• DALLAS
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) is celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week by honoring the unsung heroes who work tirelessly to ensure troops and their families receive the goods they need.
From Sept. 14 through Sept. 20, PXs and BXs worldwide will recognize these road warriors, who support the retailer’s “We Go Where You Go” mission, with signs, banners, thank-yous and other accolades.
The special week sends gratitude to those who make sure Exchange shoppers can enjoy their hard-earned benefit of tax-free goods, services, food and more, wherever they are called to serve.
AAFES Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tom Shull noted, “Exchange drivers are the cornerstone of our worldwide supply chain. They are the vital link that ensures products are available for service members and their families. They go the distance for the heroes we are honored to serve.
“[Our drivers are] delivering in conditions that range from ice storms to hurricanes to hot desert sands, from lonely highways to jammed city streets.
“More than 55 percent of our drivers are veterans and more than 30 have driven a million miles or more safely for the Exchange.”
“VITAL TO THE MISSION”
The Exchange, the Department of War’s (DoW) largest retailer, has the 15th-largest private retail fleet in the United States. Of the nearly 170 truck drivers that deliver for the Exchange worldwide, 56 percent are veterans.
In addition to shipping Exchange goods, the fleet provides critical natural disaster support — hauling 53-foot Mobile Field Exchanges (MFE), bringing stores-on-wheels to areas that need them most.
“Exchange drivers are vital to the mission,” said Army Lt. Col. Emanuel Velez, the Exchange’s deputy director of Logistics.
“They brave long distances, harsh weather and rough roads to ensure the ‘tastes of home’ reach shoppers safely around the world,” he added.
THE CELEBRATION
National Truck Driver Appreciation Week was founded by the American Trucking Association in 1998 to pay respect to and thank professional drivers for their hard work and commitment in one of our economy’s most demanding and important jobs.
There are more than 3.5 million professional drivers on U.S. roads today.
Source: AAFES
Edited by Larry Lapka
