AAFES gas prices going up 18 cents in Germany, U.K., Netherlands

[lebkuchen]

Bush's gift to the divisions returning home after a year in Iraq: higher gas prices. "Help is on the way!"

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=27972

As of April 1 at AAFES stations in Germany, regular unleaded fuel will be $2.19 a gallon, super unleaded moves to $2.28 a gallon and super-plus unleaded rises to $2.37 a gallon. Diesel increases to roughly $2.35 per gallon.

In the United Kingdom, the prices for a gallon of super unleaded fuel will be about $2.22 a gallon, and diesel goes to $2.28 a gallon.

In the Netherlands, a gallon of AAFES super unleaded will cost $2.46 per gallon. Super-plus unleaded hops to about $2.74 a gallon, and diesel climbs to roughly $2.72 a gallon.

Byerly noted that filling up the gas tank at an AAFES station is still cheaper than doing it on the economy. To fill a 20-gallon tank at the AAFES gas station at Mainz-Kastel, Germany, cost $41.46 on March 23, according to an AAFES press release. The cost for 20 gallons of fuel at the nearby Esso station would cost $116.19, according to the press release.

*************************

What kind of comment is this, Bryerly? If you don't like the prices on base, go off base? This will not go over well with the troops.

[sasquatch]

1. Typical Bush Crime Family treatment to anyone not in the "family"

"Go fuck yourself, we want the fucking $$$."

[punpirate]

2. Now, now...

... this has been typical practice for a long, long time. Those prices are close to what most people would pay now in the US. When I was stationed outside CONUS, many years ago, the local prices were about 80% higher than at AAFES, and perhaps 5% higher than inside the US.

For once, this isn't Bush--it's a pricing policy that's been in effect for many decades. It's the equivalent of fuel costs plus federal taxes plus equivalent transportation and handling costs plus a small margin for the AAFES station to cover its costs of doing business.

Cheers.

[lebkuchen]

3. Since the division has returned, COLA has been decreased in Germany

despite the record high strength of the euro, and gas prices have increased, twice within the last couple of months. Policies on COLA rates and gas prices have been in effect for years. However, the consistency in applying those policies have been questioned frequently by military members in Stars and Stripes. Morale is hurt because multiple price increases take a larger piece of the income pie from the LES's of soldiers returning home w/their combat pay. The army, in particular, can hardly "afford" to suffer further damage to its morale than it already has. You can say "now, now" to the troops all you want, but if they're unhappy, the army has a problem.

AAFES can’t spin away taxes

A few days ago I read a letter to the editor (“AAFES often wins comparison,” Feb. 8) that indicated Pacific Air Forces Army and Air Force Exchange Service gas stations are providing $2 coupons toward purchases of eight or more gallons of gas. Can anybody out there confirm this? I inquired about this policy on the AAFES Web site customer service page, but haven’t received any response back from them. If it’s true, why don’t we get the same benefit here in U.S. Air Forces Europe?

I also noticed today on American Forces Network’s “On Assignment” that an AAFES rep was discussing gas prices, and it appeared she was going over the reasons why we’re paying more than the stateside average price for gas. Why does AFN need to do a spot on gas prices, when we all know that we’re paying 40 to 50 cents of U.S. federal and state tax on gas here in Europe. Average stateside prices are based on after-tax costs. AAFES is supposed to be tax-free, but ask yourself if things are really as they seem.

A tax is a tax is a tax, no matter how AAFES reps spin the story.

Why can’t AAFES just come out and say that it’s basing prices on after-tax average prices? At least then we’d all know the true story, and AAFES could pull the commercials that tout “tax-free savings.”

Master Sgt. Burl Stubblefield
Ramstein Air Base, Germany

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=26931&archive=true


AAFES Articles

I cannot understand why AAFES, a non-profit organization, are gouging thier customers. Why is the U.S. military's top brass letting this happen? Compared to most American citizens, military soldiers earn next to nothing, less than the current minimum wage standard. Quite a hefty percentage of America's military need governmental financial assistance, just to make ends meet. AAFES is supposed to be the government's pay equalizer. Pricing is supposed to be lower than most other department stores in America, but that isn't the case. AAFES usually matches their competition's prices but only that: they won't lower pricing. Why do they even have competition? They are there to server US, not make profits for profit-sake. Competition from other stores shouldn't be a factor at all, considering that AAFES' mission shouldn't be making a profit, but benefiting the soldier.

