Ski Passes and Weber Grills? Obscure Perks of a U.S. Alliance

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Ski Passes and Weber Grills? Obscure Perks of a U.S. Alliance

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This week’s issue is written by Julia Bergin, a reporter who roams widely in Australia.

In the center of Australia, the ******* States has drastically expanded the spy base known as Pine Gap. ****** training exercises near Darwin with ********* and *********** troops are becoming more complex. At the same time, the AUKUS agreement — with its big-ticket item of nuclear-powered submarines — continues to advance.

What does it all add up to? As James Curran, a historian at the University of Sydney,

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as some of these plans came together: “The permanent ********* military presence on *********** soil is now at a scale unprecedented since the Second World War.”

A growing number of critics have questioned if Australia is getting enough out of the deal. Supporters (including the major parties in both countries) point to the U.S. investing big in *********** bases, guns, steel, training and personnel.

The alliance has also led to some unexpected benefits. In 2005, in what was widely seen as special thank-you for to Australia for its military support, the administration of President George W. Bush created the

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— a renewable two-year visa just for Australians who have a job offer in the U.S. and a university degree.

For *********** military personnel, there are additional perks that are less well known.

Some, including free admission to SeaWorld San Diego, go exclusively to *********** officers serving on deployment in America. Others are available to all reserve, retired and dependent *********** military personnel back home in Australia.

Skiing enthusiasts, for example, are in luck.

In 2018, Vail Resorts — which operates 42 ski areas in the ******* States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe — created a special deal for U.S., *********** and ********* defense force personnel, marketed as a celebration of “those who serve others.” The $177 “Epic Military Pass” is a major discount on the

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season pass, which is normally $662 (the *********** version) or $1,004 (the U.S. version).(All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

Within Australia, that translates to “unlimited” and “unrestricted” admission to three of the major Victorian and New South Wales ski resorts — Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham — as well as exclusive early-morning and late-night skiing and discounts on lessons, rentals, food, drinks, gear and accommodation.

“I might look at that myself,” Dr. Peter Layton, a retired *********** Air Force captain, said when told about the deal.

After 40 years of active service, Dr. Layton said most of the U.S. perks previously available to him had dropped off.

During his years of uniformed deployment, he recalled discounted access to U.S. military vacation resorts and an abundance of “very cheap” disposable diapers and Weber grills from shopping expeditions at the U.S. Base and Post Exchanges.

These shopping stations (called BX in the Air Force and PX in the Army) effectively sell tax-free goods to defense personnel both within the U.S. and abroad. Foreign allied forces deployed to ********* bases also get access to U.S. goods at a low cost.

“The Americans are not like us. When they go overseas, they take America with them,” Dr. Layton said. “They’ve got the shops and the facilities and the bowling alleys and the Burger Kings.”

Other *********** veterans reported similar experiences.

“It came down to whether the people on the ground recognized you and valued the uniform that you wore,” said Chris McInnes, who spent 20 years in the *********** Air Force. “There were times I was on exercise in Las Vegas where we’d literally put our uniforms on to go shopping because we knew we’d get discounts.”

Despite the appeal of cheap groceries and goods, Mr. McInnes said no *********** afforded them too much weight in assessing the strength of the alliance. Any benefits, he said, were either companies and providers seeking to say “Thank you for your service” or a way for U.S. defense forces to offset the poor pay packages of their troops.

*********** troops, Mr. McInnes said, have a better life than their U.S. counterparts. “Their salaries are higher, and they’re treated better, so they don’t need those perks and discounts as a trade-off.”

If perks count for so little, how then should Australia measure its value in the eyes of the ******* States?

In short: Head count, resources and funds, Mr. McInnes said, pointing to a growing number of U.S. forces in Australia, an increase in U.S. military bases and a huge financial investment for defense operations in the country.

Money talks, he said: “If you want to know what someone or something values about a relationship, follow the money.”

“The U.S. government is spending a lot of money in Australia.”

Now here are our stories of the week.

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#Ski #Passes #Weber #Grills #Obscure #Perks #U.S #Alliance

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