Exchange History Articles
Some exchanges around the world are now just fond memories. Many of them started in the early days of World War II to train Army pilots, but then closed after combat ended. In Texas alone, air bases were once located in Amarillo; Austin; Fort Worth; Laredo; and Army posts in Galveston and Mineral Wells, among…
Read More
Once upon a time, shoppers couldn’t find televisions or computers for sale anywhere in the Exchanges. Since 1949, the House Armed Services Committee and Department of Defense have regulated what the Exchange can sell. In 1986, the committee gave the Exchange permission to sell computers in 130 computer shops worldwide, which became known as “PowerZones”…
Read More
On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian college students, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 American staff members who worked there hostage. The hostages were freed on Jan. 20, 1981, after 444 days of captivity. Three days later, associates at Germany’s Hainerberg shopping center greeted them as they…
Read More
July 18, 1866 – Congress does away with the corrupt “sutler” system, effective July 1, 1867. July 24, 1876 – The Secretary of War appoints one post trader at every military post, such as these folks at Fort Buford, N.D. July 25, 1895 – War Department General Orders No. 46 directs post commanders to open…
Read More
During World War II, the Army Exchange Service—as the Exchange was known then—operated stores throughout Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, serving American troops in the North Africa Theater of Operations. One of those stores was in Casablanca, Morocco.
Read More
Long before name-brand restaurants joined the Exchange family, we operated our own cafeterias, soda fountains and snack bars. We even invented our own “AAFES burger.”
Read More
See pictures dating back to the Civil War and read text of the Exchange and its predecessors in the Exchange History Flickr Album. Nearly 13,000 views so far!
Read More
