Navy Exchange is a

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

store chain owned and operated by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

under the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM). The Navy Exchange offers goods and services to active

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, retirees, and certain civilians on Navy installations in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, overseas Navy bases, and aboard Navy ships. The Navy Exchange is a type of

base exchange An exchange is a type of retail store found on United States military installations worldwide. Originally akin to trading posts, they now resemble contemporary department stores or strip malls. Exact terminology varies by armed service; some examp ...

, but is separate from the others (

Army & Air Force Exchange Service The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES, also referred to as The Exchange and The PX or The BX) is the retailer in U.S. Army and Air Force installations worldwide. The Exchange is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and its director/chief exe ...

(AAFES), Marine Corps Exchange, and

Coast Guard Exchange The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

History

The beginnings of the Navy Exchange, referred to by sailors as the “NEX,” started in the 1800s, when enterprising citizens would greet a Navy ship coming into port by sailing out to meet it in what were called “bumboats.” These merchants would sell goods to sailors, often at inflated prices and reportedly shoddy quality. In 1896, a “canteen” was opened on the , purportedly to help keep the sailors’ money on the ship, and to ensure that they were receiving a fair deal. The Naval Appropriations Act of March 3, 1909 established the first official stores and commissaries on ships. This pressure on bumboat operators caused some to change tactics, and begin offering services, such as hair cuts and shoe repair, to sailors. This led to a separate type of retail operation, a “ship services store,” to be created aboard naval vessels. The two types of retail outlets were later combined to increase efficiency and save space. As retail options on ships grew, so did their shore-side counterparts. In 1946, a committee, headed by Captain Wheelock H. Bingham, recommended that the shore-side retail operations be rolled into the same bureau as the ship-based retail locations. In 1946, these recommendations led to the creation of the Navy Ship’s Store Office, the precursor to the modern Navy Exchange. Today, the Navy Exchange operates much like many other major retailers, selling hard goods and clothing, as well as providing services such as barbering, floral arrangement, and laundry (depending on location). Most Navy Exchanges are located on military bases, though some lease private buildings, while others, called "Ship's Stores," operate on Navy vessels such as aircraft carriers. NEXCOM, the Navy Exchange Service Command, operates multiple business lines, including Navy Exchange retail stores, Navy Lodge hotels, the Navy Uniform Project Management Office (UPMO), Navy Clothing Textile and Research Facility (NCTRF), the Ship's Stores Program, and the Telecommunications Program Office (TPO). On Jan. 13 2017, the Department of Defense announced that all honorably discharged veterans would be eligible to shop tax-free online military exchanges starting Nov. 11, 2017. The expanded benefit is expected to make online exchange privileges available to as many as 13 million veterans. Six months later, the military exchanges launched

VetVerify.org VetVerify.org is a shared online service of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, the Navy Exchange Service Command, the Marine Corps Exchange and the Coast Guard Exchange. Its sole purpose is to verify eligibility for the veterans online shopp ...

, an online service where veterans can verify their eligibility to shop online exchanges, on June 5, 2017. It was concurrently announced that some veterans who register would be selected to shop ahead of the Nov. 11 launch as beta testers.

References

External links

* {{authority control United States Navy Retail companies of the United States United States Department of Defense agencies 1946 establishments in New York City