Global prepaid phone card worth 28,600 words

  • Published
  • By AAFES
DALLAS --  If a picture is worth 1,000 words, 550-Minute Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards sent through the Army & Air Force Exchange Service's (AAFES') "Help Our Troops Call Home" program can be worth more than 28,000 to children, parents and spouses of troops spending the holiday season far from home.

Considering the average person has a conversation speed of approximately 200 words per minute, Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards make it possible for friends and family to squeeze 28,600 words of affection and encouragement into more than two hours of available talk time.

"AAFES has been aggressively engaged in negotiating the best value for troops calling friends and family from the contingency theater for more than five years now," said AAFES' Senior Enlisted Advisor Chief Master Sgt. Bryan Eaton. "The result of our civilian and military staff's commitment to this issue is paying off for military Families and their advocates as 550-Minute Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards now provide 143 minutes of calling from any of seventy phone centers throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait."

Designed for the unique of deployed Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines, any American can help connect troops and their Families with a Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone card by logging on to www.aafes.org or calling 800-527-2345. From there, "Help Our Troops Call Home" phone cards can be sent to individual service members (designated by the sender) or even directed to "any service member" through the American Red Cross, Air Force Aid Society, Fisher House Foundation, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Soldier & Family Assistance Center and USO.

When the holidays come calling, military personnel are generally quick to answer. In fact, troops deployed in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom scooped up almost 80,000 Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards in November and December last year, ultimately spending some 23 million minutes on the phone during the last 60 days of 2006.

"At $27.50 it would be easy to say 'talk is cheap' when using a 550-Minute Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone card, but anyone who has spent the holidays far from friends and family knows better," said Eaton. "What I can say is Military Exchange Global Prepaid Phone cards facilitate affordable communication between the front lines and the home front, making it possible for military Families to share as many words as they need to feel closer to one another during this important time of year."