10 Business View - November 2014
Opening
Lines
Expanding online shopping privileges to all honorably
discharged veterans isn’t a matter of “if,” but “when,”
according to Tom Shull, chief executive officer of the
Army and Air Force Exchange Service.
“We still have a ways to go,” Shull said.
One of those is determining how to share dividends for
morale, welfare and recreation programs when a Navy,
Marine Corps or Coast Guard veteran buys online.
The issues “are not insurmountable,” said Shull, speak-
ing at the annual convention of the American Logistics
Association, an industry trade association that conducts
business with commissaries, exchanges and MWR ac-
tivities.
In May, AAFES officials gave a formal proposal to de-
fense officials to allow all honorably discharged veterans
to shop at its online exchange store only; the proposal
doesn’t extend to brick-and-mortar stores. Concerns
subsequently were raised within the Defense Depart-
ment that expanding online access would lead to “ben-
efit creep” — access for veterans to brick-and-mortar ex-
change stores and to other quality-of-life benefits.
Official: Online
Shopping Privileges
for All Vets is Likely
