Posted on Apr 2, 2015
Do Retirees Really “Deserve” Access to AAFES Stores More Than Non-Retirees?
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* Please vote in the survey here *
Note: I am a RallyPoint member (served in USAF for 5 years) and wish to remain anonymous, because I need to be 100% honest that I feel the DoD is discriminating against non-retirees like me. Please tell if I am right or wrong here.
While I was serving in the USAF (5 years active), I enjoyed shopping at AAFES locations and online as well. It saved me a lot of money and the deals always seemed good. Now that I am a civilian, and did not hit retirement before I got out, and am not rated 100%, I can’t shop at AAFES anymore. I think that’s flat out wrong. I put in my time as much as anyone.
I know there are going to be RallyPoint members who respond with, “You only did 6 years, and you knew AAFES rules full well.” Well, here is what I say to that.
I did a 7-month tour in Iraq at FOB Taji. Easily left the wire more than 10 times. I hurt my shoulder due to wearing my kit a lot (30% rated). I did as much as most retirees, including retired grunts. I deserve AAFES access as much as any retiree. I respect that retirees served a little bit longer, but I did 7 months in Iraq.
Am I justified in thinking I should get full AAFES access?
Please vote in the survey below. Thank you.
Note: I am a RallyPoint member (served in USAF for 5 years) and wish to remain anonymous, because I need to be 100% honest that I feel the DoD is discriminating against non-retirees like me. Please tell if I am right or wrong here.
While I was serving in the USAF (5 years active), I enjoyed shopping at AAFES locations and online as well. It saved me a lot of money and the deals always seemed good. Now that I am a civilian, and did not hit retirement before I got out, and am not rated 100%, I can’t shop at AAFES anymore. I think that’s flat out wrong. I put in my time as much as anyone.
I know there are going to be RallyPoint members who respond with, “You only did 6 years, and you knew AAFES rules full well.” Well, here is what I say to that.
I did a 7-month tour in Iraq at FOB Taji. Easily left the wire more than 10 times. I hurt my shoulder due to wearing my kit a lot (30% rated). I did as much as most retirees, including retired grunts. I deserve AAFES access as much as any retiree. I respect that retirees served a little bit longer, but I did 7 months in Iraq.
Am I justified in thinking I should get full AAFES access?
Please vote in the survey below. Thank you.
Posted in these groups: 
Benefits
Benefits
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 625
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I did 5 years, a year and a half at sea deployed to the gulf and I can't shop at AAFES and I'm not mad about it. If you spend all your time worried about what trivial "benefit" you did or didn't get from the military, you are going to lead a sad existence. Instead, revel in your GI Bill AND Voc Rehab benefits plus your 10 point hiring preference with the federal government. QUITCHERBITHCIN.
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We all know there are additional benefits afforded to retirees both pay and privileges both at the state and federal level.
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CW4 Larry Curtis
"Additional?" Oh please do tell. HAHAHA. Sorry...being a wise guy just comes so natural for me, Sir. For a long time, and during my era of service, part of the Army Warrant Officer credo was that we are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, particularly if you're an Aviator...well that was the perception anyhow. ;) Thank you for your service and leadership, Commander Wright.
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SSG Rob Cline
CW4 Larry Curtis Not sure how the Aviation Chiefs were, but our Warrant Officers always had a mug of coffee, (hot or cold, it didn't matter) and a cigarette permanently attached to their hand :) They were also terrifically sarcastic :)
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CW4 Larry Curtis
We joke about this quite a bit mainly because something happened somewhere along the way to inspire it. Each career component has it's own unique persona and I would like to believe that Warrant Officers usually take on such personas as they relate, be it Administrative, Motor Maintenance, CID, MI, Aviation, SF, Supply, or whatever. In some cases there is no love lost between Warrant Officers of different components because each may think less of the other for whatever reason...it's the typical Grunt vs Non-Grunt mentality sort of thing. However...among the things we DO have in common with each other, besides being highly technically and tactically proficient (which might be a stretch by some standards) because we represent the "technician" role, we also share this image of the coffee mug in hand...perhaps not the cigarette for obvious reasons, but I know what you were getting at. To sort of take a shot at my own branch because I think this is just inherent in aviation regardless if it's military or not, but some people just become so full of themselves because they think they are special because they can fly. This is one thing which compelled me to become an Instructor Pilot so that I could bust the chops of those with the swollen heads and hit them where it counts the most...their annual flight evals. ;) But I also found that there are several swollen heads within the Instructor Pilot ranks. I have always been the sort who is all about just getting the job done and give credit where credit is due, and those bars on my shoulder put me in a more comfortable position than some, but do not necessarily make me a better person than the next guy. We crack on ourselves and each other in good fun though, and I have to say that your description could apply very well to a lot of us. ;) Perhaps one of the most resented things directed at Aviation types is that those on flight status draw an incentive called Flight Pay. This has been a point of contention (and probably always will be) that irks those who are not on flight status themselves. But when it get down to it, I think most of us Aviation types love what we do so much that we would probably do it without getting paid at all. I will agree that sarcasm seems to be a significant attribute for us as well. ;)
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First to "Anonymous" thank you for your service to our country....that being said, your total time in active service is 1/5 of mine, your total time in Iraq is less than 1/2 of mine, your total time outside the wire, well lets just say it is about 1/10 or so of mine. You did nowhere near "as much as most retirees", let alone "retired grunts". You deserve my thanks and the thanks of a grateful nation for your service in Iraq and at home station, but that is it, nothing more. So in answer to your real question, no you are not justified in your thinking that you deserve full AAFES access and the sense of entitlement you have shown in the words you put forth in your post quite honestly make me sick to my stomach and is indicative of a larger "problem" within our society as whole today. I do not know you or really anything about you, but you strike me as someone that feels that they are owed more than they actually are and are butthurt that your needs are not being met by the entity you feel owes you. Again I thank you for your service, but that is about all that I feel you are owed.
