126 Years of Family Serving Family – Cindy Fletcher, Joint Base San Antonio

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 126 years of family serving family

Cindy Fletcher, military clothing shift manager at Joint Base San Antonio, was a military brat in Frankfurt, Germany, where her father was stationed in the Army. He worked in Customs and her mother worked at the Exchange.

“I enjoyed being a military brat,” said Fletcher. “It was an adventure seeing different cultures, getting to know people from around the world, diverse ways of thinking … seeing the world in with new eyes. I was in Germany in high school—those are memories you keep with you, and make you want to go back.”

When the family moved to Fort Sam Houston, her mother continued to work at the Exchange and retired there. Later, Cindy started to work at the same Exchange.

“I stayed here because I love this base,” said Fletcher. “It’s close to home, most of my relatives are in Texas and it’s home.”

She tried working at Dillard’s for a year but found the Exchange to be a friendlier team concept. She came back because she missed the camaraderie she grew up with.

“Everybody’s in the military; you don’t want to give up the closeness of the military community,” said Fletcher. “It’s a family bond.”

Fletcher has some advice for anyone who wants to make the Exchange a career.

“Take the opportunity to gain new skills and you can grow with AAFES,” said Fletcher.

“Don’t be afraid to learn and to ask questions. If you are thinking about whether you can do a job or not—just do it, go for it! With hard work you can achieve anything.”

And it has served her well, as she has been with the Exchange for 39 years. She has worked as a sales associate in ladieswear, and as a cashier, receiver and sales floor supervisor in Military Clothing, but she does not have a favorite job. She enjoyed the aspect of learning new things in each position she had.

“They were all great steppingstones for growth, knowledge and new responsibilities. Each position was an enjoyment,” she said.

And she advocates that managers and supervisors communicate with their subordinates, keep them informed of changes and train them. The more skills they have, the smoother and more confident they will be.

“When you’re a manager or supervisor, you want the associates to have all the knowledge that you learned when you were an associate to help customers,” said Fletcher. “Never stop an associate from learning and growing.”