Pentagon considering closure of all stateside commissaries Print Leada Gore | lgore@al By Leada Gore | lgore@al The Huntsville Times Email the author | Follow on Twitter on November 21, 2013 at 10:51 AM, updated November 21, 2013 at 11:01 AM Arsenal employees, retirees and their families shopping at the Redstone Arsenal Commissary. (Sarah Cole/scole@al) One of the most valued benefits among military personnel, veterans and their families could soon be coming to an end. The Department of Defense has asked the Defense Commissary Agency to draft a plan to close all stateside commissaries, according to reports. The closures are among the options being considered as the Pentagon looks to cut costs in its second year of sequestration. According to a report in Stars and Stripes, Under Secretary of Defense Robert Hale and Air Force Lt. Gen. Mark Ramsay director of force structure, resources and assessment for the Joint Staff, have requested the proposal from DCA. It will then go on to Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Adm. Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Commissaries, which consistently rank as a top-valued benefit among military personnel, sell items at cost plus a 5 percent markup. The average commissary shopper saves up to 30 percent compared to prices at non-military grocery stores, according to the DOD. Operating the commissaries is expensive for the government, however. According to the Stars and Stripes report, taxpayers spend about $1.4 billion a year to subsidize 247 commissaries worldwide. Closing 180 stateside stores would save about $800 million to $900 million annually. DOD officials told Stars and Stripes it was inappropriate to discuss any specific budget decisions, but Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has said everything is on the table as the Pentagon deals with the $52 billion in cuts this year. News of the possible closures comes just weeks after commissaries reopened after being shuttered due to the October government shutdown and DCA workers were furloughed for six days over the summer along with other DOD employees. In August, DOD said it was looking at eliminating the subsidy, a move that could increase prices for commissary shoppers. The budget for the Defense Department in total has clearly decreased, Jessica Wright, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at the time. We need to put everything on the table. Commissaries were one of (those) things.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:52:34 +0000
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