AAFES to hire hundreds to meet demand

Laura M. Levering/Northwest Guardian

Army and Air Foirce Exchange Service has joined the Joint Base Lewis-McChord community in getting ready for thousands of troops returning from deployment over the next few months.

The award-winning, worldwide Equal Employment Opportunity employer is looking for motivated, customer-friendly people — ranging from teens to retirees — to fill new jobs.

AAFES has already hired more than two dozen new employees, and will hire hundreds more as new facilities open on JBLM and the need to accommodate returning troops continues.

For an economy that has been suffering due to job losses, news of a hiring surge might come to many as a welcomed surprise. Several businesses outside of JBLM were forced to cut hours when thousands of troops deployed last year, and business suffered. AAFES was the exception. The JBLM AAFES general manager promised to keep his employees during such trying times.

“We lost business, too,” said Patrick McGhee, AAFES general manager. “But when we had the massive deployments, I promised we would not lay anybody off, and we still have not laid anybody off.”

Most of the 250 employees who were hired as Christmas help are still employed, he said.

“Some of them left because they only wanted to work during the Christmas season, but those who wanted to stay are still with us,” McGhee said. “People work for us and stay because we take care of our own.”

Taking care of employees is a responsibility that AAFES doesn’t take lightly and one that McGhee said is reflected in the organization’s low turnover rate. In addition to excellent wages and benefits, AAFES offers spousal hiring preference and advancement opportunities, unlike other companies.

Colleen Cushion, Human Resources manager, benefited from spousal preference when she started her career with AAFES as an associate more than 22 years ago. Now she hires them.

“A lot of times, military spouses don’t get a fair chance, but we prefer to hire them,” Cushion said.

She said AAFES is a lot like the military, in that you might be asked to move once you’ve reached the position of manager. One nice thing about it, she said, is that AAFES pays for moving expenses.

“I moved from site to site initially with my husband’s military career, and now that he’s retired Air Force, he’s following me,” she said.

It’s also easy to transfer from one location to another if you end up having to move for other reasons, such as a permanent change of station.

“Any training or stuff that they’ve done with AAFES in the past automatically transfers with them, so our managers and staff want to pick them right up,” Cushion said.

Tim Audorff started working for AAFES as a Christmas hire when he was 19 years old. Thirty-four years later, he is a computer technician and part of a team that sets up temporary mobile field exchanges.

“I essentially touch the lives of every single user on (JBLM) and outlying stores,” Audorff said.

He enjoys variety and appreciates how every workday is different from the next.

“There isn’t a routine,” he said. “The job changes often, and it has just been great.”

McGhee’s own story is one of success. He started at AAFES 31 years ago as a soda machine refiller.

“Now I’m running one of the largest operations in America,” he said. “And if you talk to any of the managers here, we all have similar stories.”

Although AAFES is currently hiring for entry-level positions, McGhee encourages anyone interested – especially Wounded Warriors, retirees and spouses — to submit an application at aafes.com.

“We give you the tools to succeed,” McGhee said. “It’s up to you whether you want to do it or not.”

Prospective employees are welcomed to contact the JBLM Human Resources office at 964-4002 with any questions or concerns they have about the application process. The office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Anyone can apply, but we are definitely looking to hire more Wounded Warriors and retirees,” Cushion said.