Should General Officer/CSM/CW5 reserved parking at Commissaries and Exchanges be repurposed for others?

Thanks for voting! I wholly support assigned parking spots at duty locations, but don't think reserved parking at the Commissary/PX/gym is appropriate. I'm sure the CEO of Microsoft has a parking spot near his office, but I doubt he has one at the local grocery store. Of course, as you said, the military cannot be compared to civilian life. I would like to reiterate that this question is merely a product of an observation, and was asked to facilitate the completion of a school assignment.

SPC Benjamin Smith -

Good questions but truth be told this tradition will not change.

Thank you for offering your opinion.

Exactly CSM David Heidke .

Interesting choice of subject matter. So not to react with any kind of prejudice, let me point out several things. First; It was mentioned that expectant mothers should have priority. Many doctors will tell you the more exercise and especially walking that an expectant mother does, the better the pregnancy will be. Second: Families with small children are always problematic, one would think if families were shopping, that both parents if not family adult members would be present to help control the children. They could control these little rascals by making it a game, and providing much needed physical exercise walking from any parking space to either the commissary or exchange, who knows they’ probably have fun. Third: To reserve a space even for 10 minutes for perhaps over weight arm chair warriors purging for food, or those who are lack of physical activity, exercise from their car providing Cardio Vascular exercise is a good thing especially when they don’t get enough exercise. No, I concur with CSM Heidke. In most part everyone mentioned would benefit with some exercise. For those who haven’t a slot, let them strive for excellence by climbing the rung of the ladder to success. Meanwhile, stop intruding on those who achieved their goal to claim such perks.

Thanks for voting! I've seen a few people comment that although some privileges increase with rank (BAH, PCS Weight Allowance, etc.), everyone is equally entitled to Commissary and Exchange privileges across the ranks.

I’m not sure I would put it that there are others that deserve them more, but rather, need the spaces more. Deserving something means you did something to earn it, which would lend itself more to the rank based thought. I think that by taking away some privileges for working hard and achieving something we take away incentives too. Parking spaces are trophies though - some folks need them for the status it brings and others don’t.

Thank you LTC Kevin for your response without any emotional input like the other „ranking“ soldiers did. We are living in a equally called world and should show this more and more to all. Not …I am better..I have rank or a Titel …I deserve more.

I have to absolutely agree with OP's opinion that reserved parking might make sense at duty locations but makes absolutely no sense at places like the commissary.

Back when Fort Knox still had an army hospital there were two "General Officer" reserved parking spaces that were ALWAYS empty. There were only two general officers assigned to the entire post. Neither was in the chain-of-command for the hospital. If either was going to visit the hospital their driver would have dropped them at the door. They wouldn't have taken their POV.

Thanks for voting! I've been asking people for input in person as well. One person shared their opinion that reserved parking spots were appropriate in front of the duty location (Company/Brigade/Squadron HQ, etc.) but aren't necessary at community facilities like the Commissary, Exchange, or gym.

But there are provisions for anyone in uniform to move to the front of the checkout line.

Thanks for commenting. I wonder if she couldn't even see the sign, and mistook it for handicapped. Either way, no parking designations are immune from abuse. Good thing that person gave you a heads up!

Thanks for voting. Do you think that other important positions in government, such as elected officials, should come with "perks"? Should there be designated spots at Walmart for city councilmen?

original response:
Unfair example. City councilmen hopefully are not associated or have spent their career working for Walmart. Sounds like bribery.

Now, do I think the mayor deserves a parking spot at City Hall? Yes, I do.

Should C Level executives have preferred parking at a company's HQ? Up to them to set that policy. If they do, cool by me.

(Did the same thing there, using unfair examples)

edit:
As I was shaving, I thought about this a bit more. Your response actually hit a nerve. I originally only gave a quick 1 liner. I feel you are trying to invalidate my opinion with your response because it is not what you agree with. So, I will actually give you my full opinion.

I actually am a bit offended by the way you brought this up. I understand you think there are better uses and you did give some decent examples. Here is where you rub me the wrong way. Instead of trying to get additional parking for expecting mothers, or 10 minute parking (a whole debate can be about who goes first in distance), you decided to take someone else's parking spot and erode their benefits to accomplish this. You don't rate their parking, but feel it is ok to take it from this group. This bothers me on so many levels. If you want additional parking, great, let's talk about that. The only people that should be talking about giving their earned (yes, i said earned) parking spot to another group, are the people that rate it.

I will give you an example. Joe Jody Smith, has $40,000 in student debt. He thinks this is outrageous. He did not serve in the military. He points out that a lot of military veterans do not use their GI Bills and it would be better suited to take the GI Bills of all veterans and give it to single parents instead. I have the same problem with that, as he does not rate the GI Bill and instead of looking at starting a program for single parents education, he looks to steal (yes, steal) from another group to give to someone else.

Now, I do have two questions to add to the conversation. 1 Do any CSM, General Officers, CW5, feel it is a security risk or dislike being identified by the parking, or is that concern so negligible that it doesn't matter?
2. For any MPs out there, can parking in these spots be enforced? I know handicap parking can be enforced, but in the civilian world stuff like "employee of the month" can't be enforced as it is private property. Now, it would be a completely unacceptable and jerk thing to do, so I would like to know if the MPs can ticket these cars for these inconsiderate people.

Thanks for offering this additional input. I would like to apologize if I rubbed you the wrong way, as that was not my intent. I also responded quickly and didn't take the time to choose my words carefully. You make a very valid point, and I respect your opinion. I will incorporate your comments into the portion of my paper that requires a discussion of opposition to my proposal.

SFC (Join to see) - You could have voted me down. It does not hurt my feelings and that is what it is for. And I loved that you even took the time to disagree with me. However, if you have ever been in that parking lot, you would know that there could be ZERO, I mean ZERO parking spots available at lunchtime.

I'll admit, the argument was a little weak. However, seconds count in my day.

SPC Benjamin Smith - I am not sure if you know how to tag someone in a post. To do this, Put the "@" symbol, followed by the RallyPoint name(i.e. SGM Carl Cunningham).

CSM Carl Cunningham I completed the assignment and haven't logged on since. I never said that you called me a whiny E4. I was referring to how some others commented on the discussion. You have given comprehensive responses, which I appreciate.

You said that I come off as entitled and that I have failed to show courtesy and respect. Please point out to me when I was disrespectful, because I'm not tracking. I have been vocal of my opinions, but isn't that the entire point of an online community? I wouldn't share my opinions of the mission at work; I would execute. What is RallyPoint but not a vehicle for opinions?

SPC Benjamin Smith , you should really consider leaving the Army because you do not get it. RallyPoint is not a vehicle for opinions. It is a forum where Soldiers and Veterans can ask questions to get advice or help solving a problem. This is not facebook. SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" , see what I mean.

Thanks for commenting!

Thanks for your input!