Do you feel that this will impact you?

Maj Chris Nelson — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 11:08:39 -0500

Found this article on CNN, they are discussing reducing the savings that the Commissary offers.... http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/25/news/economy/commissary-budget-cuts/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Personally, I find that I have almost no savings at the commissary. I shop around at local grocery stores, look for sales, buy in bulk.... Personally, I feel that the commissary of today is part of a bloated military system that could stand some looking at. There are other options that have been looked at but shot down by Vetrans Lobby groups. My personal take is that DoD should focus on war fighting, not grocery stocking. Making some sort of liason with established non-military shopping outlets such as Kroger and Wal-Mart may make sense at most bases (would still need commissary in overseas locations and maybe remote conus bases).

What do you think?

Response by SFC James Baber made Feb 25 at 2014 11:45 AM

SFC James Baber — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 11:45:40 -0500

Sir,

The only problem with that theory is that their are many singular duty stations that have limited available local shopping outlets, and some have only the commissary as the next closest market type outlet such as Wal-Mart or Kroger, HEB, etc., is 30 or more miles away, so those families that have to depend on commissary only would quite an issue with your plan or the closing of their only outlet, the commissary.

And many times over the years, I have seen the commissary still cheaper than local markets to include Wal-Mart especially if you know when to shop with them, specifically on off-payday weekends/weeks when more sales come about to bring in the customer even more frequently.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2014 9:32 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 09:32:53 -0500

Sir, I respectfully disagree with your assessment. There are plenty of shopping options out there but the commissary does provide quite a bit of savings for service-members, even with the surcharge tacked on. My family and I spend quite a bit on food (I have two teenage boys) and we DO see the difference between the commissary, Walmart, HEB, etc. We do look carefully at prices and know, as SFC Baber stated, where to shop for specific items. We do use Sam's Club for bulk items, which we compare also. If the commissaries were to close, it would hurt not just my family but many others. We would either be spending at least an extra $100 on items or we would be eating less healthy to conserve costs. I'm sorry but that is just unacceptable.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2014 9:34 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 09:34:58 -0500

I have saved tons shopping at the local commissary in my city. The prices especially for fish and chicken are significantly less compared to local grocery stores. There is no contest between them. I save over $50+ a month shopping at the commissary buying meat alone.

Response by SFC Stephen P. made Feb 26 at 2014 11:54 AM

SFC Stephen P. — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 11:54:41 -0500

It will not impact me at all. I haven't lived within 50 miles of a commissary in the last 9 years.

I have yet to see any reason why we couldn't meet the need using NAF. AAFES and NEX seem to do an adequate job providing gasoline, clothing, furniture, electronics, even groceries on a limited scale. It doesn't seem like much of a stretch for them to expand to fill the gap if we eliminated DeCA.

Response by 1SG Frank Boynton made Feb 26 at 2014 1:10 PM

1SG Frank Boynton — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 13:10:40 -0500

Unless they've changed the Commissary system since I retired in 1992, I'd say no. Since 1992 I have never set foot in one. In my entire career the only time my wife or I shopped in a commissary was when we were stationed in Germany. Although all our bakery and fresh vegatables and most our staples were purchased on the local economy. In the US, I was never stationed in a location where the commissary was even close to the savings we'd get off post. My mom shopped at the Ft. Carson Commissary (my dad died on active duty) all while I was growing up. She swore by it. When I got out of Basic Training I was stationed at Ft. Carson (6/32 Armor) for 2 1/2 years. When I got married, my mother took my wife shopping at the commissary and what she would normally purchase was about $35 more at the commissary. Not much you say, well a private E-2 making less than $325 a MONTH before taxes, that's a lot of money. Between the surcharge and the tip for the baggers there was never any savings over the economy, not CONUS...

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2014 1:14 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 13:14:43 -0500

My wife has always used all of the resources at her disposal to keep the food budget manageable. This includes using the commisary but she comparison shops between three to four stores. It sounds like a lot of work at first but after the first few weeks, you get to know what items are cheaper at which location. After that, it's just a matter of watching the ads for the really good sales.