• OFFUTT AFB, Neb.
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service’s (AAFES) senior enlisted advisor recently visited the base here to ensure that warfighters have what they need for readiness, resiliency and lethality.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez met with Col. Patrick Kolesiak, 55th Mission Support Group commander; Col. Aaron
Gray, 55th Wing deputy commander; and Chief Master Sgt. Adam Clingan, 55th Mission Support Group senior enlisted leader, to gather feedback on how the Exchange can continue to enhance the benefit for the Offutt AFB community.
“The Exchange’s presence at Offutt ensures that the Air Combat Command’s largest wing and its Airmen have what they need to make their jobs easier and stay mission ready,” Martinez said.
“With Offutt being home to more than 18,000 service members, civilian personnel and dependents, it is an ongoing endeavor to enhance the hard-earned Exchange benefit for this important community,” he added.
INVESTMENTS
Quality-of-life investments made by the Exchange in the past year include the opening of the Nebraska Veteran Resource Center in October, offering public-facing military, veteran and dependent support services from a storefront inside the BX.
New restaurants — including the War Hawk Café and Dock 6 —were also added in Bldg. 500 and Bldg. 457, respectively, giving Airmen and personnel access to quality food no matter where on base they work.
In March, the Exchange partnered with Amazon to bring pickup and return services to the Offutt AFB BX. Without needing to leave base, shoppers can select the Main Store customer service desk as a convenient pickup location for all eligible Amazon orders as well as a drop-off point for label-free, box-free returns at no additional cost.
Upcoming projects include a 10-year, $828,000 image upgrade to Starbucks scheduled to begin in late 2025, which will bring the restaurant up to the latest standards for branding, aesthetics, equipment, seating areas and more.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Shopping at the Exchange directly benefits the military community, with 100 percent of earnings going directly back to installations to support quality-of-life improvements and updates to the shopping experience.
Offutt AFB shoppers helped generate more than $373,000 for quality-of-life programs in 2023.
“The Exchange is ‘all in’ to work with Offutt leadership and bring the best we can offer to Airmen, their families and all other personnel on base,” Martinez said.
Source: 55th Wing Public Affairs, Offutt AFB, Neb.
Edited by Larry Lapka
