Exchange Operations Returning to Normal After Hurricane Florence

Customers at Fort Bragg’s Old Glory Express stock up on supplies during Hurricane Florence.

Exchange Facilities at Fort Bragg, N.C., Suffer Most Damage, Express Opens to Grateful Shoppers

Exchange stores at most installations affected by Hurricane Florence are gradually returning to normal operations.

The one exception is Fort Bragg, which saw a great deal of flooding in Exchange facilities, forcing most operations to remain closed. Soldiers and their families on Fort Bragg received some good news on Sunday as the Old Glory Express opened its doors.

“We were determined to get at least one Express open on Sunday to assist those that have basically been holed up since Friday,” said Fort Bragg General Manager Bill Shoffner. “Despite having every register open, we had lines throughout the day. Both command and shoppers were very appreciative that we were open.”

“Despite many road closures, to include some major highways, the Logistics team has done an amazing job to ensure we were prepared to reopen. They rerouted drivers as necessary to work around the closures. It might have taken a little longer for them to get here, but they got here.”

-Bill Shoffner, Fort Bragg Exchange General Manager

All facilities at Fort Bragg should open by Tuesday, except for South Post Exchange shopping center, which was flooded. Floors, walls, ceilings and some fixtures were damaged in the food court, mall and main store. The Exchange is working with its Real Estate team and Fort Bragg’s Department of Public Works to assess the damage.

The North Post Qdoba was damaged as well and will remain closed.

Working around the clock

Shoppers returning to the North Post Exchange and Expresses will find cleanup and relief items—the Exchange Logistics and Merchandising teams have worked around the clock since last week to ensure stores have the essentials to take care of Soldiers and families.

More than 4,000 packages of batteries, thousands of cases of water as well as generators, gas cans and flashlights have been delivered to Fort Bragg and Seymour Johnson AFB over the last few days.

“Despite many road closures, to include some major highways, the Logistics team has done an amazing job to ensure we were prepared to reopen,” Shoffner said. “They rerouted drivers as necessary to work around the closures. It might have taken a little longer for them to get here, but they got here.”

Status of other Exchanges

Other locations affected by Hurricane Florence include:

• Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C. – Exchange and Expresses reopening Monday
• Joint Base Charleston, S.C. – normal operations resumed Sunday
• Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. – all operations are open and running normally
• Fort Lee, Va. – all facilities are open
• Fort Jackson/Shaw AFB, S.C. – Resumed normal operating hours Sunday.