Are The Starbucks Cafes On Board US Navy Ships Official Stores?

U.S. Navy ships may run on marine diesel, but most Navy personnel run on a different kind of fuel: coffee. Beyond a standard cup of drip coffee, some sailors are lucky enough to be stationed on a ship that serves actual Starbucks coffee. It wouldn't be the first time Starbucks popped up in a somewhat unexpected location, such as the Starbucks location in North Korea or the location inside the U.S. Pentagon, but are these cafés on U.S. Navy ships official Starbucks stores?

As it turns out, the Starbucks locations on U.S. Navy ships and aircraft carriers fall under the "We Proudly Serve" category, which means that while the ships may serve certain Starbucks-branded coffees, these cafés are not official stores. Cafés using the "We Proudly Serve" partnership can display the Starbucks logo and offer various Starbucks products, but the spread won't be nearly as elaborate as an actual licensed storefront.

Navy personnel on these ships won't find any special New Year's BOGO deals or be able to use the Starbucks Rewards app with their purchases, but at least the baristas in these cafés were trained by actual Starbucks employees on how to properly prepare those signature Starbucks drinks.

Several U.S. Navy ships operate (or have operated in the past) with the "We Proudly Serve" distinction, such as the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), and the USS Boxer. The USS Boxer was the first Navy amphibious assault ship to "proudly serve" Starbucks, operating a small café dubbed the "Starboxer" with a limited selection of Starbucks coffees, teas, and smoothies. The USS George H.W. Bush's café, the "Lone Star Café," served a similar Starbucks-based menu, while the USS Carl Vinson's "Chuckie's Café" served an even more selective menu. Beverage prices on the ships are lower than average Starbucks prices, with an Americano only costing $1 at Chuckie's Café.

In an official Navy press release about the opening of Spot 3 Café on the USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), the sales officer of the ship, Lt. Myeron Stanley, noted that the reasoning behind bringing Starbucks coffee to the ship was to "provide a premium quality of coffee service to the crew and to boost morale throughout the upcoming deployment." Navy personnel aren't throwing their money at the big-name Starbucks corporation every time they want a cup of joe. Sailors must use their Navy Cash Cards to make purchases at the cafés, wherein all purchases go back towards the crew, often into the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation fund.