128 Years of Family Serving Family: Jennifer Smith Paige, Fort Moore

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

Who she is: Jennifer Smith Paige, shift manager at Harmony Church Express, Fort Moore.

Years with the Exchange: Paige has been with the Exchange 32 years.

Paige’s military history: When she and her family were living in Bayreuth, Germany, Paige signed up for Army ROTC. Her stepfather inspired her. “When we were in Fort Benning, now called Fort Moore, I always went down to his unit and watched him work. When we moved to Germany, I saw a lot more of what he was doing. It just inspired me to follow.”

Paige enlisted in the Army Reserves and National Guard. Her Guard unit, the 214^th Military Police Company, based out of Alexander City, Ala., was activated and deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003.

Military connections: Her father served in the U.S. Army in the infantry. Her stepfather, whom she calls Sgt. Smiley, served 21 years in the Army. Her grandfather served 25 years in the U.S. Air Force. An uncle and cousin served in the Army Reserves in Louisiana. Her nephew served six years in the Marine Corps. Her mother’s partner has also served in the Army.

Her husband, Gulf War Veteran Freddie Paige Sr., served in the Army for six years.

Earliest Exchange memory: Born in Panama near Fort Clayton, raised in the States and Germany, Paige has always had the Exchange present in her life, but one memory she has is when she bought her mother a Christmas gift.

“My mom had just remarried, and we just got our ID cards. The first time I actually went to the main store, the first item I purchased was a coffeepot for my mom for Christmas. It was a Mr. Coffee coffeepot. I think I was 8 or 9. I always loved our trip to go to the PX.”

Exchange history: After college, Paige’s first job was at the Fort Benning Exchange (Benning became Fort Moore in 2023). In 1992, she worked as a cashier for Burger King. Two years later, she transferred to the main store, where she’s held numerous positions, including sales associate, OPS squad member, stockroom receiver, customer service supervisor and softlines supervisor before being promoted to shift manager.

We Go Where You Go: Paige was working at the Exchange when her National Guard unit was activated and sent to Baghdad in 2003. She saw and experienced firsthand the Exchange’s commitment at the tip of the spear.

“At the time we got activated, I was already working for the Exchange. I was a reorder associate. We got deployed, and I ended up on active duty for three years. When we got our orders, I let my store manager know, and they held my job. They kept in contact with me, made phone calls and sent care packages. … I actually saw another associate I knew back at Benning who had deployed through AAFES. I saw her there at one of the Shoppettes. It was exciting and uplifting!”

Paige also remembers the kindness of the Exchange team in Iraq when her unit lost two of their own.

“We were one of the first to go to Iraq after the knocking down of Saddam Hussein’s statues. I saw combat a few times, more times than I ever wanted to…. We were running a police station. There was a car bombing. We lost one of our interpreters and one of our Soldiers. The whole unit was distraught. A few hours after we got back, we were all crying and loving on each other. The Exchange team brought over baskets that had just some of everything: food, cards, anything that was of comfort so we wouldn’t have to leave our area while mourning. That gave me a bigger respect for the Exchange and made me really understand what family taking care of family really meant.”

Paige also remembers lighter moments about the Exchange in Iraq.

“Where we were staying, there was always a drive to pick up mail. To go to the nearest Exchange was always a good field trip. They knew our names. They remembered what our favorite snacks were. They would have its saved with our names on it. Mine was Nutter-Butters!”

Working at the Exchange: “It’s like we are one big family. We celebrate and mourn everything here: births, graduations, deaths. We celebrate the good, acknowledge the bad and pitch in as a team. We excel together, we rise and fall together, no matter what. We are given a sense of ownership too. We know the policy and rules, but we’re given opportunities to advance, make decisions and come up with fresh ideas – anything to make life for our troops better.”

Family Serving Family: “Customers should not always be a stranger. You don’t have to know everything about them, but at least know their name and get to know them a little bit.  When I was a cashier, a retiree came into the store, and he looked lost. He was trying to pay his MILITARY STAR card. I came in and asked what his needs were so I can help him. I found out his wife had just passed. He told me he had been married to his high school sweetheart for 40 years. He never paid the bills. He went to work, came home and handed his wife the paycheck. He didn’t even know how to write a check. We ended up talking a long time, I gave him a quick lesson in writing checks, prayed for him and prayed over him. After that, he came back a lot and thanked us for the kind words and for thinking of him. That is family serving family.”