If I were back in the U.S., I'd give my business solely to non-AAFES stores. Soldiers shouldn't have to put up with price gouging from AAFES, especially when they are overseas where there is no other competition. You can bet I'm going to be writing my Congressional representatives on this situation. People who join the military nowadays immediately gives away any financial hope and advantage. The pay gap between the military and civilian employment is very wide. AAFES is supposed to balance this out.....what happened?

http://members.tripod.com/~WIGGLIT/AAFES.html

[punpirate]

4. They ought to be unhappy about...

... some of the decisions of their commander-in-chief about unnecessary wars--that ought to be their primary objection.

If you've been in the military, you should realize that the soldier's first right is to bitch, and some of that is in the examples you've given. The suggestion in the military that there's a wide disparity between civilian salaries and military is common and long-standing, but that disparity is diminishing, especially since US median household income has been flat or declining since about 2001.

But, as an indication of whether or not fuel prices in Europe at AAFES stations comparable to those in the US represents a genuine hardship, let's look at the MSGT who wrote the letter complaining about coupons.

He's located at Ramstein, he's an E-7, let's say he's got 14 years of service (typical for that grade), and he's living on the economy with a couple of dependents. His base pay before taxes is $3250/mo. His COLA for his area and his spendable income (Kaiserslautern Military Community) is $785/mo. His separate rations allowance is $243/mo. His housing allowance for that area is E1250, or $1712/mo. His utilities and continuing maintenance allowance related to housing is E415, or $568/mo.

Let's say his base take-home pay after deductions is $2800. Because he's overseas, his COLA is not taxable, nor are his housing and rations allowances. So, his monthly take-home household income is slightly over $6100/mo.

For comparison, the average German monthly household income in the west of Germany, as of 2003, was E2,900/mo., or at the current rate of exchange, about $3,770. The median US household income for 2003 is $3,600/mo. (2003 are the last figures available.)

Now, he's not making out like a bandit, because his housing costs are high there. But I would say that his effective take-home pay is higher than the US national median, when considering that his housing costs are part of his actual take-home pay.

I'm not going to diss the military for what they have to do, but, a little reality is sometimes necessary to put things in perspective.

Cheers.

[lebkuchen]

5. So, most soldiers are netting over $6,500 a month

makes you wonder why there's a dearth of them in the army at those rates.

Have you considered helping out in recruiting newbies?

[punpirate]

6. I think you're twisting...

...this deliberately. I pointed out something about the person complaining, which you offered as proof that soldiers were somehow being mistreated because of an 18-cent increase in gasoline, and that it was necessary to accommodate them because it's, as you suggested, not good that the troops were unhappy.

I think the salient point here is that if they're unhappy, the root cause isn't AAFES. And it's not money. And it's not gasoline. Addressing the root cause helps solve the problem.

Moreover, the financial difficulties of the Guard and Reserves members impressed into extended tours are, overall, considerably greater than those of active duty members--job losses increasing, bankruptcies increasing, etc.

What I suggested was that this sort of complaining might be distinguished from something more serious. I also wish to remind that everyone in this country has been subjected to a 15-20 cent increase in the last few weeks, too--they're not alone in this. The simple fact is the at-the-refinery cost of plain unleaded went over $1.63/gal. this past week. Everyone is paying more.

Cheers.

[lebkuchen]

9. I said the soldiers were being mistreated because of higher gas rates?

or that AAFES was the ROOT cause of soldiers' unhappiness?

Who is "twisting?" Or were you "punning?"

I was discussing quality of life issues that come at a time when the army is wondering from where it's going to get its replacements. Gas prices happen to be a part of that.

[jmowreader]

7. He used Sergeant First Class numbers

Sergeants first class are paid very well compared to the rank-and-file. As well they should be; this rank used to be known as Platoon Sergeant. A Platoon Sergeant is responsible for as many as sixty soldiers and several million dollars worth of equipment. They can be designated First Sergeants, who are responsible for the entire company. In the civilian world, platoon sergeants are like shop foremen.

The troops just coming into the army would be exceptionally happy to see even a third of what the SFC makes.

