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AAFES Sucks!

This post submitted by shadow
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Ok, so when I arrived Korea I was well aware of the rationing IAW the SOFA, however, when I went into the Osan shoppette the other day, the cashier scanned my cared for 3 50ml bottles of vodka. You know, the little bottles you get on the airlines. This is the first time thats been done since they've instituted the "credit card" ration system over here. Anyway, I asked the cashier how many units that would reflect on my ration...she didn't know. So, will I be charged 3 units of alcohol for purchasing 3 50,l bottles of booze? WTF at least in Germany you could tell by the check marks on your card. When I went to the USFK site for ration control, it displayed the exact amout I spent in grocerys at the commissary, but the alcohol portion of the stie was not available; meaning that the site could not show the data. WTF... you give me a card with a magnetic stip on the back and you can't show me whats been purchased???? In Germany the could show you based on your paper product card. Granted, its not the best way to manage things, but when my info is being scanned into some AAFES owned computer and I can't see whats going on then theres a problem. Perhaps I should "turn" Korean over here and shop till my hearts content and pass through the korean cashiers................thats another story.

No swimwear in July

AAFES Sucks!

This post submitted by Adam Shutt -
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I went to my local helpful AAFES store on July 18th, in Germany, to get some men's swimwear. I can't find any so I ask the sales associate where it is. He informs me that they are all sold out. I was stunned, and asked him if he realized that it was the middle of July, in the middle of summer heat, and he could only tell me that "That stuff sold really fast, and that "They were stocking stuff for fall now". Unbelievable. Again AAFES does'nt have the forward thinking to stock more than can be bought out in a couple weeks. Thanks AAFES, I bent over and you got me again!

Two AAFES workers fined $1.3 million in S. Korea black-marketing scheme

AAFES Sucks!

It doesn't stop, and never will. From S & S

SEOUL � Two South Korean AAFES employees were ordered to pay a total of more than $1.3 million in fines after being found guilty last month of a massive black-marketing scheme.

Yu Jung-yeol was sentenced June 7 to 24 months in prison and was ordered to pay more than 678 million won � about $750,000. Yu Gwang-ok was sentenced the same day to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years. He must pay the court more than 618 million won � about $683,000. Seoul District Court officials, who confirmed the sentences Wednesday, said both men worked for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service at Camp Market. They said the men are appealing the sentences. The case came to light in late March, when South Korean police announced they were investigating 18 people, including two Americans from the base and two South Korean AAFES workers. Police said the group moved about 25,000 cases of beer and about 633 tons of expired food products from the AAFES shelves into the off-base black market. Officials have said that one of the AAFES employees made more than $2 million on sales and evaded tariffs after he began selling food in 2004 and beer in 2005. The AAFES employees manipulated the inventory tracking system by falsifying documents to show the goods had been disposed of properly, officials have told Stars and Stripes. On Wednesday, Seoul court officials were unable to provide specifics as to the charges on which the AAFES employees were found guilty and would say only that they involved violations of South Korea�s waste disposal and customs laws. Korean National Police officials who�ve worked the case could not be reached Wednesday. AAFES officials were unable to comment Wednesday afternoon. - Surprise! :)

DTH Decoder in Korea

AAFES Sucks!

This post submitted by Jim -
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For all of us here in South Korea, the DTH decoder box is available for AAFES to dig into your pockets while you are here. I tried to purchase the DTH decoder here and was told the only way to obtain the service was to rent the DTH decoder (at that time for $25.00 a month but has recently dropped to $13.00 a month).

Well, let's see, the decoder cost $279.00 to buy and I could have purchased the decoder through AAFES but not here in Korea. I'm retired Air Force and a contractor and have been in Korea for 12 years. Now, the thing that really gets me is that the decoder is purchased by aafes customers every place except Korea and Japan. I finally got fed up with aafes answers, all the way up to the aafes IG and I found a different avenue to obtain a DTH decoder. It was so crazy, AAFES was saying it was AFN not allowing the sale, then it was USFK stopping sale, then it was ration control stopping the sales. I didn't know when it would stop.

Friends are a fantastic thing to have, especially when they can walk into a BX/PX in Europe and purchase 4 DTH decoder boxes at one time without any questions.. So, if you have friends and want a decoder, use those services...

