Beginning Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, military exchange online shopping privileges will be extended to all honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. military.

The Department of Defense announced this policy change as a way to recognize the contributions of service members who served in the military and to thank them for that service.

"We are proud to support this policy and extend the online shopping benefit to the nearly 15 million honorably discharged U.S. veterans," said retired Rear Adm. Robert J. Bianchi, Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM) CEO. "It is one small way to honor those who have served. This policy change is great for our veterans, and is a win for our current customers. By having a larger customer base shopping our online store, we expect to be able to expand our merchandise assortment; and by purchasing more from our vendors, strengthen our value to our customers even more. We also expect to see an increase in contributions given to Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) for quality-of-life programs, as well."

Prior to Nov. 11, honorably discharged veterans may go to http://www.myNavyExchange.com/veterans or the Navy Exchange Facebook page to check for information and announcements. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) will be the sole source for verification data of authorized exchange shoppers.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Navy Exchange Service Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.