by Judd Anstey

DALLAS – Just 83 days after the first construction crew entered what was the “BX,” associates at what will soon be the new Tinker “Exchange” are readying for a “brand opening” celebration that will coincide with the Air Force birthday as well as the Air Force Falcons meeting up with the OU Sooners just down the road in Norman, OK.

“The Tinker community has a lot to be excited about in mid-September,” said Store Manager Michael Patmon. “And, while I’m not an odds maker, I think the smart money is on shopping and saving at the Tinker Exchange the weekend Sept. 17. It’s going to be unique opportunity to get a sneak peak at a look that Soldiers and Airmen may be seeing for years to come.”

Elements of the new look “Exchange” will even go worldwide on the same day as www.shopmyexchange.com (formerly aafes.com) unveils branding graphics consistent with those found at Tinker on the 17^th. Beyond the updated appearance, online shoppers will also notice new navigation and interactive interface elements as well as improved integration of Exchange social media pages at Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Those lucky enough to make their way to the Tinker AFB Exchange on the weekend of the 17^th will find a host of sales, specials and giveaways to celebrate the “brand opening.”

“We’ve been working with vendor partners for months,” said Patmon. “I think shoppers who take time to stop by will be surprised not only by the appearance of the store, but the service, selection and excitement that will be on display.”

Three finalists will be determined by the number of people who “like” their recipe by the end of the contest.  So the earlier you enter, the better your chances of winning!  One entry per eligible contestant.  Be sure to send your friends over to our page and to “like” your entry!  The top three finalists will be the contestants’ recipes that the most people have “liked” by 11:59 p.m.  (Central Time) on 1 October 2010.

Submissions will be reviewed by 8 October and finalist selections will be posted on Facebook by 12 October.  Three (3) finalist recipes will be selected and will be taste-tested by top AAFES Management.  Dishes will be prepared in the AAFES test kitchen.  Judges will select a Grand Prize winner, 2nd Place winner, and a 3rd Place winner on 15 October.

Judges will taste-test each of the three (3) finalists’ dishes and will judge them based on the following criteria. 

• Presentation (based on submitted photo)
• Overall Taste
• Creativity

Prizes to be awarded:

• Grand Prize winner will receive a Rachael Ray 10pc. Enamel Cookware Set (valued at $159) and have their recipe featured in the 2011 Kitchen Essentials catalog.
• 2nd Place winner will win Cuisinart blender (valued at $74.99).
• 3rd Place winner will receive a KitchenAid chopper (valued at $44.99).

As an added bonus, selected recipes will be featured our recipe blog (with full credit to the submitter), located at www.salutetoyourservice.com.

<span>OFFICIAL RULES</span>

Eligibility:  Each entrant agrees and grants AAFES permission to make available and display/perform and otherwise distribute entrants’ names and photo submission in all media in perpetuity without compensation.  All recipes must be the original creation of the entrants and/or must not infringe upon copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity, or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity.  AAFES reserves the right to remove any entry for any reason without notice to the entrant.

Sponsor is not responsible for entries that are incomplete, lost, late, misdirected, or not received due to transmission defaults, computer server failure and/or delayed, garbled or corrupted data transmissions.

All authorized exchange customers are eligible to participate except employees of AAFES (including military personnel assigned to AAFES and AAFES retirees), its concessionaires, contractors or representatives providing in-store service or working in an AAFES facility, the firm(s) sponsoring the contest, and the immediate family members of the above.  Immediate family includes spouse, children, parents, persons in loco parentis and resident members of the employee’s immediate household.  This contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Contest Entry:   To enter, simply Upload your original written recipe and picture of your cooked dish on our Wall on the Official AAFES, Your Military BX/PX Facebook fan page.  Other fans will be allowed to “test” your recipe in their home and then vote.  Three (3) finalist recipes who have received the most “likes” will be selected and will be taste-tested by top AAFES Management.  Judges will select a Grand Prize winner, 2nd Place winner, and a 3rd Place winner on 15 October<span>.</span>  The recipe with the most “likes” will be deemed our Grand Prize Winner.  The 2nd and 3rd prizes will be awarded to the recipe with the next highest votes.