Give AAFES some competition

AAFES Sucks!

From: Give AAFES some competition

After a recent trip to the post exchange, I decided it was time to offer my ideas to the rest of the military community that uses PX services.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has long touted the huge benefit that it provides to soldiers and family members. As one takes a closer look, the actual benefit is quite small.

We live in a capitalistic society. This translates into competition among providers of goods and services, which, in turn, causes prices to fall. This is the basis of our economy. This, however, does not exist in the AAFES world. There is no competition on post. All businesses are run by AAFES. If a new business wants to open on post (a daunting task, at best) it must agree to be run by AAFES. Prices, employees, goods, services � all AAFES. This does not bode well for the military consumer.

At a stateside assignment, this problem is easily resolved by traveling usually just a mile or two off post to the large variety of discount stores that offer prices much cheaper than any AAFES establishment. For those overseas, we are forced to use on-post facilities and pay prices far higher than your local Wal-Mart.

One can order online and save a lot, if he is able to find a supplier that will ship to an Army post office box. This process, however, is long and time-consuming.

The time has come [to bring some] competition to the AAFES monopoly. Only when other establishments not run by AAFES are allowed to operate on post will we enjoy the benefits of capitalism.

Hmm � I wonder if Wal-Mart will read this

Spc. Christopher M. Meyering

Vilseck, Germany

From the no suprises files: AAFES workers linked to black-market scam in South Korea

AAFES Sucks!

Employees allegedly part of operation that resold beer outside Camp Long
From S&S
SEOUL � One man is in custody and three more face charges in connection with a black-marketing operation that was being run out of an Army and Air Force Exchange Service store at Camp Long, near Wonju, South Korea, authorities said Wednesday.
The case was a result of a yearlong investigation and involved more than 21,000 cases of beer from AAFES, according to Kim Jong-mu, a Seoul-based South Korean customs officer who is the case�s senior investigator.
The duty-free beer was driven off base in a U.S. government vehicle and sold to middlemen, who in turn resold it on the South Korean market, he said.
The four suspects in the case were AAFES employees, he said.
AAFES-Pacific spokesman Master Sgt. Donovan K. Potter said, �all employees involved in this case have been terminated or are on enforced leave, pending disciplinary action.�
One suspect, Cheon Bong-Jung, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of violating South Korean customs law, Kim Jong-mu said. He added that another suspect, Kim Jong-hyuk, who was the store manager, is hospitalized and is expected to be arrested later this week upon his release.
The other two suspects, whose names were unavailable, have not been arrested and are thought to have played lesser roles of loading the beer onto the government vehicle, Kim Jong-mu said.
None of the four have been charged formally, he said, adding that South Korean police are planning to forward charges to the prosecutor�s office.
Customs officers also are seeking a middleman who left one of their fellow officers injured on Nov. 10, Kim said. The officer, Yang Cheon-ho, was dragged by the suspect�s car for about 100 yards as the suspect drove off to escape an attempt to arrest him, Kim said.
The officer remains hospitalized in Seoul with broken bones and head injuries.
U.S. Forces Korea spokesman David Oten said the investigation is ongoing and details could not be confirmed as of late Wednesday.
According to Kim, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command agents asked South Korean customs officials to help them in the joint investigation.
He said Army investigators last year became suspicious of illegal activity at the Camp Long store after determining the amount of beer being ordered for the store was excessive compared to other peninsula AAFES outlets.
The 21,300 cases of beer believed to have been smuggled over the past year was valued at 700 million won, or about $750,000. Kim said investigators believe the suspects have been involved in black marketing for many years.
The Camp Long smuggling was done by loading cases into a vehicle with USFK plates and driving the beer to a middleman waiting off base in an identical vehicle with South Korean license plates, Kim said. Then the plates were switched and the beer was delivered to liquor merchants in Seoul�s Namdaemun Market, he said.
AAFES in the past year has used a new computer software tracking system to help determine when excessive amounts of goods are being sold at its South Korea stores, an indication of possible black marketing.
Kim said the system is working effectively at stores on larger bases.
�Now we are hoping that their new software system tracking � would be applied to the smaller camps for a quick implementation,� he said. �That�s very helpful to prevent the black marketing still occurring at the smaller U.S. military bases.�

Amazing. And yet the military continues to harass young soldiers and civilians as if the black market economy is being supplied a case of beer at a time, walking out of the gate, or in the trunk of a POV. Why it takes years rather than weeks or months to detect anomalous sales and inventory patterns are beyond me. Both USFK and AAFES takes a hit on incidents like these.

