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The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is emphasizing a ban on the sale of lewd or profane products in its stores after a vendor in Alaska sold figurines carrying a crude catch phrase aimed at the commander in chief. In the days leading up to Christmas, a temporary vendor at the exchange on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage sold wooden bear figurines fashioned to resemble former President Donald Trump and holding signs reading, “Let’s Go Brandon,” according to the Anchorage Daily News, which first reported the sales. The foot-tall bears sported long red ties and slicked-back blond hair in...

Update: Veterans can now verify their online shopping eligibility at VetVerify.org. The Exchanges are also accepting some veterans as beta testers before opening the doors to all veterans. See updates below for more information. Would you like to be able to shop on the online military exchanges and enjoy tax free shopping, military discount pricing, and other benefits? Then read on. Your wish is about to come true! Like all retailers, the Army and Air Force Exchange (AAFES) and the Navy Exchange (NEX) are looking for ways to improve their business model. But unlike many other retailers, better business for...

Dallas — Since the Army & Air Force Exchange Service welcomed home all honorably discharged Veterans to ShopMyExchange.com one year ago, more than 62,000 Veterans have used their new benefit to save on low-cost, name-brand merchandise while also saving nearly $3.4 million in sales tax. “In its first year, the Veterans online shopping benefit has brought significant savings to all whoraised their right hand and vowed to defend our Nation,” said Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull, a Vietnam-era Army Veteran who worked to secure the change in Department of Defense policy to give all honorably discharged Veterans shopping privileges at military...

Veterans can now verify their online shopping eligibility at VetVerify.org. The Exchanges are also accepting some veterans as beta testers before opening the doors to all veterans. See updates below for more information.

Defense officials are weighing a proposal from the director of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) to allow the nation’s 22 million honorably discharged veterans, and perhaps an equal number of their family members, to shop online for military exchange products and discounts. Shoppers who use the AAFES website enjoy savings of up to 25 percent on many brand name products. They also avoid state and local sale taxes on their purchases just like on-base shoppers do. By providing online discounts to millions of deserving veterans and families, said Thomas C. Shull, chief executive officer of AAFES, the...

PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — The businessman convicted earlier this year in a South Korean court of bribing AAFES officials so his company could hold a lucrative Internet contract on military bases has been arrested in the United States on federal bribery conspiracy charges, Stars and Stripes has learned. Jeong Gi-hwan, 44, was arrested in Dallas by federal agents Wednesday and is being held without bond for his alleged role in a bribery conspiracy, federal authorities told Stars and Stripes on Saturday. The alleged conspiracy involves his telecommunications company, Samsung Rental Corp. Ltd., also known as SSRT, and former Army and...

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Suit: Military Deducted Money From Service Members' Gov.'t Benefits or Tax Refunds U.S. soldiers and veterans have been illegally hit up by Pentagon debt collectors for millions of dollars in payments over military credit card debt, according to the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. "It is shocking that a U.S. government agency would illegally take this money from veterans who have served our country well," said Deepak Gupta of Public Citizen. Public Citizen and consumer lawyers have filed a class-action lawsuit against the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES), which issues credit cards to U.S. service members to buy...

DALLAS, Feb. 6, 2007 – Good grades in school can yield more than a sense of satisfaction for children of military families, as students can cash in on the Army and Air Force Exchange Service's "You Made the Grade" program. Begun in February 2000, AAFES' education rewards effort is designed to recognize above-average academic achievement, officials said. Qualifying students receive a coupon booklet that includes free admission to an AAFES Reel Time Theater, a complimentary slice of Anthony's pizza with drink and a free magazine, as well as other coupons. "It is important to recognize our military families' superior...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2006 -- Just in time for the holiday season, Marvel Comics’ “The New Avengers” and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service have teamed up to bring troops stationed around the world another free, military-exclusive comic book. Marvel Comics and the Army Air Force Exchange Service have joined forces to bring servicemembers around the world the fourth installment in the “The New Avengers” military-only comic book series. “The New Avengers: Letters Home” is scheduled to arrive in U.S. exchanges around Dec. 20 and overseas, including 53 facilities throughout operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, shortly thereafter....

DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2006 -- While most Americans plan to spend the next few weeks eating, shopping and generally having a great time with friends and family, many Defense Department civilians will be leaving their homes and families for 6- to-12 month voluntary deployments to support Army and Air Force Exchange Service post and base exchanges throughout Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Friends for more than 25 years, graphic designers Gloria Michael and Kelly Northcutt have talked about deploying to live and work with the troops. With Michael getting closer to retirement, the two friends who live only...

