New leader takes over at AAFES

DALLAS The Army & Air Force Exchange Service announced that it welcomed its new commander/COO in a ceremony at its headquarters in Dallas.

Maj. Gen. Bruce Casella took command of the $10 billion military retailer from Maj. Gen. Keith Thurgood. General Casella comes to AAFES from the Army Reserves where he served as the Commander of the 63rd Regional Support Command in Moffett Field, Calif.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to lead this highly professional AAFES team in supporting our 12 million-plus military, retired veterans and their Families,” said Casella. “As AAFES’ commander, my goal will be to leverage my newly acquired knowledge of the organization and take it to the next level of excellence.”

During Casella’s 35 years of service, he has been assigned to a variety of command and staff positions including command at company, battalion and group levels.  His overseas assignments included tours in Korea and Germany as well as a deployment in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom in 2005, where he served as the Commanding General for the 377th Theater Support Command.