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Commissaries offer savings to Guardmembers around the country

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jameel S. Moses
  • National Guard Bureau
ARLINGTON, Va. --  Most Guardmembers will agree that it's hard to take advantage of the benefits of military service when you live miles from the nearest military installation.

For that reason, the Defense Commissary Agency started the "Bringing the Benefit to You" campaign last year. Since that time, more than 100 sales have been held across the country inside warehouses, aircraft hangars, armories,
tents and parking lots for thousands of Guardmembers and their families.

"Obviously, people are looking for ways to save money," said Maj. Mike Cadle, the public affairs officer for the West Virginia National Guard, which recently hosted a sale in Charleston, W.Va. "This is just as important for our retirees, who are living on fixed income, as it is for our members."

Guardmembers have been granted unlimited shopping on bases since November 2003, but according to DECA, two-thirds of Guardmembers live too far from a base to make shopping there practical.

Commissaries, which provide customers with an average of 30 percent savings compared to commercial prices, work with Guard units with more than 150 members to schedule a sale.

For example, Andrews Air Force Base's commissary in Maryland recently partnered with the West Virginia National Guard's 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, W.Va., where more than 800 customers took advantage of the sale.

"Seven other Andrews' commissary employees and I set up shop in a hangar for our customers," Rena M. Dial, AAFB commissary store director, told the "Capital Flyer." "It took us eight hours, but we were ready to serve our customers. We set up sections just like we have at our commissary - we had a grocery section, a produce section and meat section. We also had samples and giveaways for our customers."

The AAFB commissary sold $11,574.99 in meat sales, $2,214.48 in produce sales and $44,707.14 in grocery sales for a total of $58,496.58.

"The commissary sale brought a lot of excitement," Dial said. "The Guard's hospitality was awesome and the commissary customers were awesome - they were so appreciative."

Last year, these sales generated $4.5 million in sales and served more than 41,000 customers, according to DECA. Next year, the agency hopes to increase the number of sales to 400.

For more information, including locations scheduled to host the mobile commissaries and how to have a commissary come to your area, please visit their website.

The next sale is being hosted by the Tennessee National Guard in Chattanooga this weekend.