Kindness That Occurred Decades Ago Helped Inspire Redstone Associate to Join the Exchange

Antonio Lynn, manager of the Red Martin Road Express at Redstone Arsenal, is a 30-year Army Veteran who joined the Exchange after he retired 2020.

Having served at multiple installations on three continents, Lynn knew about the ways the Exchange provided troops the comforts of home. But it was a particular kindness that helped inspire him to join the organization.

That kindness occurred in 1996, nearly 25 years before Lynn came to the Exchange.

Shortly before Christmas that year, Lynn PCS’d from Fort Lee, Virginia, to Ansbach, Germany.

“While I was PCSing, my wife and two kids needed to get passports,” Lynn said. “It was December, and for some reason, one of my children’s passports hadn’t come through. So I ended up flying to Germany without my family around Dec. 7 and 8.”

“I always said if I could pay it back, I would,” Antonio Lynn, manager of the Red Martin Road Express at Redstone Arsenal, says of assistance he received from an Exchange associate when he was in the Army in 1996.

Housing wasn’t ready yet, and hotels were full until after Christmas, so Lynn stayed in a barracks.

“I decided to go ahead and do some Christmas shopping, but I realized I had nowhere to put the items that I was purchasing,” Lynn said. “So I went to one of the managers at the Ansbach Exchange. She told me, ‘Buy anything you want. Just leave a dollar on it. I will keep it here, and when you get your kids in town, I will meet you at the store, unlock it and get everything that you need.’ “

Lynn doesn’t remember the manager’s name but he does remember how she lived up to her promise.

About Dec. 15, his daughter’s passport came through. A few days later, he took a flight home so he could bring his family to Germany.

“Someone took me to the airport in Nuremberg,” he said. “I spent the night at the airport to catch an early morning flight home the next day. A couple of days later, my family and I were able to fly back to Germany.”

They arrived around Christmas Eve. “I called up the PX manager and said, ‘I know it’s the 24^th, but my family is here and I was wondering if I could get my items.’ She said, ‘I’ll meet you there in five minutes.’”

The manager helped Lynn take his items from the store, bag them and put them in his car.

“On Dec. 25, my family was able to have Christmas,” Lynn said. “I always said if ever had the opportunity to pay it back, I would.”

When he retired in 2020, Lynn took Army Transition Assistance (Tap) courses under the Soldier for Life program. They recommended some organizations to apply for. “The Exchange  was one of them, and I’d always wanted to work with the Exchange from my prior experience with the organization,” he said. “So I decided to pursue that avenue. In August 2020, I applied, and by December 2020, I was working.”

During his Army career, Lynn had also served at Forts Stewart, Irwin, Hood and Bliss, as well as at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and in South Korea. Although his Germany experience stuck with him the most, his experiences with the Exchange worldwide were also factors in wanting to work for the organization.

He entered the Veterans Retail Management Training at Fort Hood, where he managed the firearms counter and the warehouse before PCSing to Redstone Arsenal in September. He likes talking to customers who can relate to his experience.

“After 30 years of being in the Army, I was ready to retire—but I didn’t want to leave it completely,” he said. “The best place to be was the Exchange, where you’re still with retired people, you’re still with people who serve, you’re still with spouses who understand, you’re still around people who understand the military.”