#FlashbackFriday: How a Store Manager Boosted Morale in Iraq

On National Hot Dog Day last July, the Exchange Post told you the story of the “AAFES Hot Dog Guy,” aka Exchange Healthcare Program Manager Robin Williams. But did you know that the Exchange also has a Twinkie man?

Here’s the story of how Timothy Adams, who was the store manager for Camp Speicher in northern Iraq, became known as Twinkie man for a morale-improving operation he coordinated in 2007-2008.

Beginning in late 2007, Adams coordinated the donation of nearly 800 Twinkies to troops stationed at remote forward military installations with less access to the comforts of come than at larger installations.

While he was the store manager at Camp Speicher in Iraq, Timothy Adams coordinated the delivery of nearly 800 Twinkies to troops stationed at remote forward military installations with less access to the comforts of come than at larger installations.

“I had visions of Twinkies flying out of Black Hawk helicopters,” Adams, who led a team of eight deployed associates from the Exchange and two from Bosnia/Kosovo, told the Exchange Post in 2008. “The Twinkie is such a great piece of Americana, plus they don’t melt inside the helicopter on long trips in the hot Iraqi desert like Ding Dongs might.” Some of the Twinkies traveled as far as 200 miles from the main base.

For his efforts at improving troop morale, Adams received a photograph and certificate of appreciation from 1^st Armored Division Command Sgt. Maj. Roger Blackwood—and troops who had enjoyed the Twinkies.

“Thank you for supporting the fight, one Twinkie at a time,” they wrote.

For his efforts at improving troop morale, Adams received a photograph and certificate of appreciation from 1st Armored Division Command Sgt. Maj. Roger Blackwood—and troops who had enjoyed the Twinkies. “Thank you for supporting the fight, one Twinkie at a time,” they wrote.”

Blackwood inspired Adams to coordinated Twinkie operation when the sergeant major asked about the Exchange’s inventory of the snack so he could hand them out to troops at Forward Operating Bases.

“AAFES Speicher Team started out by matching however many Twinkies the troops bought, but then decided to make it a full-blown donation a few cases at a time,” Adams told the Exchange Post. “It sounded like a good opportunity to help the troops in the remote locations of Iraq.”

The team’s generous support went beyond Twinkies—they also donated clothing to local chaplains, Nintendo Wii video consuls to a hospital’s physical therapy unit for recovering wounded Soldiers, and diapers and baby carriages to local mothers.

Donated or not, Twinkies were a popular item in Southwest Asia at the time. In 2007, the Exchange sold nearly 97,000 Twinkies in Afghanistan, Iraq and throughout the region.

As for Adams, he’s still with the Exchange. He has been the operations manager at the McChord Main Store at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the past five years.