As of Veterans Day, November 11, 2017, all honorably discharged U.S. veterans can shop on the Exchange’s website, https://www.shopmyexchange.com/veterans and websites of our sister exchanges.
This new privilege only extends to online shopping however, not shopping in the brick-and-mortar locations. Through the website, veterans will be able to purchase any items except for uniforms, alcohol and tobacco products. There are currently no plans to open shopping at the commissary to honorably discharged veterans. This is because the commissary is run differently than AAFES.
Veterans must register with the Department of Defense (DOD) to shop on the military exchange store websites. DOD will clear all veterans to use the online exchange stores. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) is the sole source for verification data of authorized exchange shoppers. Veterans who are qualified to shop under the newly approved Veteran’s Online Shopping Benefit should visit www.VetVerify.org in order to be verified.
VetVerify.org is a single point of entry to verify eligibility for veterans to shop at exchanges’ online stores. This shared services verification site for military exchanges uses information from official government records to verify shopping eligibility. VetVerify is a shared verification service of the four military exchanges; i.e. AAFES, NEXCOM, MCX and CGX.
VetVerify.org will access DEERS records and inform veterans if their records are complete and have the proper discharge status. In cases where a veteran’s information is incomplete, VetVerify.org will provide guidance. Only authorized veterans can shop online. DOD currently does not have a policy in place for family members to shop online, due to a determination that the costs associated with collecting and tracking these individuals in the database used for eligibility verification would be prohibitive.