Flashback Friday

#FlashbackFriday: 1991—Deployed Exchange Associates Talk About the Start of Operation Desert Storm

By Robert Philpot / January 19, 2024 /

Thirty-three years ago this week, Operation Desert Storm began, as U.S. Army and Air Force helicopters knocked out Iraqi anti-aircraft facilities and Hellfire missiles destroyed Iraqi radar sites. The Exchange was there in support, and deployed associates shared their experiences back in 1991.

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#FlashbackFriday: 1980—A 7.0 Earthquake Strikes the Azores, and the Exchange Responds

By Robert Philpot / January 12, 2024 /

The quake, the strongest in 20 years, affected four islands: Terceira, Sao Jorge, Graciosa and Pico. The United States has an air base at Lajes, which is on Terceira. And where there’s an air base, there’s an Exchange–where associates provided support even as they dealt with damage at their own homes.

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#FlashbackFriday: 1986—The Exchange Begins Accepting Credit Cards

By Robert Philpot / January 5, 2024 /

Thirty-eight years ago this weekend, the Exchange began accepting VISA and MasterCard in CONUS, Panama, Greenland and for catalog orders. Card acceptance expanded to other overseas locations later in the year, and the Discover card was added to the accepted-cards list by 1987.

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#FlashbackFriday: The Exchange’s Toy Story

By Robert Philpot / December 15, 2023 /

Take a holiday journey through photos of Toylands past.

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#Flashback Friday: The Exchange at the Army-Navy Game

By Robert Philpot / December 8, 2023 /

Five years ago this weekend, the Exchange became a participating partner in the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA. The Exchange Corporate Communication team, with assistance from store, Merchandising and Logistics teams, prepared all year to bring Exchange relevancy to thousands of Cadets, Midshipmen and fans, whether they were at the game or watching a national…

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#FlashbackFriday: 1992—How the Exchange Helped a Girl Give a Gift to a Child in Somalia

By Robert Philpot / December 1, 2023 /

When a girl in a Dallas-area shelter declined a gift and insisted that it go to a child in Somalia, the Exchange made it happen. Here’s how.

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#FlashbackFriday: Biting Into the Exchange’s Fast-Food Past With the Run-in Chef and the Aafesburger

By Robert Philpot / November 17, 2023 /

The Exchange made a big move in the fast-food game in 1971 with Run-In Chef, which opened that year in Europe and CONUS. The aafesburger came along a little more than a decade later.

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#FlashbackFriday: A Photo History of the Exchange in Panama

By Robert Philpot / October 27, 2023 /

Post exchanges in Panama date back to the earliest part of the 20th century, when engineers began to build the Panama Canal. U.S. military installations popped up in the Central American country to protect the engineers and, during World War II, protect the Canal Zone. Here’s a pictorial history.

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#FlashbackFriday: Some Snips and Clips About Barbers Throughout Exchange History

By Robert Philpot / October 20, 2023 /

It’s a history with barber chairs in unusual locations, barbers who’ve given hundreds of thousands of hair cuts, and the occasional celebrity cameo.

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#FlashbackFriday: October 1975—The Hawaiian Military Resort Exchange Funds Helped Build (and There’s a PX There)

By Robert Philpot / October 13, 2023 /

On Oct. 15, 1975—48 years ago this weekend—the Hale Koa resort hotel opened at Fort DeBussy, on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii..The hotel, which includes a PX, was financed entirely by money provided by Exchanges and officer and enlisted clubs.

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