Fort Belvoir Food Court Associate Celebrates 61 Years with Exchange

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

06.23.2016

Story by Conner Hammett 

Army & Air Force Exchange Service HQ

A lot has changed since 84-year-old Jasper Gamble first started working for the Fort Belvoir Exchange in April 1955.

Back then, there was no food court with multiple branded food options; just a cafeteria with standard grill fare at 258 South Post. Gamble was 23 and had just moved from Farmville, Va., where he worked in a local restaurant.

While the base may have changed significantly since then, one thing has stayed true over the 65 years Gamble has served: Every day he gets up and walks into work, putting in 40 hours a week as a dining attendant.

“I’m just so used to working that I just keep doing it,” Gamble said.

Food court regulars have come to know Jasper by name, recognizing him as a familiar figure at the base, said Diane Jensen, Exchange food court manager. Jasper never misses a day, she said – rain, snow or sleet, he’s in the food court, working to serve the troops and their families.

“He could work circles around people 60 years younger than him,” Jensen said. “When the weather’s bad and everybody else is calling in, he’s here.”

Jasper said there’s one thing that has kept him coming in day after day for the past 61 years: the unique customers of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service.

“I really like talking to the customers and serving the troops,” he said. “A lot of my cousins and uncles served in the military, so I’m proud to serve the folks who work so hard to protect our country.”

• Date Taken: 06.23.2016
• Date Posted: 06.24.2016 12:20
• Story ID: 202375
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US