GATEWAY, Your Guide to the Greater Kaiserslautern Military Community

Kaiserslautern Area

Area Installations

AAFES - ARMY AND AIR FORCE EXCHANGE SERVICE

Armyand Air Force Exchange Service Europe (AAFES-Europe) will be a major part of the big new Kaiserslautern Military Community Center at Ramstein. It will be a retail and entertainment center housing state-of-the-art shopping, dining and entertainment options. Included will be a homestore, designed to provide all the comforts of home, indoors and out, with the latest linens, home accents and patio accessories.

There will also be a sports and camping store with a golf shop and putting green. The new apparel store will provide even more brands at good prices, and the mall will host a giant PowerZone. A new food court will offer all your American favorites, such as burgers, pizzas and tacos, and also some new food fare including Chinese specialties, seafood, and a 50s diner: Johnny Rockets.

If you want to relax, you'll enjoy the new massage and wellness spa. Or you can drop in for a cappuccino or browse the largest bookstore and internet café in Europe. You'll find a wide variety of unique gifts and European souvenirs throughout the mall. The stadium seating in the new 4 PLEX Theater will be just like you find back home, offering movies throughout the afternoon and evening.

If you can't wait for all this to become reality, be assured that the KMC right now has the most extensive military shopping facilities outside of the USA. The two main complexes, each open seven days a week, are at Ramstein and Vogelweh.

Both Ramstein and the Vogelweh/Pulaski/Kapaun area boast just about any facility that AAFES has anywhere. They offer, among other things, clothing, household appliances, health and beauty aids, electronics, cameras, linen and bedding, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, books and periodicals, jewelry, name brand sporting goods, new cars, car rental, laundry service and film processing. The hubs of these shopping facilities are the base exchanges (BXs); Bldg. 1101 at Ramstein and Bldgs. 2011-2013 at Vogelweh.

Another key facility is the shoppette. It's basically a convenience store, with a limited stock of food (ice cream, bread, snacks, etc.), beverages, health and beauty products. In some cases shoppettes are also combined with the gas station, the Class Six (liquor) store or the video rental facility. The 24-hour shoppette at Pulaski has all of these facilities, and there is a second 24-hour shoppette at Ramstein along with video rentals and a 24-hour gas station. Other shoppettes are conveniently scattered around the community. You'll find them on the south side of Ramstein and at Kleber, Landstuhl, Rhine Ordnance Barracks and Sembach. Many are open longer than the Main BX/PXs.

Another prized AAFES feature is the food court. At Ramstein you can choose from Taco Bell, the Robin Hood deli, Anthony's Pizza, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream , the Vescovi Cafe and American Eatery. At Vogelweh you can dine at Charley's Steakery, Taco Bell, Anthony's Pizza, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and Doner Kebab. Other fast food outlets scattered around the KMC also offer such things as Burger King, Subway sandwiches and Popeye's chicken.

And AAFES is somewhat more than a retail operation. It offers a large variety of services incuding laundry service, film processing, car rental, car repair, car washes, electronic repair and movie theaters (the Hercules and Nightingale at Ramstein, the Tiger at Sembach and the Galaxy and Kleber at Kaiserslautern). It has its own facilities at Gruenstadt for the production of baked goods, ice cream, Culligan water and ice.

And it has a contract with ESSO to provide gasoline through coupon redemption for authorized customers. The coupons can be used at all ESSO stations, and ARAL Autobahn stations, in Germany, and at some ESSO stations in The Netherlands.

If you live off base and want to get the full range of television and radio programming from AFN and commercial English-language broadcasters, visit your AAFES PowerZone to lease or purchase an AFN decoder and satellite dish. (See the separate article on AFN.)

Many of the facilities at Ramstein and Vogelweh are open at the same times as the main stores, which are 0900-2100, Monday to Saturday, and 1000 to 1900 on Sunday. Extended hours begin after Thanksgiving for the holiday season.

These KMC facilities are part of the AAFES-Europe Region, headquarters in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, part of the worldwide AAFES exchange system. Even soldiers deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom benefit from AAFES-Europe's field facilities.

Its two-fold mission is 1) to provide customers quality merchandise and services at competitively low prices, and 2) to generate earnings which provide a dividend to support morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) programs. In fiscal year 2005, the AAFES worldwide dividend to MWR was over $232 million. AAFES-Europe's contributions for that same year were $18.8 million.

In addition to those bricks and mortar facilities, AAFES gives customers the opportunity to order goods remotely, either through a catalog it issues periodically, or online at www.aafes.com.

EXCHANGE CATALOG

The Exchange Catalog is a great shopping alternative overseas, especially for those at the remote duty stations. It's available to all personnel and their family members in the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, and any other authorized customers as approved by the Department of Defense.

Two editions of the Exchange Catalog are published annually. They sell for $5 and contain a coupon good for $10 off the first order of $50 or more. In addition to the big books there are annual free supplements featuring seasonal clothing, home décor, holiday gift merchandise, sports and fitness, baby merchandise, military clothing and a host of other things. Catalog customers can make inquiries by using worldwide toll-free phone numbers or the AAFES website.

ONLINE WITH AAFES.COM

The AAFES award winning website, www.aafes.com, provides an online forum for authorized customers to gather information on their military communities, view AAFES sales fliers, print coupons, complete Military Star Card applications and payments plus much more. Online shopping is another convenient way for the military customer to shop for quality merchandise.

Simply log onto the site and begin shopping. The merchandise selection includes everything in the exchange catalog and also items that are available exclusively online. The web page also lists weekly specials and closeouts at extraordinary prices. And, as with the catalog, shipping and handling is free to customers using their Military Star Card.

On the AAFES website is a link to The Exchange MALL; a virtual offering similar to the concession mall located outside the main store at your local exchange. These concessionaires must meet special requirements if they are to be included in The Exchange MALL; special discounts for the military not available outside the site, acceptance of the Star Card, no collection of customer data for outside use, and others.