HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE – Iraq War Veteran Neal Daringer can shop with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service onlinae once again—and he has a $25,000 prize to show for it.
Daringer, who served for eight years with the Iowa National Guard, took home a $25,000 Pabst Blue Ribbon Knucklehead chopper, the grand prize in the Exchange’s Pabst Blue Ribbon Sweepstakes, during a March 16 presentation at the Hanscom Air Force Base Exchange.
Daringer was randomly selected as the winner from more than 22,000 active-duty, dependent, retired or Veteran military shoppers who entered the worldwide sweepstakes at ShopMyExchange.com.
Daringer is one of millions of honorably discharged Veterans recently welcomed home to their military family with a lifelong online military exchange shopping benefit. The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is the Department of Defense’s oldest and largest military exchange, offering millions of tax-free items and military-exclusive prices at ShopMyExchange.com.
Honorably discharged Veterans are also eligible to win Exchange online sweepstakes. Daringer is among the first Veterans to take home a prize from the Exchange since the online shopping benefit launched on Veterans Day.
“It had been 10 years since I’d gone to an Exchange, and I thought it was great that I had a chance to shop tax-free with them again through their website,” the Boston resident said. “It never even occurred to me that I could actually win one of their sweepstakes.”
At the presentation, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Luis Reyes, Exchange senior enlisted advisor, joined Col. Roman Hund, 66th Air Base Group commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Henry Hayes, 66th Base Group command chief, in congratulating Daringer on his win and handing over the keys to the motorcycle.
“The Veterans online shopping benefit honors those who raised their right hand, took an oath and served our Nation,” Reyes said. “Mr. Daringer’s winning this military-exclusive sweepstakes shows other honorably discharged Veterans that their new benefit can go beyond online shopping.”
Daringer joined the Iowa Army National Guard in March 2000. In addition to his 2006 deployment to Iraq, Daringer served in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in 2003 for a peacekeeping mission.
Sales from the Veterans online shopping benefit make life better for service members and their families as 100 percent of Exchange earnings support Quality-of-Life programs including military uniforms at cost; school lunches below cost for Warfighters’ children overseas; Child Development Centers; Youth Programs; Fitness Centers; and career opportunities for spouses, Veterans and Wounded Warriors (The Exchange has hired more than 1,000 Wounded Warriors since 2010—second only to the Army.).
“I really value the ability to give back to those who are still serving,” Daringer said. “That makes me feel good. There are people who don’t get to home for the holidays, and many of those programs are there for situations just like that. I really hope more people take advantage of this benefit, at least to help in that sense.”
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Since 1895, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (Exchange) has gone where Soldiers, Airmen and their families go to improve the quality of their lives by providing valued goods and services at exclusive military pricing. The Exchange is the 56th-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.4 billion in dividends to support military morale, welfare and recreation programs over the last 10 years. The Exchange is a non-appropriated fund entity of the Department of Defense and is directed by a Board of Directors. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our Web site at http://www.shopmyexchange.com or follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ExchangePAO.
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Media Notes:
For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact Conner Hammett, 214-312-2714 or [email protected].
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