No mid-month price drops in store for AAFES gasoline

AAFES Sucks!

MWR will get a much needed shot in the arm this month! from: Stripes

Overseas adjustments won�t come until October

By Matt Millham, Stars and Stripes

European edition, Sunday, September 17, 2006

Matt Millham / S&S

David McClure, a civilian who works for the 3rd Corps Support Command in Wiesbaden, Germany, fills up his Lincoln Aviator at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas station in Darmstadt on Friday.

Don�t expect a drop in the price of gas purchased through AAFES before the next monthly price change.

Despite the growing gap between the Army and Air Force Exchange Service�s fuel prices in Europe and the U.S. national average, �� there are no approved plans to further adjust [overseas] pump prices mid-month,� Judd Anstey, an AAFES spokesman, told Stars and Stripes late Friday in an e-mail response to questions.

Motorists in the U.S. were paying 54 cents less than AAFES customers in Germany on Sept. 11, the last day the Department of Energy compiled its weekly stateside gasoline price average. That was the biggest price disparity in at least two years.

Rather than lower fuel prices now, AAFES is expected to account for the U.S. price drop when it resets its monthly gas price for October.

U.S. prices haven�t slid so low so quickly since they dropped almost 80 cents a gallon between last October and December after hurricanes Katrina and Rita. That slide resulted in a difference of 52 cents per gallon for AAFES customers over the U.S. average in November 2005.

In September 2005, AAFES� price was 26.8 cents lower than the U.S. average for regular in Germany. This was the biggest gap in favor of drivers in Germany in at least two years.

AAFES also sells fuel in the U.K., the Netherlands, Turkey and the Azores. In Italy, fuel is purchased from certain Italian service stations through tax-free coupons issued by the Navy, which sets its own monthly rates.

While prices in the U.S. continue to fall, AAFES� prices have not because the exchange service�s pricing formula doesn�t take trends in the States into account until the following month, AAFES officials have said previously.

That means there should be some relief in October, but it is not clear how much. AAFES calculates its price by averaging U.S. prices from the last week of one month and all but the last week of the next, then adds what it calls an �incremental dispensing cost.�

For instance, to get September�s price, AAFES averaged the price from the last week of July with the prices from the first three weeks of August and added more than 16 cents � its �incremental dispensing cost� � to every grade of fuel.

Because AAFES� prices reflect past prices in the States, they can�t be directly compared to what motorists pay in the U.S. But it is not difficult to figure out the differences between the two.

Vinny Newsome, who works for Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation in Darmstadt, Germany, put 9.2 gallons of super-unleaded gas in his 1986 Toyota 4-Runner at the AAFES station in Darmstadt on Friday. He paid $30 for the fill-up.

In the States, the same tank of would cost him an average of $4.80 less.

Make AAFES more family-friendly

AAFES Sucks!

This was user submitted, the man obviously feels strongly that AAFES does not support their customers needs. I could not agree more. On the other hand, I do not think that AAFES is in any position to be the moral police. Many of our soldiers who fight for freedom happen to enjoy porn and "violent" entertainment. As long as it is not illegal, AAFES should make it available to them. There is no requirement that I am aware of that states American soldiers must abide by any particular religious doctrine. They should be able to buy anything that is available to the average American citizen back home. While I sympathize with this poster's point of view, freedom can be a heavy responsibility, especially when it comes to being a parent. Besides AAFES can't even handle the mission of stocking relevant and quality mechandise, let alone filtering what is "good for us".

"...AAFES' priority should be to service members and their families before its priority should ever be to pornographers, the entertainment industry, or any other outside agency." I agree, if you also include religious and "moral" groups with "outside agencies". I think AAFES is immoral for ripping people off. AAFES-sucks.com opposes AAFES on secular and economic grounds. You are welcome to your opinion and the freedom to live as you choose, so long as it does not infringe others freedoms. Anyway, I welcome you posting here Mr. Rogers, though we may share differing viewpoints, we all want to fix AAFES.