SEOUL — A South Korean telecommunications executive accused of bribing U.S. military officials in exchange for a multimillion-dollar Internet service contract is awaiting documents from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service to help build his defense, his lawyers said. As Jeong Gi-hwnan, 40, stood in a green prison uniform in a South Korean court Friday, his lawyers sought more time to defend him against an accusation that he gave AAFES officials cash and entertainment in exchange for a multiyear Internet service contract for U.S. servicemembers in South Korea, according to court proceedings and Korean National Police. As an SSRT...

“Brokeback Mountain,” the movie about a gay cowboy love affair that recently won four Golden Globe awards and is expected to be in the Oscar hunt, will not play in any U.S. military theaters in Europe. And not because it’s a gay cowboy love story. The movie, which has received almost universally glowing reviews and was the nation’s top grossing film per theater last week, suffers from the same problem that kept many of last year’s Academy Award winners — “The Aviator” and “Sideways” among them — out of AAFES theaters: It was released late in the year by a...

Officials: Film’s absence due to timing, not subject matter “Brokeback Mountain,” the movie about a gay cowboy love affair that recently won four Golden Globe awards and is expected to be in the Oscar hunt, will not play in any U.S. military theaters in Europe. And not because it’s a gay cowboy love story. The movie, which has received almost universally glowing reviews and was the nation’s top grossing film per theater last week, suffers from the same problem that kept many of last year’s Academy Award winners — “The Aviator” and “Sideways” among them — out of AAFES theaters:...

SpongeBob is off to war. “The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie” is one of several titles troops downrange can see for free during the holidays. The annual Army and Air Force Exchange Service/Hollywood Holiday Film Festival runs through through Jan. 7 at bases in the Balkans, the Middle East and Southwest Asia. The festival will show first-run flicks in 35 mm to U.S. troops stationed in the Balkans, Camp Doha, Kuwait, and Balad, Iraq. Troops in more remote locations will see video copies of the films. The movies include “The Incredibles,” “National Treasure,” “Alfie,” “Christmas with the Kranks” and “Alexander.” Advance VHS...

Soldiers transport supplies on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for the Army and Air Force Exchange Services "Rodeo." The exchange service conducts weekly rodeos for troops stationed at forward operating bases in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo Soldiers Enjoy Exchange Service 'Rodeo' in Afghanistan By U.S. Army Spc. Daniel P. Kelly / Combined Joint Task Force 76 BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2004 -— Soldiers in remote fire bases are grateful to receive the support from Army and Air Force Exchange Services employees through a program known as a “Rodeo.”The exchange service conducts weekly “rodeos” to forward operating bases in Afghanistan,...

WASHINGTON — Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” might not be playing on overseas bases anytime soon, but AAFES promised Wednesday it’s doing its best to acquire copies of the film. Spokesman Judd Anstey said that “the status is unchanged” from four weeks ago, when AAFES said that the only factor in getting a movie is its popularity, and that the controversy surrounding Fahrenheit 9/11 would not affect the decision. A source at the Navy Motion Picture Service, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Navy had not yet made a decision as to whether to pursue the film for overseas and...

WASHINGTON — Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” might not be playing on overseas bases anytime soon, but AAFES promised Wednesday it’s doing its best to acquire copies of the film. Spokesman Judd Anstey said that “the status is unchanged” from four weeks ago, when AAFES said that the only factor in getting a movie is its popularity, and that the controversy surrounding Fahrenheit 9/11 would not affect the decision. A source at the Navy Motion Picture Service, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Navy had not yet made a decision as to whether to pursue the film for overseas and...

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is now authorized to sell prepaid calling cards to any individual, company or organization that wishes to purchase cards for troops who are deployed. Up until now, those wishing to lend a helping hand had no other alternative but to purchase other retailer's prepaid cards that, in many cases, were not designed for affordable international calling in deployed areas. Now, anyone (even those not in the military) can help troops in contingency operations call home from one of the many AAFES call centers in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF). Many of...

AAFES theaters to show Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ Stars and Stripes European edition, Saturday, March 27, 2004 The Army & Air Force Exchange Service announced Thursday that it has 11 copies of “The Passion of the Christ” and will first show them to troops stationed outside of CONUS. AAFES says it has begun shipping the film to overseas theaters. The first stops for the 11 prints are Hanau, Vogelweh, Vilseck, Mannheim and Würzburg in Germany; RAF Mildenhall, England; Balad, Iraq; Yokota East, Japan; Balboni and Osan in Korea; and Courtney on Okinawa, Japan. “The Passion of the Christ” will be circulated...