NAVAL BASE GUAM (April 25, 2022) – Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) Western Pacific District Vice President Matthew Barnwell returned to U.S. Naval Base Guam (NBG) for site visits and meetings with Navy Exchange (NEX) Guam and installation leadership, April 11-15.
During the visit, Barnwell met with NBG Commanding Officer Capt. Michael Luckett to discuss upcoming plans, including changes and upgrades to the aesthetic of the NEX Guam Main Store.
“In terms of some major changes coming, the community will see those starting mid-to-late summer and then through the spring of 2023,” Barnwell said. “The entire front of the main exchange from the food court all the way through checkouts, jewelry, watches, sunglasses, fragrances and hand bags will be all new with enhancements in cabinets and (all new) carpeting throughout the store.”
In the past year, the main store’s food court saw several upgrades including the addition of chain-restaurant Panda Express and the ongoing construction for the opening of the Louisiana-based restaurant Raising Cane’s. Additionally, Pearle Vision opened at the Main Store and the NBG Mini Mart is undergoing renovations to expand the facility’s hot food section.
Last August, Barnwell was in Guam for a similar visit.
“As the District Vice-President of the Western Pacific District of NEXCOM, part of my duties is to travel the district throughout the course of each year to support our stores in terms of projects, standards of operations, strategies in terms of staffing and growth, and training and mentoring,” Barnwell said. “Overall the purpose of this visit was to do all of those things as well as to brief senior military leadership on Guam regarding all the wonderful things that their NEX teams are doing and what plans we have for future newness or surprises for the local community.”
Barnwell toured all other NEX Guam facilities and met with personnel from the various departments. Throughout the site visits, Barnwell looked at respective departments overall operations, policies and procedures, and discussed opportunities, performance, budget, and training for future growth.
As a collective, NEX Guam stores make up the fourth largest NEXCOM complex in the world, but it is considered the largest complex of stores overseas.
“This is really the tip of the spear for NEXCOM and, in my opinion, with Japan and Singapore and Europe, the most important locations that NEXCOM has in terms of providing quality of life services and merchandise to our forward deployed Sailors and their families,” Barnwell said.
Barnwell is familiar with the NEX operations and facilities on island as he spent more than nine months on Guam from 2018 to 2019 as the District Vice President of Guam, prior to taking on his current position and the consolidation of Guam, Japan, and Singapore into a single Western Pacific District.
“Guam is slated for much growth over the next several years and NEXCOM is poised to grow with the Navy to ensure that what we provide in terms of critical quality of life programs continues to be the very best that it can be,” Barnwell said. “I'm very proud of the management and associate team we have in Guam and they are so ready to take on additional growth opportunities for this community. They truly are the ‘best of the best’.”