<span>Post this part in the notes on FB only</span>:

In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the “Authorized Account Holder” of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.  Authorized Account Holder means the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.  Entry materials/data that have been tampered with or altered, or mass entries or entries generated by a script, macro or use of automated devices are void.  The Sponsor is not responsible for: (i) lost, late, misdirected, damaged or illegible entries; or (ii) error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate transmission of or failure to receive entry information by Sponsor on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site or any combination thereof; or (iii) any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest.  By participating in the Contest, you (i) agree to be bound by these official rules, including all eligibility requirements, and (ii) agree to be bound by the decisions of Sponsor and the independent judging organization, which are final and binding in all matters relating to the Contest.  Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification.  Sponsor will not allow spamming or repeated posting of requests for votes on the AAFES page.  Contest entrants choosing to post vote requests will be disqualified.  Sponsor reserves the right to: (i) permanently disqualify from any Contest it sponsors any person it believes has intentionally violated these Official Rules; and (ii) withdraw the online method of entry if it becomes technically corrupted (including if a computer virus or system malfunction inalterably impairs its ability to conduct the Contest), and to select winners from among all eligible entries received prior to withdrawal.

LEGAL WARNING:  ANY ATTEMPT BY AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER OR NOT AN ENTRANT, TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE, DESTROY, TAMPER OR VANDALIZE THIS WEB SITE OR INTERFERE WITH THE OPERATION OF THIS CONTEST, IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES AND DILIGENTLY PURSUE ALL REMEDIES AGAINST ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

With the invent of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s), the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen the rate of combat related eye injuries rise to a level about 50 percent higher than previous conflicts, said Air Force Lt. Col. Ric Peterson, Director of AAFES Professional Services and an optometrist.

This increase led the Army and Air Force to develop the Military Combat Eyewear Protection (MCEP) program, a topic of interest for AAFES Commander Maj. Gen. Bruce A. Casella and his team. The list was previously known as the Authorized Protective Eyewear List (APEL).

Between October 2001 and June 2006, more than 1,000 overseas troops suffered serious eye injuries, according to an article on www.military.com, ranking it one of the most common injuries.

Started in 2006, MCEP eyewear is tested to ballistic standards for fragmentation and provides between 99 and 100 percent UV protection, according to a May 2010 Army memo about the topic. The list contains both military standard and commercial eyewear that has passed additional testing conducted by NATICK, a Navy-run laboratory contracted by Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier to test MCEP eyewear, Peterson said.

A 2009 survey found that 33 percent of soldiers had experienced a situation where they reported their protective eyewear prevented an eye injury.

Currently, the lenses are made of polycarbonate allyl, an impact-resistant plastic developed by PPG that is suitable for combat, Peterson said.

“It’s the same plastic that’s in CD’s,” Peterson said. “CD’s have done a lot to improve the polycarbonate that’s used in eyewear.”

Peterson said soldiers can get prescription inserts put in their MCEP eyewear by either going to the eye clinic or an AAFES optical shop.

Soldiers are authorized one pair of protective eyewear per year, but in the harsh environments of Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran, the eyewear often doesn’t last that long, Peterson said, leaving soldiers to have to pay for replacements, Peterson said.

The Vision Center for Excellence, a collaboration with Walter Reed Army Medical Center, was created to support military personnel with eye injuries. Through the Construction Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, $6.9 million was set aside for the center in fiscal year 2009 with another $3 million available in 2010, according to the Vision Center for Excellence Web site.

An updated list is available at https://peosoldier.army.mil/ and soldiers can find out more and see the most recent poster at their Military Clothing and Sales Store (MCSS), Peterson said.

If you find an item with a lower price at any local competitor, even at the Exchange, within 14 days of the original purchase, we will refund the difference. It’s our policy! You can utilize the 14 Day Price Guarantee on merchandise categories to include PowerZone, Outdoor Living, Jewelry plus many other key areas of your Exchange. Remember, We Match Prices for 14 Days on any item originally purchased from AAFES and subsequently sold at a lower price by AAFES, or any local competitor. Why? Because our customers deserve the BEST PRICE!

For details or additional info on this program, see a store associate.

by Michelle Nicoud

It takes a little more to be too cool for school these days. Consider this scenario using some popular products available at the Exchange Online Store.

· While driving home from school, students can pop in their Rosetta Stone® Latin American Spanish Audio Companion™ CD’s. If only they used their time so wisely all the time.

· Use the Livescribe 4GB Smartpen to take notes and record and lectures and then do better on tests.

· Easily transfer and archive notes and lectures on a 3 lb. Apple® MacBook Air for easy access.

