128 Years of Family Serving Family: Vee Savage, Nearly 40-Year Associate, Vandenberg Space Force Base

One in a series honoring the Exchange’s 128 years of family serving family.

Who he is: Vee Savage, customer experience associate, Vandenberg Space Force Base

Years with the Exchange: 39 years, all at Vandenberg.

What he’s done: “I started in the stockroom, then started working in the main store with electronics when they first started selling computers.

“Outside of a few months working at the gas station and elsewhere in the main store, I’ve been working in electronics the entire time.”

Military connection: Savage’s father was a World War II Veteran and his uncle was an Air Force retiree.

What brought him to the Exchange: “Some of my friends and I were looking around for jobs. A few of them had tried applying at the Vandenberg Exchange and I just decided to try, too.”

What’s changed in 39 years: “It was actually busier around here back then, since the former Space Shuttle program was supposed to move here, but it’s been picking back up here more for the future.”

Vandenberg Air Force Base was redesignated Vandenberg Space Force Base in 2021 and now hosts multiple launch sites for the Space Launch Delta 30 space wing, along with continuing as a launch site for various NASA and SpaceX projects.

Retirement plans: “I’ve got a little more than four and a half years until retirement, so I’m planning on staying with it at least until then—maybe longer.

“My wife worked for the county as a nurse and is already retired, and my daughter works for the Child Development Center on base. My family is pretty much situated here, so we plan on staying in this area.”

Savage recalls telling his Air Force retiree uncle about taking his first position at the Exchange.

“He told me to stick with this job, I wouldn’t be sorry.”

Familiar face: “I have shoppers who recognize me here after a long while, and even outside Vandenberg. I’ve even had former shoppers of mine recognize me down in San Diego before.

“There was one time where my car broke down out in Cholame, Calif. (more than 100 miles from Vandenberg), and highway patrol stopped and recognized me: ‘I know you, you sold me my computer!’”

Family serving family: “There are shoppers I’ve known for 40 years and have seen grow up from being kids here to active duty until they retired.

“Knowing all the shoppers and seeing all of them come back to me after so many years is special and makes me want to stick with it.”