Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is putting his brawn behind the effort to get the word out to all veterans about a new online benefit that launches in November.
The actor and professional wrestler is featured in a 46-second video clip promoting the new veterans online shopping benefit, which will launch officially on Veterans Day:
“This new benefit honors every American who raised their right hand, took an oath and served with distinction,” says Johnson, in the video featured on the Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s Facebook page. Within three days after the video landed on the page, it had garnered 105,000 views.
“I thank you for your bravery, I thank you for your service,” Johnson says in the video, which also promotes his new Under Armour clothing line.
Johnson has been filming “Skyscraper,” a movie in which he plays a military veteran who‘s also a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader.
Johnson joins “Lone Survivor” duo Mark Wahlberg and Marcus Luttrell, who produced a similar video promoting awareness of the new benefit. That video has been viewed 1.9 million times since it first appeared on the AAFES Facebook page July 14.
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The benefit becomes official on Veterans Day, but veterans are being encouraged to visit VetVerify.org to verify their eligibility for the new benefit. Those that can’t be verified immediately ― which happens for a variety of reasons, such as lost records ― will receive instructions on how to upload their Form DD-214.
Some veterans are being chosen to shop earlier than Veterans Day, as officials are allowing beta shoppers to test the system before official launch. Up to 13 million additional veterans will be eligible to shop.
The benefit will apply only to online shopping, not to shopping at the physical exchanges on military bases.
Online pricing can be seen only by those who authorized to shop at the exchange websites, including the beta testers: www.mynavyexchange.com; www.shopmyexchange.com; www.shopcgx.com; www.mymcx.com.
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Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.