-The Management

This post submitted by Spencer Rogers -

On Saturday, July 29th I noticed a problem: AAFES is not family-friendly. The tax-payer funded retail giant in charge of the Armed Forces' goods and services is littered with pornography, sex-infested literature, profanity-infested CDs, offensive video games, and adult-oriented movies.

I believe, that given the chance to correct these problems, AAFES will rise to the challenge and take the moral high ground. AAFES should choose military family values before profit. AAFES' priority should be to service members and their families before its priority should ever be to pornographers, the entertainment industry, or any other outside agency.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: AAFES to Standardize Overseas Gas Pricing Policy

AAFES Sucks!

Everyone remember this knee-slapper from 2004?

MEDIA CONTACT: Judd Anstey

RELEASE NO. 04-076

RELEASE DATE: September 2004

AAFES to Standardize Overseas Gas Pricing Policy

DALLAS � To standardize overseas gas pricing policies, the Army & Air Force Exchange Services (AAFES) requested and its Board of Directors have approved monthly pricing for gas stations in Japan, Okinawa, the Azores and Turkey. In the past, gas prices in Japan, Okinawa, the Azores and Turkey were adjusted once annually, unlike other locations where prices were changed monthly.

�Synchronizing the gas policy will ensure that the price of gas at all overseas locations reflects the U.S. market price, month to month,� said AAFES� Commander Maj. Gen. Kathryn Frost. �AAFES� objective is to offer pump prices that are consistent with the CONUS average regardless of where troops are stationed.�

To ensure that AAFES customers find gas prices in line with local U.S. stations the monthly overseas pricing policy is market based. Market based pricing means that prices will be based on the Department of Energy average price in the U.S. from the previous month plus incremental costs such as labor and other expenses. Incremental costs are unique to each country. This means that if U.S. prices increase, prices at all locations will follow; and whenever U.S. prices go down, customers will enjoy a price reduction.

�There may be some sticker shock for customers who have been paying 2003 prices for an entire year,� said General Frost. �Prices at the pump in the U.S. have skyrocketed in the last year. AAFES is working to mitigate the initial impact that standardizing the policy may have on customers.�

AAFES will standardize the gas pricing policy in Japan, Okinawa, the Azores and Turkey on Oct. 1, 2004. This date coincides with past annual sell price changes at these locations.

source: THE WHOPPER

Investigation of AAFES urged

AAFES Sucks!

Another letter from an angry AAFES customer in Stripes. A great suggestion. When AAFES finally does answer these latest letters, it will be more of their BS. You can find a list of Senate Armed Services Committee members and their email addresses here.

For nearly four years I have endured the rising cost of gasoline that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has sold, and I have read on a near-monthly basis the lame excuses and justification that AAFES has given. It is a never-ending circle of changing stories.

AAFES states that it charges prices that were in effect the previous month in the U.S. but, out of the other side of its mouth, it tells us that it gets its pricing from the Department of Energy. Which is it? It appears to me that maybe the reason for the drastic rise in gasoline prices is that AAFES sells so many other inferior products at a reduced cost, it must charge higher gasoline prices to offset that loss.

As I see it, AAFES is a monopoly, plain and simple. AAFES has no competition, which the courts have found to be illegal in so many instances. One that comes to mind very quickly is Microsoft just a couple of months ago, with the company given hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and having to rework its operating system.

The only way AAFES is going to come clean with an explanation and show justification for its gasoline pricing is for Congress and the Senate Armed Services Committee to get involved with a congressional investigation, where AAFES is made to justify what it does and how it does it. What I would be interested in seeing is how it works in that sales tax from the U.S. when we are in a foreign country and not subject to a sales tax to begin with.

To Stripes readers: Instead of continuing to cry and writing to Stripes, just make Stripes a copy of the letter you write to your senators or representatives asking them to look into the policies of AAFES.

Walter J. Irwin

Mannheim, Germany

What�s up with gas prices?

AAFES Sucks!

from: Stripes Letters

How much are we paying for our tax-free gas? (�Motorists confused by AAFES gas-price hike�)

[I cite a recent CNN report]: �Gas prices tumbled more than 15 cents during the past two weeks, to $2.87 per gallon of self-serve regular, a national survey said Sunday.

�Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Survey, attributed the 15.42-cent drop in surveys performed on August 25 and August 11 to �more than sufficient gasoline supply� and a modest softening in crude oil prices in recent days.

��It�s the largest drop since last September, when the country was coming off gasoline shortages caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,� said Lundberg, whose survey tallies prices every two to three weeks at about 5,000 gas stations in all 50 states.

�Historically high prices had already slowed or halted the growth in demand for gasoline, she said.

�Demand will drop further next month, she predicted, as Americans finish their summer vacations.�

Daniel C. Yelder Jr.

Mannheim, Germany

AAFES� gas profits

AAFES Sucks!

from: Stripes Letters

have to compliment the Army and Air Force Exchange Service for its role in supporting the servicemembers in and out of garrison. AAFES truly goes where we go, and it is definitely appreciated.

However, that doesn�t mean that I have to agree with, or accept, all its policies.

It�s another month, and again we must go through another gasoline price increase when stateside prices are going down. One only has to use the Department of Energy�s figures for the period ending Aug. 21 to understand really how much AAFES is charging customers above and beyond the national average.

We continue to read AAFES� press releases explaining its price formulas. AAFES explains this additional charge as recouping its costs for running the overseas program. This would be fair, except for the fact that costs, federal and state taxes are figured into the AAFES gasoline price.

What AAFES hasn�t explained, and probably won�t, is how much it makes on a gallon of gas. I would be interested in knowing how much money the overseas gas program makes per year and how much of that actually went to European Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs.

Tech. Sgt. Dean Schmitz

Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Stateside taxes, AAFES� costs

AAFES Sucks!

from: Stripes Letters

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service has settled on a set formula for setting gas prices, a laudable decision. However, selecting a formula that sets prices unrelated to actual costs continually causes concern to AAFES patrons overseas (�Motorists confused by AAFES gas-price hike�).

�AAFES sets its gas prices on stateside price averages from the previous four or five weeks, as calculated by the Department of Energy, plus additional costs, according to Judd Anstey, an AAFES spokesman.� (I hope these �additional costs� are being officially reviewed by someone outside AAFES, because they appear somewhat nebulous.)

A key observation here is that the price is based on the stateside price average, which includes an average of 43.2 cents per gallon of local, state and federal taxes, according to the American Petroleum Institute, added to the basic cost of gasoline stateside at the pump.

How are stateside taxes in any way related to AAFES� costs for gasoline overseas? It would seem that a realistic and more supportable cost basis would be the average cost paid by AAFES over the last four to five weeks, plus its �additional costs� and a reasonable markup to cover Morale, Welfare and Recreation allowances.

Why are gasoline sales disproportionately used to line AAFES� coffers to the detriment of those supporting Department of Defense peace efforts overseas? Because AAFES is a monopoly, and AAFES is allowed to do it by those who oversee it.

Perhaps if enough people complain, changes will occur that will reduce our costs of serving overseas.

Richard Drane

Stuttgart, Germany

Time to rethink price policy

AAFES Sucks!

Stripes Letters

It�s time the Army and Air Force Exchange Service tells the whole story about its gasoline pricing policy (�Motorists confused by AAFES gas-price hike�). Probably the reason the whole story isn�t being told is that it would cause an outrage.

AAFES sets its prices to the average price of gasoline stateside. This average price, however, includes state and federal excise taxes. AAFES does not pay U.S. federal or state excise tax on fuel it purchases wholesale overseas. AAFES does not pay the tax for the country in which the fuel is sold, either. So, AAFES is pricing fuel at average stateside retail prices with taxes included and adding the cost of administering the coupons on top of that.

That�s a lot of profit being made on the backs of patrons. Sure, fuel on the economy is priced higher, due to the high taxes added on to the retail price of fuel. The actual wholesale price of gasoline is lower in Europe than it is in the U.S. We are restricted to the amount of fuel we can purchase from AAFES by our agreements with the host countries, to lessen the impact of the loss of the additional tax money that the host government would get from our purchasing fuel from local vendors.

AAFES should revisit this policy of pricing to the �stateside� average retail. We don�t have the convenience to shop for lower prices (like in the States), and the price of fuel isn�t considered in our station or cost-of-living allowances. Since AAFES is pocketing the difference of the wholesale price and the retail price with taxes that it doesn�t pay, it seems a bit ridiculous that the cost of the fuel coupon administration is being added on top of the higher cost of fuel that we�re paying vs. stateside.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Walter J. Goerner (retired)

Heidelberg, Germany

Slo-o-o-o-w on the downturn

AAFES Sucks!

