Aafes Fuel Prices

Something I have never been able to understand is the high price of fuel at Aafes Gas Stations both CONUS and OCONUS.At one time I believed that Aafes did not pay fuel taxes but that turns out to be untrue.

"As a U.S. Government instrumentality AAFES is immune from state and local taxes unless the immunity is waived by an act of Congress. The U.S. Congress waived this immunity, with respect to motor fuel sold by AAFES, by passing the Hayden Cartwright Act, 4 U.S.C. 104. Accordingly, AAFES is required to pay state and local motor fuel taxes, as well as underground storage fees, and other costs of running a gas station. In regard to Federal Taxes, 26 U.S.C. § 4081(a) is the US code that requires AAFES to pay Federal Tax on gasoline. The state and Federal motor fuel taxes and other applicable fees paid by AAFES are forwarded to the appropriate tax agency and included in the motor fuel price to the military customer."

 So it appears that our beloved Congress has stuck it to us once again to buy votes in their districts.

But that doesn't explain the high cost of fuel in OCONUS locations. See the chart below for current fuel prices in Europe:

Those of us stationed in The Netherlands pay 73.5 to 83.1 cents a gallon more than we would at Aafes stations in Germany, Belgium, or the UK  (87.9 cents cheaper in Germany if you buy E10 gas, which I would.). Does Aafes buy fuel from different suppliers in each of these countries? The Netherlands sits squarely between Germany and Belgium yet the price of fuel is this much higher? I don't get it. It is 111 miles from Schinnen to Chièvres Air Base in Belgium and as far as I know Chièvres Air Base is the location of the only Aafes fuel station in Belgium. Where does it get its fuel so much cheaper than the Aafes gas station on Schinnen?

Here is another odd thing. In European fuel stations diesel fuel is always quite a bit cheaper than gasoline (diesel is cheaper to produce and handle). But at the Aafes gas stations diesel is considerably more expensive than gasoline. How does that happen? In the states they jack up the price of diesel to obtain more taxes from the trucking industry. This prevents diesel powered cars from becoming popular in the US even though they are more fuel efficient and produce more power with less pollutants than gasoline powered cars. If the same pricing system was used in the US as is in Europe (and Americans switched to diesel powered cars to the level that Europeans have) the US would use several million gallons less fuel every day and reduce our oil dependance on countries that hate us. A tax-hungry Congress is partially creating the energy crisis in the United States by artificially inflating the price of diesel fuel!

Well, we'll never get a legitimate answer to those questions (I've tried by asking Aafes and Stars and Stripes a year ago.).

Those of us stationed in The Netherlands are prohibited from buying gas at an Aafes gas station in Germany unless we are there TDY or signed out on leave. And the process of getting a fuel ration card is so involved that it isn't really worth the effort unless you will be in Germany for a week or longer. It amazes me every day to see German plated cars refueling at the Schinnen Aafes station but I am not allowed to buy gas at the Ramstein Airbase Aafes station. How is that okay? But no such prohibition exists for Belgium (to my knowledge). Chièvres Air Base has a nice PX, large Commissary, a very nice Thrift Shop (with a craft consignment section), and other nice facilities. If you haven't made a trip there it is something to think about. Chievres Garrison  Plug  7870 Lens, Belgium into your GPS and take a day trip there. I never found the shops (GB Store) at SHAPE headquarters near Mons, BE  worth shopping though. Keep in mind that this area is in the Wallonia section of Belgium so French is the local language. Like most of Wallonia the towns are dirty, run down, and uninviting (looking) but the countryside is pretty and there are some good restaurants if you are adventurous. 

But I digress. Those of us in The Netherlands pay the most for fuel. I presume that factor is considered when setting our Overseas COLA but considering that fuel prices have not gone down much if anything lately but my Overseas COLA has dropped several hundred dollars, I have to wonder about that. I have a small car, with a very small fuel tank. I spend upwards of $45-$50 dollars a week to commute to work and my car gets 36 mpg. Keep these prices in mind when you travel, carry one or two empty fuel cans with you if you will go near an Aafes fuel station in another country, and save yourself some money.