• DALLAS
Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez, the senior enlisted advisor of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), is ending his two-year tenure at that Exchange position as he gets ready to retire from the Air Force on Oct. 30 after 28 years.
Beginning today, Chief Master Sgt. Angela Holden will become senior enlisted advisor.
GROWING UP WITH THE MILITARY
Martinez’s father served 20 years as a combat medic in the Army, and his grandfather spent 22 years in the Army and then served as a JROTC instructor for 20 years.
After high school, Martinez declined a full scholarship to a military school, so he enrolled at UT-San Antonio in his hometown and joined the ROTC.
Martinez entered the Air Force in 1998, working as a computer, networking, switching and cryptographic systems apprentice at Hill AFB, Utah. He spent most of his career in communications.
His career has included two deployments: the first to Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch and then to Saudi Arabia with Operation Enduring Freedom. Those experiences gave him a deeper look into what the Exchange does to support warfighters.
THE TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT
But the deepest look came after he joined the Exchange two years ago.
Martinez was on board less than a month when he joined other leaders on a tour of Exchange facilities in the United Kingdom and Germany, and less than six months later, he toured the Pacific Region, visiting 16 installations in 15 days.
He also participated in outreach events, accompanying Senior Vice President (SVP) of Brand Marketing Sandi Lute, Chief of Staff Jose Hernandez and Strategic Marketing Manager Chris Provan to events to spread the word about the Exchange benefit.
“They were all able to teach me some of the talking points when engaging with customers, telling them what we do, how we do it and why we do it,” he said. “A lot of the times I talk to command teams, it’s less about ‘What do you want?’ and more about ‘Let me tell you about what AAFES is doing and fighting for right now.
“These are the things that we’re involved in. These are the places that we’re at. These are the things that we’re advocating for.’”
Martinez estimates that he’s visited nearly 50 Exchange stores in the past two years, as well as distribution centers (DC), bakeries and other facilities.
“Our distribution centers and bakeries overseas are interesting, because we’re able to make and deliver things like Krispy Kreme doughnuts,” he said. “I would never have known that if I weren’t with the Exchange.
“But the most impressive thing was going to the Dan Daniel DC recently and seeing the amount of automation we now have in the distribution center and the amount of technology that goes into it.
“In no way are we trying to replace human beings with robots or technology, but this is how we enhance the personnel that we have and make their jobs just a little bit easier.”
RETIREMENT PLANS
Martinez says that after he retires, he and his family plan to remain in the Dallas area, where they live in a suburb about 25 miles from Exchange headquarters.
Martinez had seen a lot of the world during his career in the Air Force before he was named senior enlisted advisor.
“When you’re coming into the senior enlisted advisor position, you don’t immediately realize all the things the Exchange does, and to what scale and in what locations,” Martinez said. “Seeing it in Europe and then seeing it in the Pacific just hit home in showing just how involved we are in supporting the military community. It’s super impressive to see.”
Source: AAFES
Edited by Larry Lapka