Stripes Letters

This past two weeks the news has been announcing the steady decrease in fuel prices stateside. The average is now $2.85 per gallon, including the 18.4-cent federal tax and 22-cent average state tax per gallon.

But I haven�t noticed an Army and Air Force Exchange Service announcement for our price $3.11 (regular), which has no tax included in the price, to be reduced. AAFES is quick on the uptake but slo-o-o-o-w on the downturn, don�t you think?

Michaelene Tyler

Baumholder, Germany

Gas price rip-off

AAFES Sucks!
from: Stripes Letters

The Aug. 30 Stars and Stripes [European edition] stated that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service was raising the price of gas due to an increase in the price in the U.S. for a four-week period ending Aug 22.

Here are the prices (per gallon, in cents) for the four-week period ending Aug. 22, according to the Department of Energy: Aug. 21, 291.9; Aug. 14, 300; Aug. 7, 304.5; July 31, 299.7.

To me, this means that the average price of all grades of fuel dropped 8 cents a gallon over that four-week period.
Question: When is AAFES going to stop ripping us off with its gas prices?
Mike Causey
Mannheim, Germany

AAFES Gas

AAFES Sucks!
Lots of people unhappy about AAFES and their lies, as made clear on their gas prices.

AAFES: The rip-off continues...

AAFES Sucks!
Just for laughs, I decided to do a random sampling on two items. I did not just pick items that beat AAFES prices. If I found two matching items, I listed the results. These are identical items on walmart.com and aafes.com. Here are the results:

Kodak 6 MP EasyShare Z650 Digital Camera w/ 10x Optical Zoom
AAFES: $295.00
WALMART: $255.54

Casio� Men's G-Shock Atomic Solar Watch
AAFES: $89.95
WALMART: $82.91

Shocking! Truly sad. Some of these items were even listed as "on sale" at AAFES. The numbers tell the whole story.

OVERPRICED GAS AT AAFES

AAFES Sucks!
So, AAFES makes no profit on gas. The savings is passed to us, the customers! If that is the case, how could they afford to sponsor this program last month. I really wish AAFES would come clean and offer us a cent by cent break down on their actual gas pricing.

from: Overseas AAFES outlets offer �buddy list� gas discount
Overseas AAFES outlets are sending out a �15 cents off� per gallon of gas coupon to customers who have signed up to receive �Buddy List� messages from their local PX/BX, the Army and Air Froce Exchange Service announced Friday.

Customers who purchase $50 or more in a Main Store, Pxtra, Four Seasons or Furniture store before Thursday need only to show their �Buddy List� coupon and store receipt to receive the discount, according to an AAFES press release.

At least now we know that there is at least a 15 cent gouging per gallon on gas. That's 15 cents they can obviously afford to lose and still keep the lights on and contribute to MWR. How much more leeway do they have?

AAFES: NO SHIPPING TO APO

AAFES Sucks!
Great letter in Stripes, and a prime example of the galaxy sized suckage that is AAFES. I know after my one and only experience attempting to order items online, I'll never do it again. Thank you AMAZON, WALMART, and friends for your support.
from AAFES doesn�t go where you go
The other day I was looking in the Army and Air Force Exchange Service catalog and found a patio lounge chair that would be great for where I am at, not that there are any patios here. It was a little pricey but what the heck, I wanted it. So I tried to order it; it was on sale for $69.95.
Now, AAFES� slogan is �We go where you go.� They have it plastered on everything.
When I tried to order it, AAFES said they do not ship this item to an Army post office address. For an organization that says it goes where I go, this seems a little odd.
So, I did what any good shopper would do if a store cannot get me what I want. I went to walmart.com. Not only was the chair less money, $57 with shipping, but, believe it or not, they will ship it to an APO.
I checked my order today and the chair in question is en route as I write this letter. So, in the future, if I need a candy bar I will go to AAFES; anything more, I will go to Wal-Mart or wherever, get what I want, save money and get it sent to me.