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MSgt Wayne Morris
Dead on and while I thank all for their service sometimes their sense of entitlement bugs the heck out of me.
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SFC William Swartz Jr
CW5 Charlie Poulton couldn't agree with you more on the savings issues...really doesn't seem to be a lot of bargains with AAFES, "Wally-World" is a better deal overall for non-food stuff....commissary is always a bit better on certain items, depending on where you are located, some things are cheaper off base, but usually commissary is a better bargain!
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"I put in my time as much as anyone" well no you did not put in as much time as anyone or anybody. You did not meet the requirement to retain the benefit. Also you made the choice to leave service Im assuming so that one is on you.
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First of all, your unwillingness to step up like a man and openly express your opinion and not hide behind a curtain just proves the point, you're a civilian because just like your "opinion" you couldn't hack it. So what if you did 7 months in Iraq? So what if you got hurt and quit because you couldn't hack it anymore? How dare you insinuate that you did anything remotely close to what a retiree did over the course of a 20 year, or longer, time in the service; any branch of the service. There are plenty of service members that are still on active duty as well as retired from the service that did many times your one little 7 month rotation.
There are service members on active duty that are missing limbs and other parts of their bodies, but they still continue to serve; what's your excuse?
You made the choice and got out of the service and now, just like the rest of the millennial generation, you think you have some sense of "entitlement" and that just because you served one rotation in Iraq that you deserve what a retiree EARNS over the course of a career. I say quit your whining and belly aching, if you want to shop at AAFES, then man up, re-up and finish out your time. Otherwise quit your whining and shop at Wal-Mart if you're looking for discounts.
There are service members on active duty that are missing limbs and other parts of their bodies, but they still continue to serve; what's your excuse?
You made the choice and got out of the service and now, just like the rest of the millennial generation, you think you have some sense of "entitlement" and that just because you served one rotation in Iraq that you deserve what a retiree EARNS over the course of a career. I say quit your whining and belly aching, if you want to shop at AAFES, then man up, re-up and finish out your time. Otherwise quit your whining and shop at Wal-Mart if you're looking for discounts.
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My personally feeling is that non-retirees who served in the Guard, Reserves, and on Active Duty in all services and retirees of all services should be allowed to use AAFES. I beleive in today's environment and world they have all served their country in one form or fashion. Let's all get along as service men and women in this country and take care of our retirees and veterans!
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Seriously? Left the wire 10 times. Who cares. I did magnitudes more than that in 18 months over two tours in Iraq and 11 months in afghan. You did your time, you got out. You knew the benefits of staying and still left. Quit crying about it and either join up again or just deal with the fact you're a civilian and have to pay more for things.
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Someone please tell me this is a troll. I can't believe that anyone would be so self-centered to believe that 7 months in Iraq is equivalent to an entire career spent in service to this country. My father served 13 years in the Navy, 12 of those years were on sea duty and 2+ of those years were in combat in the South Pacific during WWII. He came home on leave one time, my mom asked one of my older brothers "Where's Daddy?" and my brother pointed at a picture. Dad was up for reenlistment. He went back and told them he was done and never looked back. He never once regretted his decision and he never once said that he should get the same benefits as someone who retired. This attitude of entitlement is destroying our military and our country and it needs to stop.
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Listen here, you little POS boot. You left the wire ten times? That's cute, I did that within my first few days in country. You wore your flak so much it got you 30% disability? That's some babyback bullshit and you know it. You should be charged with malingering, fraud, and lying to medical officers, you useless civilian. The only thing you deserve right now is a swift ax stomp to your itty-bitty shriveled testicles. GTFO of here with your crap, and how dare you insult grunts and other retirees by aligning yourself with them? You're not even on MY level, and I only did 4 years.
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A few thoughts:
- Less than 1% of Americans serve in the US military at all (about 330M US citizens).
- In the Army only 15% serve to retirement. In other words 85% serve less than the 20 years required for military retirement.
- In a perfect world, anyone who has served in the military for any period of time would get benefits that the 99% of Americans either could not or would not serve in the first place.
- We do not live in a perfect world, however, and we must make prioritization decisions based upon limited resources and what seems like unlimited demands.
- Based upon the above, DoD has decided to prioritize AAFES benefits access to currently serving military personnel and military retirees. Words have meaning and military retiree has a specific definition. Anynomous from Watertown, MA does not meet the definition/criteria.
- Thank you for your five years of service within the USAF. Unfortunately, this service does not authorize you access to AAFES. It is what it is.
- Less than 1% of Americans serve in the US military at all (about 330M US citizens).
- In the Army only 15% serve to retirement. In other words 85% serve less than the 20 years required for military retirement.
- In a perfect world, anyone who has served in the military for any period of time would get benefits that the 99% of Americans either could not or would not serve in the first place.
- We do not live in a perfect world, however, and we must make prioritization decisions based upon limited resources and what seems like unlimited demands.
- Based upon the above, DoD has decided to prioritize AAFES benefits access to currently serving military personnel and military retirees. Words have meaning and military retiree has a specific definition. Anynomous from Watertown, MA does not meet the definition/criteria.
- Thank you for your five years of service within the USAF. Unfortunately, this service does not authorize you access to AAFES. It is what it is.
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