About 10,500 veterans who have newly registered to shop at the online military exchange stores have access to a major promotion sale push at Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) for the first time.
The annual Labor Day AAFES sale, which runs through Sept. 7, has a variety of targeted discounts in outdoor goods, clothing, appliances and more.
But unlike past sales, veterans who until recently did not qualify to shop at the exchanges because they did not have authorized user status will be able to make purchases.
The full program that allows all honorably discharged veterans to shop at online exchange stores will roll out Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
Until then, a group of about 10,500 randomly selected veteran "beta testers" have early access, exchange officials said. More than 175,000 veterans have been verified through VetVerify.org.
The new benefit allows only online shopping and does not extend to base access for either the exchange or commissary systems.
Fuel, tobacco, alcohol and uniform purchases are also not part of the benefit, officials said.
Officials with AAFES, which is leading the benefit roll-out for all of the military exchange systems, said they are still selecting beta testers from those who have registered at VetVerify.org.
The registration system was rolled out in early June, and all veterans who do not otherwise qualify to shop at the exchange must register there before gaining access.
About 13 million veterans qualify for the new benefit. If veterans have trouble applying, they should follow the instructions on the VetVerify website.
