As of July 21, 2017, the only veterans permitted to shop at military Exchange stores are retirees. However, this coming Veterans Day, November 11, 2017, will mark the beginning of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Veteran Online Shopping Benefit (VOSB). The VOSB allows veterans who were Honorably discharged or discharged Under Honorable Conditions to shop online-only at all of the 4 military exchanges (The Marine Corps Exchange- MCX, The Navy Exchange- NEX, The Army & Air Force Exchange Service, and the Coast Guard Exchange- CGX) for life!
What is the VOSB – Veterans Online Shopping Benefit?
With this program, DoD has found a way to benefit veterans and improve the lives of active duty personnel and their families. Giving the thousands of qualified veterans who served for less than 20 years permission to access the tax-free, discounted military prices at the online Exchange stores is obviously a great benefit to vets. But most importantly, portions of the extra revenue brought in by the new (returning) online-shoppers will help each Exchange in its mission to support Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) programs that enhance the quality of life for active duty service members and their families.
The Benefits:
- On November 11, 2017, Honorably discharged veterans will have access to shop tax-free at any of the Exchanges’ online stores.
- Did we mention tax-free?
- Free Shipping on certain products.
- This is a lifelong benefit!
The Limitations:
- This benefit does not apply to anyone who was discharged under any character of discharge other than “honorable” or “general under honorable conditions”.
- This benefit does not allow access to in-person, on-base shopping.
- This benefit does not extend to the family members of Honorably discharged veterans.
- Veterans cannot start online shopping at the exchanges until November 11, 2017 unless they are randomly selected for the Beta-test (see the VetVerify FAQ section for more information).
Where to Register:
You may have already seen the commercial with Retired Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and actor Mark Wahlberg (see below) but in case you haven’t, go to VetVerify.org to register. At this time, veterans do have to register on this website in order to use this benefit. Registration is a fairly simple process. Remember to write your password down somewhere so you don’t forget it before November! If you run into any issues, visit VetVerify’s “FAQ” tab. Follow the instructions and you’ll be good to go!
https://www.vetverify.org/index.xhtml
For more information, visit:
https://publicaffairs-sme.com/FamilyServingFamily/2017/03/01/veterans-online-shopping-benefit-faq/
