EVERETT — New sailors often rely on the women at the sewing machines at the base’s Navy Exchange fleet store.
Their uniform allowance pays for alterations, ripped seam repairs, last-minute button replacement and the application of name and rank tags, service medals and ribbons.
The sage advice these tailors offer comes free.
“I often have to tell the young men to pull their pants up,” said Kaisa Benson, one of several civilian tailors. “The uniforms look nice if they follow regulation. They tend to wear the slacks well below their waists. They also wait until the last minute to ask for help with uniform repairs. We try to stay flexible and remember that they are young and far from home.”
The fleet store at Naval Station Everett and the Navy Exchange department store at Smokey Point attract active duty military, their families and retired career veterans from throughout Western Washington. The stores offer discounted prices, but much of the attraction is the experience of military life shared by the shoppers.
At the base, the Navy Exchange or NEX is an important after-work stop for many sailors, especially those who live in the dormitories on base.
Located not far from the pier, the store is where sailors shop for casual clothes, socks, tobacco, snack food, laundry soap and video games that are popular on base and aboard ship.
The store’s staff like to get to know the regulars and the sailors count on the employees as part of their home-away-from-home family.
“The single guys often like to chit chat. They tell us where they’re from and where they’ve been,” said store employee Christopher Hoerner. “They know they can ask us for help and we know what they like to buy. We also encourage some of them to get credit counseling. Some of them have never had discretionary income before.”
The base Navy Exchange store is the place to buy uniforms, shoes and other required supplies. The blue “aquaflage” work uniforms at the store are popular in small sizes, too, for children who want to dress like mommy or daddy.
Along with the tailors’ desk, the dry cleaning counter is busy. Dress whites that aren’t so white are sent out nearly each day to Marysville Cleaners.
NEX worker Theresa Sheftstad of Marysville is the wife of a retired Navy veteran. Her husband served 33 years and her father was in the Air Force. The military is a way of life for her. She also shops at the Navy Exchange.
“The young sailors are like my sons and daughters,” Sheftstad said. “I will do whatever I can to help them.”
Navy Seaman 2nd class Sean Smith, 23, from North Carolina, works with aircraft aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Heading to a re-enlistment ceremony on a recent Thursday, Smith stopped by the NEX to grab some uniform items. Shefstad was there to help him find what he needed quickly.
“I absolutely count on the Navy uniform shop,” Smith said. “Can’t live without ’em. I can find whatever I need and it’s always a little cheaper.”
NEX shoppers, who must show proper identification, save about 20 percent on their purchases, and that doesn’t include the taxes they don’t have to pay. The Navy Exchange is self-supporting and receives no federal funding. However, 75 percent of NEX profits go to the Navy’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation Fund for active duty sailors.
The fleet store at the Everett base employs 20 and the bigger NEX store at Smokey Point has about 127 civilians who work there.
Also at Smokey Point is a Navy Exchange Hotel, a gas station and the Navy commissary — a big grocery store.
The Smokey Point facilities attract mostly retired military couples and the families of active duty sailors. The NEX looks like a cross between a Target and a Macy’s department store. It has a barber shop, a beauty salon, an optical shop and a gift store with Northwest food and souvenirs.
Greg Thomas, the Navy Exchange manager in Snohomish County, is a former retail store manager.
“I was happy to be hired by the Navy Exchange because I was tired of lining the pockets of the CEOs of a corporation,” he said. “Here I know we are making a difference for people who serve our country. It’s the 65th anniversary of the NEX this year and we are still doing a good job.”
Richard Dillery, 78, of Lynnwood, a retired Navy chief petty officer, likes the $8 haircuts at the NEX. The cut isn’t much different than what he wore when he was in the service — short and neat.
“I am so happy now to have a nice place to shop,” Dillery said. “I like to support the sailors’ welfare fund, especially for those who are overseas. I meet up with other retired military and we talk about current affairs and what’s new with retirement benefits.”
Vietnam veteran Andy Anderson, 62, of Monroe, served 22 years in the Navy and now works for Boeing.
“It’s really worth coming to the NEX. I like to roam the store and run into people I know,” Anderson said. “Sometimes I go to the base in Everett to pick up my medications and then I stop at the base store and talk with the young sailors. For me, the NEX privileges are about family, camaraderie and feeling the connection to others who have served.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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