· Plug the 64 GB 3^rd Generation iPod® Touch into MacBook Air and download music for a study break. It doesn’t end there, students can also download movies and television shows for easy handheld viewing on the device’s 3.5-inch screen. Use the sleek Bose® Noise-Cancelling® headphones to enjoy high-quality audio while making sure you don’t disturbing other family members.

· Plug the Lexar™ 32 GB TwistTurn capless JumpDrive® with rotating cover into the computer to open files. This design eliminates the possibility of losing the cap. Never worry about losing the cap again!

· Do your daily reading assignment for English on the go with the Sony® Reader Pocket Edition™. With a battery advertised to last two weeks and a 5 in. screen, it is the ultimate in convenience. Forget loading down the backpack with cumbersome books. Students can now read with ease thanks to the Sony® Reader Pocket Edition™ at the gym or in the check-out line.

· Keep the slim Zelco® Bookmark Dictionary available while reading. This multi-function item doesn’t just provide definitions, but it can also assist with math homework, serving as a calculator and converter.

· With such a packed day, the Men’s Gulfman G-Shock Classic Moon Phase & Tide Graph Watch can help students get where they need to go when they need to be there. It’s great for military families because it offers both 12 and 24-timing for 29 time zones worldwide.

· At the end of the day, just put everything back in the Mobile Backpack made to accommodate a 14-in. laptop, and start over again.

After you recover from the realization that life at school for your kiddos is nothing like you remember, you can shop for these and other back-to-school must haves at www.aafes.com or in your local exchange.

“We promised to do the right thing for our customers that were affected by this unfortunate glitch and we are honoring that promise,” said AAFES’ Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Jeffry Helm. “We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and want to reimburse them as quickly as possible.”

Shoppers whose credit cards were double charged and, as a result, suffered overdraft fees, can simply bring documentation, such as an overdraft notice or online statement, to their nearest exchange for a full refund of the fees.

The processing error that produced duplicate charges affected AAFES locations worldwide. Depending on the type of card used, corrective action could be visible to the customer anywhere from 24 hours to a couple of weeks.

Regardless of his morning jitters and worries, he’s sure to come home happy, already adjusted and ready to start a new adventure.  Too bad there isn’t such a thing in place for parents. A parent who puts her baby onto the school bus on the first day of school must spend the rest of the day wondering how her little one is doing.  There are things you can do, however, to make your child’s first day of school special for you, too.

Plan a Special Day for Your ‘First Day of School’

Admit it. You’ve been waiting for this day for a while. Now that you have a child in school, there are things you can for the first time. Whether it’s spend a leisurely day playing with the baby, going out to lunch by yourself, or pampering yourself by getting your hair cut or your nails done, or just relaxing with a book and a cup of tea on the front porch.

Seek the Advice of Friends and Fellow Parents

Seeing your child go off to school for the first time can be an emotional time for parents. It may help to seek the counsel of those who have been down this road, friends and fellow parents who have survived the first day of school and who can assure you that it will be okay.

Stay Busy on the First Day of School and Beyond

The first few days of your child’s new school year may seem to drag for parents. Don’t spend the whole day watching the clock and pining away for your little one. Get involved in projects and stay busy. Get started on some of those long put-off projects that you’ve been waiting to do – finish knitting that baby blanket, clean and organize your closets, start scrapbooks for the kids, or organize your photographs into albums.

The National Education Association suggests “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” as the best way to cope with your child going off to school. Parents who are involved in volunteering in their child’s school can make critical contributions to their child’s education. Talk with your child’s teacher about opportunities for you to help in the classroom as a parent volunteer.

With some planning and helpful advice from others, you’ll be joining other parents in anticipating the back-to-school excitement in no time.

To ensure as many people as possible are given the opportunity to provide input, all authorized shoppers are invited to participate in a quick survey concerning exchange operations.

For their time, shoppers will receive either a coupon for 10 percent off an Exchange Online Store order or a voucher for a $3 discount that can be applied to a BX/PX in-store purchase of $20 or more. The AAFES IG survey is available at www.aafes.com/IGsurvey.

“We want to hear from as many authorized shoppers as possible” said AAFES’ IG Chief of Inspections Maj. Sonia Leach. “The survey takes only three to five minutes and is a win-win situation for us all. The patron receives helpful savings and we gain the benefit of their input for improving our support to them. 

The AAFES IG Inspection in 2010 is to assess the command’s compliance with policies and procedures specific to delivering what customers want, when they want it and how they want it. At the conclusion of the assessment, the IG will provide a final report to the AAFES Commander with recommendations for improving customer satisfaction programs.