MILITARY UPDATE
Reservists may get year-round shopping
Military Update focuses on issues affecting pay, benefits and lifestyle of active and retired servicepeople. Its author, Tom Philpott, is a Virginia-based syndicated columnist and freelance writer. He has covered military issues for almost 25 years, including six years as editor of Navy Times. For 17 years he worked as a writer and senior editor for Army Times Publishing Co. Philpott, 50, enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1973 and served as an information officer from 1974-77.
By Tom Philpott
A House panel with oversight responsibility for military stores might decide to extend year-round commissary shopping privileges to reservists and National Guardsmen to recognize their expanded role in the nation's defense. Drilling reservists are allowed 24 shopping days a year.
Representatives of service associations and of companies that manufacture and supply products to base stores testified March 12 and "made a strong case" for year-round commissary shopping for reserves, said Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., chairman of the Total Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.
Advocates for patrons and store suppliers also joined to:
- Call for an end to restrictions on the sale of certain products such as large-screen televisions, furniture and expensive jewelry.
- Criticize the Bush administration for continuing to look at privatizing stores.
- Challenge recent General Accounting Office recommendations to add private label products to commissary shelves as a way to hold down costs.
- Oppose a move from Defense to shift to variable pricing in commissaries. All items are fixed at 5 percent above cost.
"Because the security of our nation relies so directly on reserve components, you can be sure this subcommittee will examine reserve support and benefit programs very closely," McHugh said.
Representatives for two umbrella groups of service associations — The Military Coalition and National Military and Veterans Alliance — testified along with representatives of suppliers, the Armed Forces Marketing Council and the American Logistics Association. All agreed Congress should expand the commissary benefit not only to drilling reservists but to "gray area" retirees — reservists with enough years to retire but who have to wait until age 60 for full benefits.
McHugh said he would wait to hear testimony from Defense leaders and the director of the Defense Commissary Agency on April 2 before deciding whether to support full commissary privileges for reservists, a benefit valued at $2,400 a year for a family of four. Past concerns about giving reservists year-round shopping privileges focused on preserving the benefit from the wrath of civilian grocers. But U.S. reliance on reserves has gone up dramatically, McHugh said.
Lloyd Johnson, with the Armed Forces Marketing Council, said restrictions on exchange sales no longer protect "mom-and-pop" stores, "already a dying breed" because of large retailers.
In February 2002, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he still was considering privatizing commissaries by turning some over to commercial retailers. Meanwhile, his staff is studying value pricing and private labels.
Boyd Raines, chairman of the American Logistics Association, said those initiatives only will raise patron costs and degrade the benefit.
Questions, comments and suggestions are welcome. Write to Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA 20120-1111, or send e-mail to: milupdate@aol.com.
