trocki said. “I had to work somewhere. Fort Polk (now Fort Johnson) is in the middle of nowhere, so there’s not a lot around it. The Exchange seemed like a good place to start, so I started.”
His Exchange career: Trocki has held numerous positions at the Exchange. At Fort Campbell, he was Supervisor of Sporting Goods/Firearms. At Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, he was a receiver. At JSBA-Randolph, he worked at the firearms shop. At Schofield Barracks, he was a computer operator. When he and his family were stationed at Fort Eisenhower, he became a hardlines supervisor. He was later promoted to shift manager at the Gate 5 Express.
Trocki has also deployed to Al Asad, Iraq, with the Exchange.
Memorable moments: “I wasn’t with the company more than six months before I deployed to Iraq,” Trocki said. “My deployment to Iraq stands out as a positive time. We were there for the troops. And not only are you there for them, you get to meet all the different people who work for the Exchange.
“I was the inventory control person. I was flying from Al Asad to Fallujah and Ramadi, reviewing inventory. After three moBnths, I was asked to manage the stockroom/warehouse at Al Asad Marine base. I got to work with and meet different people… It was just a positive experience overall to be able to be there for the troops.”
As a Veteran, Trocki said he related to service members.
“That was one of the reasons why I wanted to work at the new troop store here on Fort Eisenhower. This is a TRADOC post. There’s a lot of AIT [Advanced Individual Training] students. So, all the young Soldiers coming in, you can identify with what they’re going through. You’ve been through the training, the trials and tribulations and dealing with the drill sergeants. … You just do all you can to make it a positive experience for them.”
Family serving family: “To me, the Exchange is a family and we’re able to be there for the families of service members and the service members themselves. … Here in Augusta, we got hit by Hurricane Helene and didn’t have power or water for over a week, but the Exchange got a trailer from Waco. I was out there, just working, helping keep things going so people can get what they need that they couldn’t get anywhere else because no other store was open.”
