As seems to occur almost every time budgets are discussed in the military, the Defense Department appears to be considering the closure of all U.S. military commissaries once again. Having heard this on so many occasions over the last few decades almost annually, I’m almost hesitant to write about it, however, this year, with the times such as they are, the threat may be a little more serious than in the past, especially considering the current budget bill in the Senate today that is expected to pass which would institute cuts, not only to future military retirees, but to current military retirees as well. It definitely appears that meeting commitments made to our military members is no longer of very high priority to our leadership in Washington D.C. This actually comes as little surprise to most current retirees having watched Washington slowly cut away at retirement benefits year after year for decades now.
It is, once again, reported that the Defense Department has asked the Defense Commissary Agency, (DeCA), to develop a plan to close all U.S. commissaries, about three-quarters of its stores, according to a resale community source who is familiar with details of a meeting with representatives of the Joint Staff and Pentagon comptroller’s office. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source says the meeting was held within the last few weeks and was part of preparations for the fiscal 2015 DoD budget request that is due out in February.
I caution that DeCA has been asked to prepare such a draft plan but that does not mean commissaries would close anytime soon. Even if such a plan was included in the defense budget request, almost a year from now, it would have to be approved by Congress where many lawmakers would oppose it. The Military Coalition, comprised of more than 30 military and veterans advocacy groups would also fiercely oppose such a plan. However, the drafting of such a plan is a clear indication of the heavy budget pressures weighing on the Pentagon as a result of sequestration. Exactly how the new budget being processed through the Senate just today would affect this process is also in question since few details have been released how this new budget would directly affect military spending.
The Defense Department has made no direct comment on the commissary initiative. Pentagon spokeswoman Joy Crabaugh did say however that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “has made it clear on numerous occasions that all cost-cutting efforts need to be on the table in order for DoD to meet the caps mandated under the 2011 Budget Control Act.” She continued, “At this time, no final decisions have been made on the fiscal 2015 budget submission. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to discuss any specific budget decisions.”
Commissary officials negotiate lower prices for products based on volume. Closing all or most U.S. commissaries would lead to higher prices and a degraded benefit in remaining stores, Tom Gordy, Armed Forces Marketing Council president, said in written testimony to a panel of the House Armed Service Committee on November the 20th. There was no discussion of closing U.S. stores at the hearings but in his written testimony Gordy said closing U.S. stores “would eliminate the benefit for millions of families, breaking a commitment that has been made to every service member.”
Steve Rossetti, director of government affairs for the American Logistics Association says, such a proposal is “very concerning.” Commissaries are “one of the most valued benefits,” he said. “For what this costs the department, they get a huge return,” not only in terms of the benefit itself but in other factors such as jobs for military spouses. Roughly 30 percent of DeCA employees are military spouses.
DeCA has reduced its annual funding requirements by $700 million over the last 20 years and currently receives nearly $1.4 billion in annual subsidies according to DeCA Director Joseph Jeu. He also says that DeCA is constantly looking for ways to save money, but added that the agency has no more “low-hanging fruit” to cut.
Once again, for our military members, it seems they will be the first to be considered when the axe is lowered. We have the phrase, “Some Gave All, All Gave Some” and it seems, when considering this along with military retirement pay cuts in consideration, All, (in the military at least), May Be Giving Even More!
