One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 131 years of family serving family
Who he is: Pete Frigillana, Corporate Communications Specialist, HQ
Years at the Exchange: 8½
Military connections: Frigillana, an Army Veteran, comes from a family with deep service roots. His grandfather Mariano D. Frigillana, who was Filipino, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, when the Philippines was a U.S. territory. He was a survivor of the Bataan Death March.
His father, Pete M. Frigillana, who was also a Philippines native, enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served for 20 years before retiring—and then served another 20 years as a civilian contractor for the Navy before retiring for good.
“He was able to enlist for a better life and to pursue the American dream,” Frigillana said. “Filipinos were allowed to join the U.S. Navy in the 1960s because of the Military Bases Agreement of 1947, which permitted the U.S. to recruit citizens of the Philippines to fill service roles.”
Initially, most Filipinos were restricted to steward roles and faced segregation and limited opportunities. “Years later, restrictions were lifted and they were able to serve in any field and get promoted based on merit,” Frigillana said. “This was a path for thousands of Filipinos toward U.S. citizenship.”
The life of a military child: “My dad was stationed on a submarine tender in a Scottish loch,” Frigillana said. “Since there wasn’t a base there, my mom was living in an apartment on that loch in Dunoon, Scotland, where I was born. Since I wasn’t born on a base, I was a British citizen. We left the U.K. when I was just a few months old. I grew up on Navy bases all over the U.S., from Groton, Connecticut, to Norfolk, Virginia, to Great Lakes, Illinois, to Long Beach, California, to Guam.
“Once both my parents became U.S. citizens, I became a naturalized citizen when I was 6 years old.”
Growing up with the (Navy) Exchange: “Since my dad was in the Navy, I only have memories of the Navy Exchange, though they’re very similar to people’s AAFES memories,” Frigillana said. “The Exchange and commissary were the only stores I knew of for most of my childhood. It wasn’t until my family moved off base to civilian housing that I learned of stores other than the Exchange and commissary. I hadn’t even been to a mall until I was in middle school, but for me that was normal, as I didn’t know malls even existed.”
Why he enlisted: Frigillana joined the Army after attending three years of college, going through basic training and Advanced Individual Training in between college semesters.
“Although I was somewhat motivated to join to pay for the rest of college, my main motivation was just a calling to serve,” he said. “Neither of my parents wanted me to join, since I was supposed to be the first one in the family to get a degree in the United States. They were willing to pay for up to four years of college, but I ignored their pleas to stay home and joined the infantry anyway.”
Where he served: “I served in the Illinois Army National Guard and had the privilege of training in Iceland, Fort Irwin and many other Army bases throughout CONUS. Immediately after 9/11, I was deployed for force protection missions guarding nuclear power plant assets in Illinois. In 2002, I was deployed to Germany for eight months to perform force protection missions at Ramstein Air Base and Rose Barracks in Vilseck.”
Memories of Exchange support: “Wherever we went, the Exchange was there. While we were on missions or in the field, food trucks were there to nourish us with warm food, keeping us mission-ready while also saving us from having to eat cold MREs. When we were back at cantonment, the PX, Shoppette, food court, Class Six and movie theater all brought us familiar tastes of home and comfort while we were away from our homes and families for so long. During the deployment, sometimes I would just go to the Exchange to walk and look around because it just felt familiar and reminded me of home.”
How he came to the Exchange: Frigillana had been working for a marketing agency on a Frito-Lay/PepsiCo account, and although seeing his work on a global scale was rewarding, he still felt unfulfilled. Then he saw a job posting for a contract tabloid design position working for the Exchange.
“At first, I didn’t realize it was the same Exchange I knew as AAFES or the PX because I didn’t recognize the new branding,” he said. “The thought of serving again intrigued me so I applied and started working for the tabloid team. After a couple of years, a position in Corporate Communication opened up and I jumped at the opportunity. The new position brought me brand-new challenges: high-profile projects, higher visibility within the organization and a better understanding of our mission and goal. After six years in Corporate Communication, I feel like there is still so much to learn.”
Coolest part of his job: “Seeing my work out in the wild is one of the coolest things about my job,” said Frigillana, who has been the lead designer on annual reports since 2023 as well as designing truck wraps, web and print ads, signage and more. “Seeing your ad in a national publication, or your semi-trailer design going down the highway, or your annual report in print is pretty cool and satisfying. I’m pretty sure my family is tired of hearing me say, ‘I did that!’
“But the coolest aspect of my job is the people I work with. In all of the jobs I’ve had during my career, never have I had the support I get from my team and leadership. I am lucky to have teammates who’ve expressed how much they value my work and time, teammates who have each other’s backs and are willing to help at the drop of a hat, as well as leadership who are true advocates for their team, who make us feel supported, respected and valued each day.”
What “family serving family” means to him: “I consider all of the brothers and sisters who have ever served in the Armed Forces family. Working for the Exchange is rewarding because it gives me renewed pride of my family’s service, while giving me a chance to give back by serving all of those who have ever served.”
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