One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 131 years of family serving family
Who she is: Darlene Thomas, hardlines manager, Shaw Air Force Base Exchange
Years at the Exchange: 27 years
Military connections: “My dad was in the Air Force. He worked for the Office of Special Investigations at the Pentagon, so he traveled a lot. He retired after 20 years. My brother was in the Navy. I had another brother in the Army, who was killed in the Vietnam War. I have nephews in the Navy and the Air Force. My family has always been service-oriented.”
Early Exchange memories: “I was familiar with the Exchange as a military brat. When my mom went shopping, she’d always take me to the Exchange.”
What brought her to the Exchange: “There was a job fair, and I had just moved to Maryland in 1999. I told my mom that I’d love to work on base, so I went, interviewed and I was hired.”
Her Exchange career: “I started at Fort Myer. I was part of the operations squad, where I dabbled in everything from price changes, relieving people for breaks, making sales signs—whatever was needed. They used to call it the ‘flying squad.’
“From there, I went to customer service. I’ve worked the damage cage and labor management. Later, I was a hardlines supervisor and now, I am a department manager for hardlines. I’ve worked all over.”
Memorable moments: “I deployed in 2008 to Iraq, where I did inventory for a month. On our way home, were delayed because we had a fallen Soldier being brought home. There at the airport, I watched the pomp and circumstance, and it showed me what was done for when my brother had died. It was something I really appreciated.
“There was also a time where they’d take flags and fly them over Iraq. I had a flag flown over Iraq for my brother, and I sent it to my mom. She was really appreciative of that, to memorialize his service in Vietnam.
“I’ve also worked in Qatar for two years as an assistant manager and at Abu Dhabi as a store manager. I was deployed from 2009 to 2012. It was really, really nice to be there. We had Soldiers who would always come up to us and say how appreciative they were, having a little bit of home. At times, I’d cry because it made me think of what my family went through when they were overseas. It gave me an experience, and it reminded me this is what we’re here for.”
Family Serving Family: “To me it means treating people how you want to be treated or treating people the way I’d want my children to be treated. It means being there for a person when they need it, through the good times and the bad times. It means being able to be dependable for that person.”
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