Gunner's Blog

Exchanges express concern over competition
By Karen Jowers
November 22, 2006

Defense officials have nixed Operation Homefront’s plans to partner with the Wal-Mart Foundation to bring truckloads of free toys and gift cards for families inside the gates of military bases.After defense officials interceded, the bases have declined Operation Homefront’s offer to bring trucks onto bases for holiday activities between Nov. 22 and Dec. 20 because of security and logistical issues involving bringing Wal-Mart trucks on base, said Meredith Leyva, founder of Operation Homefront.

But the organization is free to hold the parties outside the gates, she said, and is making plans for the locations to do that. Officials in the military exchanges and the industry that sells products to the exchanges found out about the scheduled events last week. Sources said members of both groups contacted lawmakers in Congress and defense officials, concerned that having a rival on post would detract from exchange sales.

In the long term, the exchanges fear such arrangements would take away from the dividends that come from profits, and are provided to military bases for morale programs.Wal-Mart also planned to provide $20,000 to each base through Operation Homefront for family and morale programs.

The status of that donation was unknown Tuesday, and further information was not immediately available from Wal-Mart officials. “No one has contacted us to share their concerns,” Leyva said. “But the people who really lose out are the service members and their families. People are wildly excited about this, because they are financially strapped and every little bit helps.”Operation Homefront is handling all of the logistics and planning; the Wal-Mart Foundation is providing the toys and trimmings and the trucks to get them there.

Events are scheduled for communities near Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; Hampton Roads, Va.; MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.; Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss.; Randolph Air Force Base, Texas; and Fort Stewart, Ga.

The first event will be held at Scott on Wednesday. Wal-Mart, which has built a number of stores outside military bases around the country, is generally acknowledged as the biggest competitor of the exchanges for the business of the military community. Although there were no plans to sell items on the bases — per Wal-Mart policy, according to Leyva and a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart — Operation Homefront’s press release said “a toyland of the latest toys and electronic games will be available for children of all ages to try out.”

Appearances by Santa Claus, food, music, and tree-trimming craft tables are planned.Wal-Mart is an official partner in the Defense Department’s America Supports You program, and officials from that program were actively involved in this project, Leyva said. The original plan was to give $200 Wal-Mart gift cards to the first 200 families through Operation Homefront, Leyva said, but Defense Department attorneys said the store chain could give no more than a $20 gift card under federal ethics rules.

Leyva said America Supports You officials suggested that Wal-Mart contact Operation Homefront for logistical help. Wal-Mart plans to contribute $100,000 to Operation Homefront for the purchase of voice-activated laptop computers for injured troops. The giant discount store has also been a contributor to the military community in other ways, including funding of a project for children of military personnel through Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street.

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Attaboy!** to the DoD officials that made this decision. If the Exchanges want to compete with WalMart head-on, why don't they come up with their own "Give-Away". As for the $20 limitation on gifts - I believe that the limitation is on those that are in a position to influence decisions within DOD, including the branches of the military. If anyone thinks that a SGT, or a Petty Officer Class 2nd Class and below have any influence on any DoD decision, they earn an Attaboy! also.

In 1999, when my bride (of 30 years) and I fully retired and moved into an area where there was a WalMart and an Exchange nearby, it only took us one visit to the Exchange to buy a card table, and then to WalMart a few days later (our first visit ever to a WalMart) to discover that WalMart had the exchange beat by about 12% on price for the identical card table and four chairs - and they weren't on sale at either place.

~Gunner

** - Attaboy was around the US military in the late '60's and early '70's. An Attaboy was awarded to those that did something pretty stupid. The actual award was an image of a nude man who was bent over forward in extreme, and had his head up his own butt. If anyone has a copy of this graphic, please email it to me, and I will post it. My email address:

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