Quote from: Shuman 14 on Today at 02:38:51 AMYou just have to be a currently serving Auxiliarist with an active "Employee Identification Number", the USCGAux's version of the CAPID and off you go.
QuoteSomething similar should be able to be set up with AAFES. Again, that word, hard, but not impossible.
Quote from: Shuman 14 on Today at 02:38:51 AMWell, the Coast Guard, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary seemed to have figured it out. Now their version of the AAFES, the Uniform Distrobusion Center, will accept orders directly from an Auxiliarist and ship straight to their home of record, and you never have to set foot on a base.
You just have to be a currently serving Auxiliarist with an active "Employee Identification Number", the USCGAux's version of the CAPID and off you go. You can order and pay for any uniform item authorized for use by the USCGAux. Clearly, they won't let you buy a set of 4-Star USCG Admiral's Shoulder Boards, but standard uniforms, boots, shoes, etc. you can buy all day.
Something similar should be able to be set up with AAFES. Again, that word, hard, but not impossible.
Quote from: NIN on Yesterday at 11:56:55 PMSpeedy, you're talking my lingo.
Unfortunately for Vanguard, they have no access to the DLATs "issue" grade shirts and instead have to resell the "commerical upgrade" shirts (ie. Brooks Brothers) that are also sold thru AAFES. And they have a markup, because, you know, they're a business and do need to make a profit. They don't buy as many shirts as AAFES, so they don't get the super good discount from the vendor to pass along.
This is a long time, ongoing issue as BRAC was a thing and USAF bases disappeared in states. Suddenly its hundreds of miles instead of dozens of miles to get to an AAFES. Even if you can get on base.
Quote from: ProdigalJim on Yesterday at 10:11:06 PMJust as a reference point when we talk about affordability and accessibility of uniform items in relation to this potential change...I did a search using current prices. Vanguard black boots today are as much as $20 more than DLATS boots. And ABUs are increasingly hard to find commercially anywhere *except* Vanguard.
<snippage happens here>
Quote from: ProdigalJim on Yesterday at 10:11:06 PMJust as a reference point when we talk about affordability and accessibility of uniform items in relation to this potential change...I did a search using current prices. Vanguard black boots today are as much as $20 more than DLATS boots. And ABUs are increasingly hard to find commercially anywhere *except* Vanguard.
A complete male OCP uniform, using DLATS components from AAFES, would cost $292.47. A complete Vanguard ABU uniform today is $346.30. If you go to commercial sources for OCPs, it's considerably more expensive than AAFES (which is unsurprising): $69.99 for the shirt/coat, and $69.99 for the pants, compared with $41.91 for the AAFES male shirt/coat and $39.49 for the female shirt/coat. If you choose Vanguard for all the components of your golf shirt uniform (shirt, pants, black fleece for cold weather, and boots), that's roughly $51 cheaper than a full ABU kit, but not exactly cheap at $295.35.
Although this thread is about OCPs, it's worth talking about prices on other uniforms. Where it really gets breathtaking is when buying USAF-style blues. Vanguard wants $64.80 for the long-sleeved uniform shirt, versus $28.75 for the DLATS version at AAFES. You can go out and buy them commercially for $49.99 (still $14.81 cheaper than Vanguard). Female blues trousers are $37.00 through AAFES and $66.30 through Vanguard. Commercially I found them for $49.99.
Blues covers are also much more expensive, although here Vanguard beats other online commercial sources. AAFES will sell me a flight cap for $13.75; the same item on Vanguard is $10.10 more at $23.85, and $29.99 commercially.
That simple blue web belt with a silver buckle? AAFES wants $4.18 -- Vanguard is close to six times more expensive, at $25. Commercially that same belt is $19.19.
Overall, Vanguard's USAF Blues Uniform for males is $98.33 more than you could get at AAFES, and for females Vanguard is $109.01 more than AAFES. Compared with commercially available blues components, Vanguard beats other suppliers for male uniforms -- by $42.75 for a full kit with a short-sleeved shirt, and by $36.15 for a long-sleeved version -- but commercial suppliers other than Vanguard are better for female blues uniforms, with Vanguard $20.65 more than commercial for a complete female set with short sleeves.
My takeaways from shopping day today? 1 - If we had decent, non-roadblocked access to AAFES, OCPs would be as much as $53.83 cheaper than the present Vanguard-only ABU uniform for a full set, and Blues would be about $100 cheaper depending on gender, and; 2 - our leadership really should work much harder on knocking down the barriers to members using AAFES to buy appropriate uniform items. (And I'm uninterested in all the reasons why it's hard. Yes, it's hard. I know it's hard. And I know all the reasons why it's hard. So what? It's not impossible, just hard.)
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