Trying to understand the Army pay system is about as easy as trying to figure out what Bush is going to do next, but let me play with it for a minute. Part of a squad leader's job is to read their soldiers' Leave and Earnings Statements to figure out if they were getting paid properly. At one time, I had six Specialists working for me and all of them got paid a different amount.

Some of the pays and allowances a soldier can receive; the difference is that a pay is granted based on what you do, while an allowance is based on who you are:

Base pay--this is what everyone gets

Hazardous Duty Pay--if you're in an exceptionally dangerous position, you'll receive this pay

Jump Pay--this used to be part of HDP. It's $110 per month, or at least it was, and you receive it if you are on jump status and have made at least one parachute jump within the last ninety days. It's not part of HDP anymore, even though it is a hazardous duty, because many jobs in the 82nd Airborne (everyone there gets jump pay because everyone there jumps) draw HDP due to the nature of their mission. Basically, the army got tired of doing the math--Private Jones who works at Explosive Ordnance Disposal would get $300 for defusing bombs but he also jumps so he gets $410. Now Private Jones gets $300 HDP for defusing bombs and $110 jump pay for jumping out of airplanes.

Language Pay--if you're a military linguist and you get a good score on your language test, you get this. The better you score, the more you make. This one's calculated by language and DLPT score--soldiers who are Spanish linguists get paid for having a 3/3 (the best score a non-native speaker can earn) what a Russian linguist gets for having a 2/2 because the Spanish linguist has more chances to maintain his language than the Russian linguist. Every motor pool in the Army has a few Spanish speakers working there. (They're very smart to choose this career path. It translates to a high-paying civilian occupation.) When I had Spanish linguists working for me, I just sent them to the motor pool a couple days a week to grease trucks. Not only did I get well-serviced trucks, I got well-trained linguists. So it's a win-win.

Foreign Service Pay--if you're stationed overseas during times of peace, you get paid a little more money than you would in a stateside posting

Combat Pay--if you're stationed in the combat zone, you get this.

Housing allowance: This is the worst one to try to figure out. It comes in two pieces. The first is Basic Allowance for Quarters, or BAQ. It is based on your rank and the number of dependents you have. The second is Variable Housing Allowance, or VHA. This one takes into consideration where you are stationed, the town you live in, the genders of your children--if you have two male children, you will not receive as much VHA as a troop who has one of each or who has two female children--ESPECIALLY two teenage girls! The intent of this allowance is to pay 85 percent of the cost of a set of "adequate" quarters for you and yours. Yes, there is a regulation governing what is considered to be adequate quarters. It is not a Department of Defense reg, though; each service has their own. Most guys find out what their housing allowance is going to be for that area (your losing finance office can give you a chart of VHA rates for the area you're going to), find a house that they can pay the rent on using only their housing allowance, and declare the place to be adequate.

Rations allowance: Also called Basic Allowance for Subsistence, or BAS, rations allowance is designed to feed you. Not your family, you.

Family Separation Allowance: if you are a "geographical bachelor"--a troop whose family didn't accompany you to your duty station (this happens for three reasons: she has a job or your kids are still in school and they can't come until that's finished; you're going to a hellhole your wife refuses to move to; or you're going to Korea on a non-command-sponsored tour)--you will receive this to help ease the burden of you living in Korea and she in Maryland. Soldiers receiving combat pay don't get this because family separation is assumed when you're in combat.

There are many others.

[lebkuchen]

8. I think hazardous duty pay is abou $250 month

I spoke to a lower enlisted who'd been to Iraq, and he said his base pay was in the $600 range but that hazardous duty pay/combat pay helped to boost base pay to nearly $1,000/mo, which is why he had wanted to return to Iraq: for "all" that money.

Didn't the Bushies cut out family separation allowance payments, saying they would reinburse it in other ways?

The Foreign pay differential was cut out during the Clinton administration, to help him with his budget surplus numbers. COLA still exists, but as I had said in a previous post, it was recently lowered in Germany despite the euro being at an all time high. Folks are upset. Couple that w/multiple increases in gas prices, as well as loss of other former base freebies, as is happening in the Pacific (ex: kids are now having to pay to use the base swimming pool because the AF can't afford to pay lifeguards), or budget cuts to child care etc., and it will affect morale, regardless of what the local nationals are paying at the pump.

Thanks for your breakdown. I receive an LES as well, on yet another pay system.