Tom Shull

In a matter of days, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, along with our sister exchanges, will give our Nation’s Veterans the homecoming their distinguished service deserves. This Veterans Day, the lifetime online military exchange shopping benefit will be a reality for 21 million heroes who raised their right hands, took the oath and served with honor.

As brick-and-mortar retailers invest heavily in strengthening online offerings and e-commerce powerhouses acquire competitors to leverage physical stores, we are witnessing a seismic shift in retail. Fortunately, we saw this coming and began focusing resources, time and attention to ShopMyExchange.com five years ago.

A large part of what makes the Exchange unique is our capability and dedication to care for service members far from home. We provide to our heroes in far-flung corners of the world the familiar products, dining experiences, fresh-baked goods made with American ingredients, nutritious and affordable school lunches for Warfighters’ children, combat uniforms below cost and gasoline prices significantly lower than those found on the European economy.

Emerging international challenges in Europe and Southwest Asia required us recently to reexamine the Exchange’s overseas capabilities to ensure we can fully support the ever-growing number of important bilateral and multilateral military exercises and training involving thousands of additional U.S. troops.

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Coast Guard Exchange, Marine Corps Exchange and Navy Exchange are honored to finally recognize our Veterans’ time in uniform. Confirming Veterans’ eligibility to shop in advance of Nov. 11 is critical to efforts to properly welcome them back to their military family.

At the Exchange, from associates at headquarters to sales associates in the field, “extreme ownership” should describe the posture we all take to ensure the rollout of the Veterans online shopping benefit is a success. The reasons failure is not an option are substantial.

As the launch of the Veterans online shopping benefit approaches Nov. 11, each Exchange associate plays a vital role in welcoming approximately up to 15.5 million Veterans back to their military family. Years of effort to recognize the service of all honorably discharged Veterans will finally pay off on Veterans Day, when shopmyexchange.com begins offering the first new benefit to Veterans since 1953.

2017 is shaping up to be a disruptive year for retail. Macy’s is closing 68 stores, Sears is working to sell its storied Craftsman brand to stave off bankruptcy, Neiman Marcus is showing –8% comp stores growth, and The Limited is shuttering all of its stores.