AFN Sattellite Decoders

AAFES Sucks!
This post submitted by XAAFES Commando
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What is up with the AAFES Monopoly on the sattelite decoders?

I am a contract civilian living in Japan. To get AFN television, I have to pay twenty five dollars a month to AAFES.
The Sattelite dishes range form 60 to 80 Centimeters in Diamiter, which cost about 65.00 (Over priced)The decoders which are leased for $25.00 a month are old and outdated.
I wouldn't really have a problem if I was able to buy this decoder from AAFES or from some other source, but AAFES is really sticking it to me and others.
I'm sure AAFES bought these decoders from some wholesaler in the states for five dollars a piece.
The logic AAFES uses on person's like myself not being able to buy one of these outdated decoders, is that we could sell these decoders to person's who are not authorized to watch AFN, and the information may be considered somewhat classified...
It looks like I and other like me will have to do background checks on all non-sofa guests. I guess I should also put my Japanese guests through a debriefing after they leave my home.
I'd like to add that I too had one of these crap decoders. I returned it after a year. The AAFES folks sneered at me, "where's the cardboard box?" I couldn't believe it.
-AS

Manager or Not??

AAFES Sucks!
No wonder some employees have bad attitudes, check this out This post submitted by John Doe
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Well, over a year ago, I was chosen to be a manager by AAFES. I understood and accepted that my promotion would only be temp until I completed the required managerial courses. While I was in school, we received a new General Manager and he thought that the job that I was in training for was no longer needed. So after a 4 week course...they sent me TDY and paid for a fancy hotel and all...I am still stuck in my temp position. With AAFES, a temp position means you could be given your letter of release without any notice at all. I left a regular full time job only thinking I would be receiving a managerial job...but the new GM thinks otherwise. So now, I constantly have this hanging over my head that some day I could walk into work and have no job. AAFES is said to go out of it's way for its customers, but it gives its employees the royal boot. This SUCKS

10 year rip off

AAFES Sucks!
This post submitted by Troy Crossley
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I got out of the Army 10 years ago. Much to my surprise AAFES called me on the phone last July 2005 and informed me that I did not pay off my account upon ETS. They informed me that I still had an outstanding balance of just over $ 600.00 but with interest and other fees that my new balance was over $ 1500.00. I informed them that I had payed off this account when I left Military service and that there must be a mistake on their end. They told me that unless I could prove that it was payed off at that time that I would have to pay them the amount that they said I now owed. I told them to prove to me that I owed them this amount and then I would consider it. Well needless to say that I heard nothing else from them until tax time rolled around, I was all set for a pretty hefty return on my 2005 taxes only to find out that AAFES garnished over $ 1500.00 without me even knowing about it until it was too late. Has anybody else had similar run ins with the AAFES mafia? Troy Crossley Leavenworth, Washington

Try working for AAFES Europe

AAFES Sucks!
This post submitted by j.d.k
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I must preface my statement by saying that I am typically a loyal and professional employee who would not choose to indulge in such shamefully public rantings if it were not for the fact that I feel all other avenues of communication were dead ends. I mean this as a serious warning to any prospective employees. I have found AAFES to allow various forms of harassment and bullying directed towards associates to be conducted by management, while the Store Director and Assistant Store Director are well aware of the situation and continue to promote these villanous managers. Employees are poorly trained, over worked and underpaid. One must also be quite careful to ensure that they are not ensared in an ongoing battle between the local nationals and the Americans, often exacerbated by the very management that should end such petty behaviors. The Americans have no voice, no benefits (many stores only hire us as temps) and must work every holiday so that the local nationals may have it off. The local nationals are permitted to choose their schedules while mine is at the mercy of the hours they choose. The whole system of rules and treatment are different. There are managers who delight in making some of our younger spouses cry, and this is again allowed. This has happened 3 times this week. This is not unique to my particular store- I have spoken with many associates from other stores who have the very same complaints. Please beware that your rights as spelled out in the Federal Labor Laws will not be upheld and make AAFES your last choice for employment!

