Exchange Opens Permanent Express in Kuwait

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service welcomed a major upgrade to Camp Buehring in Kuwait, opening a permanent Express building.

Lt. Col. Brett Karns from the Army Directorate of Public Works, Kuwait/Jordan Exchange General Manager Beth Goodman-Bluhm, Exchange Southwest Asia Regional Vice President James Clark, Area Support Group – Kuwait Base Support Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Chris Nohle and Senior Enlisted Leader Sgt. Maj. Ruben F. Borja cut the ribbon May 8 to celebrate the new location.

Exchange and military leaders cut the ribbon on the newest offering. From left: Lt. Col. Brett Karns from the Army Directorate of Public Works, Kuwait/Jordan Exchange General Manager Beth Goodman-Bluhm, Exchange Southwest Asia Regional Vice President James Clark, Area Support Group – Kuwait Base Support Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Chris Nohle and Senior Enlisted Leader Sgt. Maj. Ruben F. Borja.

“This is a great opportunity to improve the quality of life for our Soldiers and do so hand-in-hand with such an amazing partner like the Exchange,” Karns said. “It is truly exciting to see this project come to fruition, replacing a facility that has served the Camp Beuhring community for over two decades.”

The 24/7 Express is more than double the size of the former location, offering 1,160 square feet of shopping space. It replaces two mobile field Exchange (MFE) trailers that opened in 2003 at the height of Operation Enduring Freedom and served up to 1,000 troops daily.

The former Express served tens of thousands of service members who were stationed at or transiting through Camp Buehring in the last two decades. The same MFEs had been in service with the Exchange for more than 30 years total, starting in the Europe region before being transferred to Kuwait.

“It is truly a privilege to be a part of history—cutting the ribbon on our newest Express in Kuwait and closing our oldest MFE that supported our Warfighters here for more than 20 years,” said Kuwait/Jordan Exchange General Manager Elizabeth Goodman-Bluhm. “We are honored to see this project through and share this experience with our teams at Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan.”

The building features wider aisles, an office area, associate break area and a dedicated stockroom, all of which were unavailable in the MFEs.

Camp Buehring is just 25 miles from the Iraq border in the Kuwaiti desert and can accommodate up to 14,000 service members. Nearly every U.S. Army unit that served in Iraq passed through the staging post during Operation Iraqi Freedom.