FORT JACKSON, SC -- Like many active duty and retired Soldiers who work on Fort Jackson, Sgt. 1st Class Dawn Cantele, a drill sergeant with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, fuels up her car on post.
"It's convenient," Cantele said.
But Jason Rosenberg, general manager of AAFES Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base, said that he does not rely on AAFES gas stations' convenient location alone, but wants to make sure customers get a fair deal at the pump.
He said that AAFES gas prices are determined once a day by surveying at least five gas stations in the proximity of the installation. The AAFES price will then be adjusted to the lowest price recorded for each fuel grade.
Rosenberg said that a surveyor records the price of 11 gas stations to make sure the customer gets a fair deal.
"I wanted to show that we're going above and beyond," he said. "We're not just going to pick and choose five gas stations. I'm literally covering every (station) that's near us."
He explained that because of the sheer volume of gas stations in Columbia, not every
station in the city can be surveyed.
"Our direct competition is the (gas stations) close by," he said. "A lot of times I get a call from somebody who says, 'I live out by the airport and (gas stations here) are 3 cents cheaper than you.' But that's not our direct competition."
Although off-post gas stations may adjust their prices several times throughout the day, prices on post remain the same once the daily price is set.
"The gas market is so fluid and the cost prices are different, literally, for every shipment you get. These gas stations ... get multiple shipments per day," Rosenberg said. "We can only take one glimpse in time every day. I do still believe that is a pretty fair way to do it."
Rosenberg added that one of the biggest misperceptions among customers is that AAFES is exempt from charging fuel taxes. He explained that although AAFES is immune from state and local taxes for most items, that immunity was waived by Congress with regard to gasoline.
"Accordingly, AAFES pays state, federal and local motor fuel taxes, as well as underground storage fees, etc. on motor fuel," he said. "The federal and state motor fuel taxes and other applicable fees paid by AAFES are included in the motor fuel price to the military customer and paid to the appropriate taxing authority. That means we're on the same playing field as everybody else. We have to pay the same taxes as (other gas stations) do."
Even though customers cannot save on taxes by purchasing gas on post, AAFES offers other ways of lowering the pain at the pump.
"I use my Military Star Card as a gas card to get a discount," said Sgt. Chelsey Baxter, Company B, 4th Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment.
AAFES offers a discount of at least 5 cents per gallon for customers using the card. Rosenberg explained that this is possible because, unlike other credit cards, the exchange service does not have to pay fees on purchases made with a Military Star Card.
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