Flashback Friday

#FlashbackFriday: Operation Desert Storm Comes to a Close, and the Exchange is There

By Robert Philpot / February 25, 2022 /

Throughout Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm—which ended in late February 1991—and beyond, the Exchange supported troops in Southwest Asia.

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#FlashbackFriday: The Battle of Iwo Jima—and the Exchange in the Pacific, Then and Now

By Robert Philpot / February 18, 2022 /

On Feb. 19, 1945—77 years ago this weekend—Marines landed on Iwo Jima.

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#FlashbackFriday: Remembering the Tuskegee Airmen

By Emily Zarsk / February 4, 2022 /

In honor of Black History Month, we remember first Black aviators in the U.S Army Air Corps, now known as the U.S Air Force.

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#FlashbackFriday: How a Room for Soldiers’ Entertainment Evolved Into the Exchange

By Robert Philpot / January 28, 2022 /

Borrowing an idea from the British military, an Army colonel opened a small military canteen that provided merchandise and games that Soldiers had been seeking in town, but now they could stay on post—and out of trouble.

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#FlashbackFriday: Betty White’s Connection to the Exchange

By Robert Philpot / January 21, 2022 /

The actress joined the American Women’s Voluntary Services in 1941, driving a PX truck delivering supplies to troops staying in temporary camps in the Hollywood Hills.

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Pictured, a mobile exchange from Fort Gordon, Ga., stands ready to help troops deployed to Patrick AFB, Fla., during the Cuban missile crisis, 1962.

#FlashbackFriday: How the Exchange Provided Support During the Cuban Missile Crisis

By Robert Philpot / October 22, 2021 /

For 13 tense days in October 1962, United States and the Soviet Union had a confrontation over Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. Throughout the crisis, Exchanges came together to provide support.

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A mobile field exchange served National Guard members deployed to Bastrop, Texas, for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in 2017.

#FlashbackFriday: Tracking MFEs Through Exchange History

By Robert Philpot / October 8, 2021 /

Due to their high demand in assisting with Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), mobile field exchanges, known as MFEs, have received a lot of attention recently. In mid-September, all but two of the Exchange’s 11 U.S.-based MFEs were in active service, with seven of them helping installations provide essential support to at-risk Afghan guests while they…

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#FlashbackFriday: Some Slices of Pizza’s History at the Exchange

By Robert Philpot / October 1, 2021 /

Pizza is very popular at the Exchange. But not so long ago, it was considered a novelty.

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#Flashback Friday: Shining a Light on the Exchange’s First Solar-powered Shopping Center

By Robert Philpot / September 24, 2021 /

On Sept. 24, 1977—44 years ago today—the Exchange opened its first solar-powered shopping center at Randolph Air force Base near San Antonio, Texas.

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Exchange trucker Bradley Wacks is a member of the National Private Truck Council’s Driver Hall of Fame.

#Flashback Friday: The Exchange’s Trucking Hall of Famers

By Robert Philpot / September 17, 2021 /

Since 1987, the National Private Truck Council has inducted four members each year into its Hall of Fame, considered one of the most prestigious honors in the trucking industry. Four of those drivers worked for the Exchange.

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