Posted: 7/9/2010 6:07:15 AM EDT
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Saw a new Pontiac G6 this morning with a Federal license plate that said Army / Airforce Exchange Service. What is this? Living close to Travis AFB, I have seen a lot of government plates, but this was a new one to me. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Saw a new Pontiac G6 this morning with a Federal license plate that said Army / Airforce Exchange Service. What is this? Living close to Travis AFB, I have seen a lot of government plates, but this was a new one to me. The PX. The PX gets their own license plates? Crazy. |
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Actually, they are federal vehicles and do not not legally have to have plates at all.
The ones you are used to seeing are usually GSA pool vehicles and they throw on plates for inventory and to stop local police from mistakenly pulling them over for not being state registered. In this case the vehicle is directly owned by AFFES. The services also can use their own plates, as with the other agencies. Most post office vehicles skip the plates because they are already painted and numbered. |
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Saw a new Pontiac G6 this morning with a Federal license plate that said Army / Airforce Exchange Service. What is this? Living close to Travis AFB, I have seen a lot of government plates, but this was a new one to me. The PX. The PX gets their own license plates? Crazy. AAFES is a non-appropriated funds (NAF) organization––meaning it's supposed to be self-sufficient. As such, everything they use has to be "owned" by AAFES, not by the .gov at large. So a true .gov vehicle, available for use by anyone on base for official duties, has a plain blue on white license plate. But AAFES vehicles (as well as the club, outdoor rec, MWR, etc.) all have to have a self-identifying license plate so some airman doesn't use an AAFES-funded vehicle to get the copier paper for the ops squadron. Can't cross the streams, you know. |
| Yep, AAFES - Army, Air Force Exchange Service - is the agency that runs all the Bx/Px's, shopettes, Class VI stores and such on army posts & air bases worldwide. Besides the cars, they have all sorts of trucks from maintenance to semi's to haul stuff around from their distribution centers. |
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AAFES ain't what it used to be..prices used to be something special, now they are just Wal-Mart for the Army. Except with considerably worse prices and selection. Yep. I remember Levi's and some other items being a lot less expensive at the PX compared to other retailers in the late eighties. Now they're competitive with other retailers and offer "price-matching". Price-matching? WTF? If it's lower at Wally-world, why waste time and gas going to AAFES to get it for the same price? The ONLY time I go out of my way to shop at AAFES is for big-ticket items that save money by not being taxed. Buying a washer and dryer saved me 120 dollars in taxes. |
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AAFES = Authorized Association For the Exploitation of Soldiers 
They hook the poor junior elisted with their STAR credit card and keep them in debt! G As opposed to the thousands of banks/credit card companies targeting kids getting out of high school and going to college? And then the colleges that sell their student info to credit card companies for yearly kick-backs? |
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AAFES ain't what it used to be..prices used to be something special, now they are just Wal-Mart for the Army. Except with considerably worse prices and selection. Yep. I remember Levi's and some other items being a lot less expensive at the PX compared to other retailers in the late eighties. Now they're competitive with other retailers and offer "price-matching". Price-matching? WTF? If it's lower at Wally-world, why waste time and gas going to AAFES to get it for the same price? The ONLY time I go out of my way to shop at AAFES is for big-ticket items that save money by not being taxed. Buying a washer and dryer saved me 120 dollars in taxes. Agreed. At one time the BX was a good place to go to save money. Now it is merely a place for dependants to get a low paying part-time job. Yeah, the BX says they price match but, it is an exercise in futility. Print out a price or bring in an ad. Wait 10 minutes for a Supervisor. Wait 10 more minutes for Supervisor to call Walmart etc. to verify price. Wait 10 more minutes for an Assistant Manager to be called because the price over ride is over the Supervisors limit. Then be told by the Assistant Mgr. that the price difference is too much and that you will have to take it up with the Store manager who is not at the store today. So you basically wait an hour to be told they will not do the price match after all. (had this happen twice) The BX/PX is nice to have when you are stationed overseas etc., but it is simply not competitive in CONUS. |
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The BX/PX is nice to have when you are stationed overseas etc., but it is simply not competitive in CONUS. Truth. I've pulled off some killer price matches at the BX while stationed in CA, then factor in No Tax. Overall, you can usually do well off base, but now and then they do have some killer deals. That being said, I retired in 05, and have not set foot in once since. Same with Commissary. |