Should all veterans be allowed to shop in the military?

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 13:54:45 -0400

All veterans may be able to shop in commissaries and exchanges in the future, if Defense Department officials are successful in pushing their proposal.
Officials have asked Congress to allow veterans who haven’t already earned the shopping benefit as retirees, as well as civilian employees, to be able to shop in the stores, said Stephanie Barna, special assistant to the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
The proposal would include an additional user fee of between 1 percent and 5 percent for those non-core groups to be able to shop in the commissary, she said. “But we think they’d still be getting an incredible deal. It also helps, even if only slightly, to distinguish them from our core group,” she said, speaking Thursday at a forum on Capitol Hill of the American Logistics Association.

REFERENCE READ/SHARE FROM TWO YEARS AGO: https://www.rallypoint.com/shared-links/commissary-sales-continue-4-year-decline?urlhash=3739024

PO1 Tony Holland SFC William Farrell PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas Maj Marty Hogan SGT Private RallyPoint Member SGT Philip Roncari SPC Margaret Higgins SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth SP5 Michael Rathbun CW5 Jack Cardwell]] COL Mikel J. Burroughs ] CPL Dave Hoover SFC Shirley Whitfield SPC Jovani Daviu LTC Stephen F. SGT Jim Arnold SSG William Jones MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy Capt Dwayne Conyers

Commissary sales continue 4-year decline | RallyPoint

The amount of money spent by commissary customers declined in fiscal 2016 – marking the fourth year of falling sales – but it's not clear whether that drop signals problems with customer satisfaction. The commissary benefit has been under much scrutiny over the last several years in an increasingly austere budget environment, as defense officials seek to reduce the amount of taxpayer dollars – about $1.4 billion a year – being used to operate...

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jun 24 at 2018 1:58 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 13:58:29 -0400

Yes, Absolutely! The Commissary needs the business anyway!

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jun 24 at 2018 2:54 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 14:54:52 -0400

I would support advocate that honorable and general discharged veterans should be able to use the commissary on the condition they have valid veterans ID with picture SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL.
I selected May-be.
The commissary is funded by Congress with subsidies and operating expenses are defrayed by patron purchases.
I am not in support of the user fee in general.
I understand the user fee would be used to defray operating costs. I would hope the user fee would be temporary until the expanded user base be purchase sufficient percentage of stocked items.
If applied I think ii should be means-tested and only apply to middle class or higher earning individuals .
What do you think? COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Private RallyPoint Member Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Lt Col Charlie Brown Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. 'Bill' Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SSG John Ross SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright Cpl Gabriel F.

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Jun 24 at 2018 2:57 PM

MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 14:57:33 -0400

I'm not opposed to the idea. IMO, a better question might be "Why would they want to?" Other than fresh meats and a few select frozen items, I find our local grocery mart has better prices. Might have something to do with the fact I don't have to have "Name Brand" everything.

Response by CWO3 Dennis M. made Jun 24 at 2018 3:04 PM

CWO3 Dennis M. — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 15:04:45 -0400

I am a 23 year veteran and I have not been in an Exchange or Commissary in almost 30 years. I live in Vermont, there is no Commissary for 100 miles around or more. I am not very sympathetic to that issue.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Jun 24 at 2018 3:18 PM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 15:18:40 -0400

ABSOLUTELY! WITHOUT QUESTION! SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL

Response by SCPO Morris Ramsey made Jun 24 at 2018 3:42 PM

SCPO Morris Ramsey — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 15:42:41 -0400

The exchange, yes on state and federal holidays. The Commissary, No

Response by SCPO Morris Ramsey made Jun 24 at 2018 3:45 PM

SCPO Morris Ramsey — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 15:45:31 -0400

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL they do need the business.

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Jun 24 at 2018 4:11 PM

SSgt Boyd Herrst — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 16:11:04 -0400

I see joe said Genreral discharged.. i’m surmising he meant General,Honorable conditions.. s’times we Get typing too fast and i’ve Had my phone delete words... why we got to always double check what we type...

Response by Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen made Jun 24 at 2018 4:45 PM

Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 16:45:56 -0400

I voted Maybe. Biggest issue I have is differentiating between those who retired after serving 20+ years and those who are Vererans because they served but never retired. Right now ability to use Commissary's is a big differentiation between the two groups. While I support vets ability to patronize BX/PX facilities, Commissaries are a whole different level in my mind. At some point there has to be a differentiation between being retired and being a vet. There may be some level of use between the groups that could be established, but frankly I don't see the DECA coming up with that any time soon.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jun 24 at 2018 6:22 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:22:03 -0400

They earned the right.

Response by MSG Stan Hutchison made Jun 24 at 2018 6:35 PM

MSG Stan Hutchison — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 18:35:16 -0400

Sure, erode more of the retiree's few privileges.

Response by MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy made Jun 24 at 2018 7:02 PM

MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:02:00 -0400

RallyPoint Command Critical Information Requirement (CCIR): What was the root cause of disallowing veterans to use the commissary, who didn't retire but received an honorable or general discharge under honorable conditions?

Response by SFC Christopher Taggart made Jun 24 at 2018 7:13 PM

SFC Christopher Taggart — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:13:42 -0400

Yes, why not...it's another benefit of being a Veteran. Unfortunately, the nearest Commissary and PX is 2 hours away...obviously I don't shop there.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 24 at 2018 8:07 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Sun, 24 Jun 2018 20:07:37 -0400

I'll provide some counterpoint although I like the idea from a compassionate viewpoint. Someone needs to show me how it'd work without adversely impacting the current AD and Retired side. Also all the ancillary costs needs to be looked at. First, I remember several bases that have already jam packed commissary check out lines. That tells me a number of locations need serious expansion so the E-3 doesn't have to wait 45 minutes in line to buy a can of Cheez-Whiz. Same goes for a number of the Exchange facilities which already have massive problems stocking any Levis between waist sizes 34-38. The largest ancillary problem will be base access and the already constipated lines. So is Pass/ID and Security getting any more resources to handle the load? Don't think so. Oh since we don't have any parking worth while at a number of the Navy locations (shipyards in particular), I don't think the money's coming to figure that one out either. Hopefully the consequences of a compassionate decision get sorted lest we inadvertently put the screws to the current folk. I started having issues with access as an O-1. Couldn't go to the club because it was a constant Q-Tip convention. What's next? Bowling alley? Gyms that reserves and retires currently can't use between 1100-1300 and 1600-1800? Figure it out and get back to me for my vote.

Response by 1stSgt Mack Housman made Jun 25 at 2018 7:57 AM

1stSgt Mack Housman — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 07:57:35 -0400

Absolutely. They earned that right just as much as any else in uniform!

Response by PO2 Dax Hall made Jun 25 at 2018 8:17 PM

PO2 Dax Hall — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 20:17:18 -0400

Most certainly yes. Vets need all the assistance they can get and those who don't probably won't use the benefit any how. I am in full support of ALL my brothers and sisters getting any help they can.

Response by SSG Jose M. Hernandezsanchez made Jun 26 at 2018 10:23 AM

SSG Jose M. Hernandezsanchez — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 10:23:56 -0400

I don't see why not. I mean, I have seen DoD civilians shop there so, why not veterans? I honestly think is a slap in the face for those that earned the right to shop on military installations.