{"id":5604,"date":"2020-08-19T14:59:09","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T14:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/?p=5604"},"modified":"2020-08-19T14:59:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T14:59:09","slug":"two-marines-from-same-unit-in-hawaii-win-10k-exchange-shopping-spree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2020\/08\/19\/two-marines-from-same-unit-in-hawaii-win-10k-exchange-shopping-spree\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Marines from Same Unit in Hawaii Win $10K Exchange Shopping Spree"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Subway
Marine Cpl. \u201cPaul\u201d In B. Lee, a safety equipment technician, shops at the Kadena Air Base Exchange.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KADENA AIR BASE<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Cpl. \u201cPaul\u201d In B. Lee, a safety equipment technician, and Sgt. Jacob Myers, an airframe mechanic,\u00a0are far away from home while being attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit<\/a>. Their normal duty assignment is with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-463 on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay.<\/p>\n

In the three years they have worked together, this is their third deployment as they rotate from Hawaii to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, to train and then deploy. They\u2019ve become close battle-buddies and colleagues, always looking out for each other \u2014 nearly inseparable.<\/p>\n

In the third week of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service\u2019s Subway Sip, Rip, Ultimate Trip sweepstakes, Lee and his squadron mates grabbed takeout lunch at Futenma\u2019s Subway to eat in their barracks. After he finished his meal, Lee, who was not aware of the sweepstakes, was about to throw away his trash from lunch but noticed a tab on his large Subway cup. Nonchalantly, he pulled the tab.\u00a0 To his surprise, the tab revealed he won a $10,000 Exchange shopping spree. He ran to Myers\u2019 room and showed his friend the winning ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so jealous,\u201d Myers said. \u201cFrom that day, I went to Subway every chance I got, hoping I would win a $10,000 ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Less than a week later, Myers and Lee drove to the same Subway where Lee won his prize and they grabbed their combo meal to go. In the car, Lee joked about Myers\u2019 jealousy and with one smooth rip, Myers\u2019 good-natured envy became a reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just in shock,\u201d Lee said. \u201cWhat are the chances of both of us winning a $10,000 shopping spree? It was unbelievable, what are the odds?\u201d<\/p>\n

Myers remembers calling his wife, Kailee, back in Hawaii to tell her the news and she thought he was pulling her leg.\u00a0 After several rounds of \u201cYes really \u2026 really!\u201d and several minutes of convincing her that it wasn\u2019t a joke, she was ecstatic and they started making a list of needed items for their young family.<\/p>\n

The couple has been married just more than two years and they have a 10-month-old son, Jude. During his $10,000 shopping spree at the Kadena Exchange, Myers bought items for their house and plenty of diapers.<\/p>\n

Lee, who lives in the barracks, spent his prize on his parents, his girlfriend and himself.<\/p>\n

They both bought this year\u2019s holiday gifts for their loved ones a bit early.<\/p>\n

Because Lee and Myers are far from home and with their pending deployment with the 31st<\/sup>\u00a0MEU, the Exchange managers knew that shipping large items would be a struggle for the two Marines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set up an easy process where they could purchase big, bulky items like a 65-inch TV at our store and we could transfer their purchase to our Exchange at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii to hold it for them upon return from their deployment,\u201d said Kadena Exchange Store Manager Flor Peyton. \u201cOtherwise, they would have to find a way to get everything home and they don\u2019t have a lot of time as they are preparing for their deployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so much fun helping Sgt. Myers and Cpl. Lee with their shopping this morning.\u00a0 It\u2019s great to see the customers we support be rewarded like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Subway\u2019s sweepstakes is a part of the 125th Anniversary celebration provided for U.S. service members, their families and anyone who are Exchange-authorized patrons at participating locations on U.S. military bases in the U.S., Germany, Italy, Kosovo, South Korea, Mainland Japan, Okinawa, Puerto Rico, Honduras, and Kwajalein.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the Sip, Rip, and Ultimate Trip opportunity across the entire Exchange enterprise, it\u2019s great to see how our service members and their families truly benefit from customer engagement programs like this,\u201d said Col. Scott Maskery, Exchange Pacific Region commander. \u201cMeeting and talking to Sgt. Myers and Cpl. Lee about their lucky windfall and learning how it will help them and their families demonstrates another aspect of our team serving the best customers in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Facebook-friendly version:<\/strong> Cpl. \u201cPaul\u201d In B. Lee and Sgt. Jacob Myers are friends who serve in the same Marine unit at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, and they each won $10,000 shopping sprees in the Army & Air Force Exchange Service’s Subway Sip, Rip, Ultimate Trip sweepstakes. Read more: https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-1so<\/a>.<\/p>\n

— 30 —<\/p>\n

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 61st<\/sup>-largest retailer in the United States. Its earnings provided $2.2 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. The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize the service, valor and sacrifice of Vietnam Veterans and their families in conjunction with the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration. To find out more about the Exchange history and mission or to view recent press releases please visit our website at http:\/\/www.shopmyexchange.com<\/a> or follow us on Twitter at https:\/\/twitter.com\/ExchangePAO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Media Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more information or to schedule an interview with an Exchange representative please contact\u00a0\u00a0 Staff Sgt. Mark A. Kauffman, (214) 465-3355 or kauffmanmar@aafes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow the Exchange:<\/p>\n

Facebook:\u00a0 www.facebook.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Twitter:\u00a0 https:\/\/twitter.com\/shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n

Instagram: @shopmyexchange<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KADENA AIR BASE\u00a0\u2014 Cpl. \u201cPaul\u201d In B. Lee, a safety equipment technician, and Sgt. Jacob Myers, an airframe mechanic,\u00a0are far away from home while being attached to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. Their normal duty assignment is with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-463 on Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay. In the three years they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":5608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Cpl. \u201cPaul\u201d In B. Lee and Sgt. Jacob Myers are friends who serve in the same Marine unit, and they each won $10,000 shopping sprees in the #Exchange's @SUBWAY Sip, Rip, Ultimate Trip sweepstakes. Read more: https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Q7PG-1so.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[25],"tags":[174,107,35,57],"class_list":["post-5604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press_releases","tag-army-air-force-exchange-service","tag-exchange","tag-military","tag-sweepstakes"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2020\/08\/19\/two-marines-from-same-unit-in-hawaii-win-10k-exchange-shopping-spree\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Two Marines from Same Unit in Hawaii Win $10K Exchange Shopping Spree","url":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2020\/08\/19\/two-marines-from-same-unit-in-hawaii-win-10k-exchange-shopping-spree\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/2020\/08\/19\/two-marines-from-same-unit-in-hawaii-win-10k-exchange-shopping-spree\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/Subway-Rip-Kadena-Winners1-e1597785121332.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/publicaffairs-sme.com\/ExchangePost\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2020\/08\/Subway-Rip-Kadena-Winners1-e1597785121332.jpg"},"articleSection":"Press Releases","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Loyd Brumfield"}],"creator":["Loyd Brumfield"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Exchange Newsroom","logo":""},"keywords":["army & air force exchange service","exchange","military","sweepstakes"],"dateCreated":"2020-08-19T14:59:09Z","datePublished":"2020-08-19T14:59:09Z","dateModified":"2020-08-19T14:59:09Z"},"rendered":"