Exchange Service to Continue Operations During Shutdown

DALLAS, April 7, 2011 — The Army and Air Force Exchange Ser­vice plans to con­tin­ue oper­a­tions in the event of an April 8 fed­er­al gov­ern­ment shut­down, accord­ing to a news release issued today.

The exchange ser­vice is a non-appro­pri­at­ed fund activ­i­ty. This means the major­i­ty of its bud­get does not rely on tax dol­lars, Army Col. Vir­gil Williams, the exchange service’s chief of staff, said in the release. 

If “the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment shuts down, busi­ness at the exchange remains large­ly unchanged,” Williams said. How­ev­er, he added, some exchange trans­ac­tions may be delayed, such as the pur­chase of firearms which require back­ground checks or oth­er fed­er­al gov­ern­ment actions. 

And in the event of a shut­down, the exchange “will do every­thing we have to do to con­tin­ue to sup­port the deployed troops,” Williams said. 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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