As the 2026 Winter Olympic begin, #FlashbackFriday revisits another Winter Olympics from 24 years ago, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The 2002 Winter Olympics took place a few months after 9/11, and security concerns were high. The Exchange provided much-needed support to more than 7,000 key personnel, including 5,000 Reserve and Active National Guard troops from 18 states.
More than 25 associates volunteered to staff Life Support Areas (LSAs), with additional associates responsible for ordering, sorting and getting merchandise to the sites. The teams supported service members assigned as part of the Joint Military Task Force Olympics (JTFO), who were on hand to ensure the Olympic proceedings went smoothly.
“AAFES was instrumental in making our support of the Olympics significantly successful,” JTFO Commander Brig. Gen. James D. Johnson told the Exchange Post. “Operations headed by General Manager Tom Fredin were a force multiplier in terms of sustaining morale for DoD military and federal agencies [within] the Salt Lake area. The positive attitude of the AAFES professionals was infectious to all.”
Associates came not only from nearby Hill AFB, but from Washington’s Fort Lewis/McChord AFB and Fairchild AFB, South Dakota’s Ellsworth AFB, Montana’s Malmstrom AFB and Idaho’s Mountain Home AFB. In addition, three Exchange college trainees from Fort Sam Houston were on site serving the troops.
“The willingness of the associates to provide service to the service members was met with true professionalism and teamwork,” Fredin told the Exchange Post. “I consistently heard remarks from service members praising our associates for the level of service they provided.”
Fredin coordinated barbers for on site support, arranged for free telephone cards and took the lead to provide logo T-shirts, sweatshirts and Olympic merchandise. As added support, he provided videotapes for the day rooms for personnel to enjoy during their off duty time.
“The significant AAFES support structure made a difference in the minds of all that came into contact with its operation,” General Johnson said. “We in Salt Lake commend the performance of AAFES’ on-site professionals who were the catalyst to make our operation so successful. Thank you AAFES!”
This year’s Winter Olympics take place Feb. 6-22. Once again, service members and Veterans worldwide will enjoy free access to NBCUniversal’s full coverage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, courtesy of the Exchange. Military members can stream all the action from Italy using their personal devices and computers through ShopMyExchange.com. Additional information is available on the Exchange’s Olympic Hub page. For more information on how to watch NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, click here.
Source: Exchange Post archives.
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