Gas questions for AAFES

AAFES Sucks!
Another letter in Stars & Stripes. Why won't AAFES just come up with an honest gas pricing policy and publish a breakdown of how they arrive at thier prices?
Gas questions for AAFES
Well, knock me over with a broom straw � the Army and Air Force Exchange Service has announced another increase in gasoline prices, as determined by its military board of directors!
I offer this question [to AAFES� military board of directors]: Have you ever considered what could and should be an equitable method to set gasoline prices overseas? Ask yourselves: Why are overseas gasoline prices weighed against commercial costs in the U.S.?
Then ask yourselves: Why shouldn�t AAFES� overseas charges be based strictly on the average of prices charged at stateside military installations?
I doubt if any Department of Defense person would object if AAFES set a price for gasoline sold at its on-base service stations overseas that is based on the average at CONUS military installations. I�m also sure they would also accept another higher price for coupons that can be used either on base or in civilian stations (to cover the expense of printing the coupons and other administrative costs).
Think about it, military board of directors, and give us a fair shake.
Doug Moore
Weilerbach, Germany

Good luck Mr. Moore, in your search for a fair shake from these people. You are not the first one to ask these questions. Let's see what kind of answers you get. I will settle for nothing less than a penny by penny breakdown of thier prices. Especially after all the stonewalling and half answers from the past. It's too bad (for them) we're not the idiots they take us for.

AAFES� reach is too long

AAFES Sucks!
This post submitted by The Management -
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An excellent letter from Stars & Stripes. The writer sums it up pretty well.

I just read the article about the Army and Air Force Exchange Service wanting to get into the TVtelephoneInternet market (�Deputy says AAFES has plans to bundle TV, Internet, phone,� Feb. 1). As much as I hate to say it, I really hope this doesn�t happen.
It�s a shame that AAFES even would consider such a thing. They are bound and determined to take every penny that the military members spend. In Stripes a while back, a general from AAFES commented on the fact that he had been in the service for 36 years and had always supported AAFES. I have also been associated with the military for about that long, and I can honestly say that we have differing views.
I remember when AAFES took over the Class IV stores, and prices went up almost immediately. The same thing happened when they took over clothing sales.
AAFES is definitely trying to control everything we do. They eliminate the vendor and take over whatever that personcompany was doingselling. Heaven help you if try to make a bit of money for a unit. If you are selling something that AAFES sells, they will politely tell you to stop. Been there, done that. �AAFES saves you money� is one of their favorite sayings. This is true � assuming that they have what you need. Otherwise you have to go on the economy � be it overseas or stateside � to get what you need.
I know I�ll always be able to find what I need. AAFES getting into the Internet business won�t affect me one way or another. It�s the new guys who are unaware there is life other than on poston base who are in a bad situation.
Tech. Sgt. Mike Roark (retired)
Ansbach, Germany

Korea exchange stores struggle to keep goods off black market

AAFES Sucks!
From Stripes

military investigators rely on sales summaries, paper receipts of popular black market items and store workers� watchful eyes to catch suspicious buyers, according to USFK.

Ah yes, the ever diligent AAFES worker.

To make matters more complex, the money � an estimated $1.3 million to $2.2 million, according to McCarthy � would have to come from a military budget outside the stores� own income, Borland said. All profits from AAFES stores must go toward morale and recreation programs designed for service members and their families, she said.

ALL profits. Really? This is from the AAFES website.

The only congressionally appropriated money spent in AAFES comes in the form of utilities and transportation of merchandise to overseas exchanges and for salaries of military personnel assigned to AAFES. As a non-appropriated fund activity (NAF) of the Department of Defense, AAFES funds 98% of its operating budget (civilian employee salaries, inventory investments, utilities and capital investments for equipment, vehicles and facilities) from the sale of merchandise, food and services to customers.

We have just hit on the main reason people mistrust AAFES. They can't seem to get their lies, uh, er excuses, I mean stories straight. What is it? Do they have rogue spokespersons running loose at the mouth? Or is it possible they think we are idiots and don't even bother trying to present coherent policy statements?

Commissaries cracking down on black marketing in South Korea

AAFES Sucks!
This post submitted by The Management -
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More hard hitting journalism from the folks at Stars & Stripes.

(Editor�s note: This is the first day of a two-day series. Part II: While the U.S. military is making strides in tracking purchases at commissaries that may be headed for the black market, AAFES � the Army and Air Force Exchange Service � still has a long way to go in keeping up with its merchandise, which includes liquor, electronics and sports equipment.)

Well duh. But most of the stuff never makes it to the installations in the first place...