Do Retirees Really “Deserve” Access to AAFES Stores More Than Non-Retirees?

In my opinion if you served in the armed forces and fulfill your contract then you should have commissary and every other privileges, as much as retirees. The profits would basically benefits everyone to include programs supported by AAFES, including our economy. So I hope which ever agency who oversees these policies, come to realize that this would be more profitable and innovative than traditional policies.

I am not rated at 100% but am close to it. I think if you served during wartime in theater you should have AAFES privileges.

One does not need to show you whats what when it cones to veterans and retirees. They have seen more in their time in while you were probably in school. I currently sit at over 8 and a half years, and seeing the good, the bad and the ugly, many "kids" these expect to be "spoon" fed after a few years. Personally, it makes me sick when someone keeps flaunting this "gimme gimme gimme" when they just did a one time service and got out. I came in 2006, when the troop surge was a causal ordeal, and as an 19 y/o, my first deployment was 15 months. I served with a great group of people that deployment and many of them EARNED what they have now. Before my post goes further into history, i will stop here, and let you simmer on the reality that many out there have doubled, tripled the time you have done.

You have to earn privileges, they are not handed.

I would suggest that DoD consider allowing some veterans who are not retirees benefits. Where exactly to set the bar I will leave to smarter people, but it I should think it should be higher than: 1 enlistment, or 1 combat tour, or 10% disability.

This scumbag has no clue...

Typical Whiny Scumbag that thinks because he was in the US Air Force that he somehow pulled the same weight, risked his life in the same manner, did anything REMOTELY equal to the things we did in the Army, Navy , and Marines.

"5 tough years in the US Military
Deployed 7 months in a War Zone, left the wire 10 times"
Has a 30% disability approved by the USAF due to injuring his shoulder because he had to wear his 50 pound body armor during those 7 long months.
He thinks he did more to deserve permanent base privileges than all retirees especially combat veteran retirees. He is asking for permanent base privileges as if he was a retiree.
After 20 years in the Army, injured repeatedly, I have only a 20% disability.
During that time, I wore an average of 110 pounds for days and sometimes weeks at a time while on the East German border. I spent an average of eleven months a year deployed on the border or in training and spent time with the U.N. in Macedonia as well.
Average Iraq/ Afghanistan deployment for any other service in a five year time span would have been an average of 36 months more than likely.
Average amount of time outside the wire would have been two weeks out of any six more than likely, and for some they were never "inside the wire" at all. So for many Army, and Marines (the Grunts he cites in his complaint) many were outside the wire for a minimum of a total of 4-6 MONTHS.
This pathetic maggot is what we now have to watch for....
"Entitled Cry Babies" with a false sense of worth and little idea of what his military Brothers and Sisters have gone through. They are now taxing a system that barely has the funds to care for those who TRULY deserve what little they get.
30% disability for wearing his 50 pound form fitting body armor
Something I wore over there on a daily vasis for almost four years straight
What military Doctor in their right mind approved that disability?

I am not a grunt. I am a commo guy. I went outside the wire a lot for a commo guy but I am nowhere near the number of some of my friends who are grunts.

I was going to post my times in Iraq but realized it is not worth my time.

While all of us respect your service, the condescending manner of your post is annoying.

Six does not equal twenty plus. There are reasons for the retirement benefits for those who go beyond the normal term.

You answered your own question with "you knew AAFES rules full well".

Think of it this way: Military benefits are funded by taxpayer dollars. Those who serve 20+ years have paid more than their share in taxes to utilize whatever benefits for the rest of their lives. You didn't put enough into the system and therefore are not granted this benefit.

I think we all got punked y'all. First of all.... this was an anonymous post.... which typically hasn't been allowed..... and secondly, what was Wednesday? April Fools Day. I think RP is playing us and we all fell for it.

Post isn't exactly time stamped so I cant tell if it was posted on Wednesday or Thursday.... Says posted 1 day ago, so could have been Thursday, so I may be wrong.

I'm really hoping this was posted as a joke.

If you have given 20 plus years of honorable service you are more deserving of the benefits you have rightfully earned. Consider this. Congresspersons only need to serve one term to continue to receive their benefits for life. How does that compare to what most of our retirees gets after 20 plus years of missed birthdays, anniversaries, births, deaths, graduations etc. Retirees deserve more than they currently get imho, but we shouldn't take away from what non-retiress who have also served admirably get.