Place your bets!

[insanebikerboy]

For folks addressing the commissary’s value, how often does the sailor shop there? I think we as officers look at it a bit through rose colored glasses because paying an extra few bucks per pound of meat, etc, doesn’t bother us but it makes a huge deal to Seaman Timmy.

That said, I would love to see the data from the cac scans at the register. I would 100% agree that if we are basically subsidizing retirees at the majority of places, then we should just shut them down and bump up BAS for all hands.

 

[Jim123]

I argue that COC ceremonies are about the ”bride” and not the sailors. If they were about the sailors, the coffee and donuts would be for everyone and they would all be done in flight. Except SWOs—they can wear their whites and have their bunting and pipes and 30-min CDRE speeches.

Hey, that's a "time honored tradition" you're talking about.

I always thought you could make a good drinking game out of all the clichés you hear tossed around in every change of command speech. That phrase is certainly one of them...

 

[Brett327]

I argue that COC ceremonies are about the ”bride” and not the sailors. If they were about the sailors, the coffee and donuts would be for everyone and they would all be done in flight. Except SWOs—they can wear their whites and have their bunting and pipes and 30-min CDRE speeches.

You can argue that, but that’s not my personal philosophy.

 

[SynixMan]

I'll echo what IBB said. I think a lot of Officers don't see the benefits the same as an E or retiree. As a JG struggling to make ends meet in Norfolk with student loans and a mortgage, the commissary was an important benefit to me a few years ago. We actively avoided Harris Teeter and worked sales/specials at the Commissary to make things work within our budget. Part of what makes DoD a serviceable career to a lot of folks are benefits like Exchange/Commissary to stretch a dollar a little farther.

BT

@AllAmerican75 You're making my point for me WRT staffs. Most of them don't need to exist and just are places for dead end senior Os/Es to be stashed. We make these staffs for ostensibly a task, but they end up being filled with good people who need to justify their FITREPs and start making work/products and it becomes a self-licking ice cream cone. I could go on and on about the idiocy of what we did on a regular basis but it just makes my head hurt.

 

[Brett327]

All of the arguments for keeping commissaries based on providing affordable options to junior folks can be negated by adjusting BAS rates - presumably a more cost effective approach.

 

[FrankTheTank]

All of the arguments for keeping commissaries based on providing affordable options to junior folks can be negated by adjusting BAS rates - presumably a more cost effective approach.

They will just spend the “extra” money somewhere else.. But otherwise, I agree. Commissaries are a waste of money. Out dated.

 

[Hotdogs]

All of the arguments for keeping commissaries based on providing affordable options to junior folks can be negated by adjusting BAS rates - presumably a more cost effective approach.

...I thought we did a study on this very recently and determined otherwise. Additionally if DeCA is reduced or merged with AAFES then the DoN wouldn’t see any of those savings, as it falls under the OSD correct? I was under the impression DeCA basically pays for itself - If you want to go into details start on page 8. I hope I am reading that correctly, but please correct me if I am wrong... (Math for Marines)... Highly doubt the DoD Comptroller and the armed services committees would buy off on just shelving out cash for BAS when they already have a relatively cost effective business solution that creates jobs in the locality they serve.

...but yeah let’s MF the retirees... lol

 

[Brett327]

I thought we did a study on this very recently and determined otherwise.

I'd like to see what that study found and what the demographic distribution of users is. I'm not smart on how to interpret the linked budgeting document, or if that truly captures the entire picture. It does say at the beginning of the document that DeCA has a $995M direct appropriation, so even if the numbers on page 8 suggest sales break even, they're still consuming nearly a billion dollars out of the DoD budget this FY. Who knows.

 

[AllAmerican75]

Staffs are doing silly administrative paperwork drills.

Staffs are too top heavy

I agree on all counts; all I'm saying is that there is such as thing as too lean. I saw it in Naples where there weren't enough O3s and O4s to go around and we were literally playing musical departments as dudes got shifted at random to different departments because we couldn't get replacements. This is partly due to budget cuts and partly due to previous mismanagement of personnel, but I would say a single minimal staff that is way too top heavy and performs the work of six different staffs is not ideal.

 

[Hotdogs]

I'd like to see what that study found and what the demographic distribution of users is. I'm not smart on how to interpret the linked budgeting document, or if that truly captures the entire picture. It does say at the beginning of the document that DeCA has a $995M direct appropriation, so even if the numbers on page 8 suggest sales break even, they're still consuming nearly a billion dollars out of the DoD budget this FY. Who knows.

I think that’s actually correct. DeCA only recovers monies to pay for resale items (hence the benefit title), but doesn’t make any profit on top. The direct appropriations (conveniently not included in that document) goto standard business overhead and operating costs. I think I found the answer to my own question.

The other side of this coin is that the increase in BAS might not actually maintain the same level of benefit as the commissary. Probably needs a study to ascertain whether or not shelving or merging DeCA would be a net loss or gain for the taxpayer.

 

[Swanee]

One of the issues I have with commissaries is the wide range in quality. The Fort Eustis commissary is well stocked and has just about every department (except for seafood) that you would want. It's a good deal to go there because it rivals the local Farm Fresh or Kroger for 75% of the cost.

The Cherry Point commissary struggles to maintain a bakery and a deli. Their deli is a great little sandwhich spot for lunch, and the VMU FRD JOPA (all 3 of us) would eat lunch there a couple days a week. Their bakery was always run on a shoestring, and when their oven broke the DeCA "committee" debated on whether to just shut down the bakery instead of fixing their oven. But other than lunch, the intermittent sales (albeit some are very good), and the "oh crap I need some stuff and I'm wearing a uniform so I can't go off base" I never used it because I'd have to go to Walmart or the Harry tweeter or Lidl anyway.

So Ft Eustis- one stop shop. MCAS CP- gloried grocery store one and a half steps up from the corner store. CP can go away without much loss (IMO) but if it were like Ft Eustis, I'd use it as a primary source.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

One of the issues I have with commissaries is the wide range in quality. The Fort Eustis commissary is well stocked and has just about every department (except for seafood) that you would want. It's a good deal to go there because it rivals the local Farm Fresh or Kroger for 75% of the cost.

The Cherry Point commissary struggles to maintain a bakery and a deli. Their deli is a great little sandwhich spot for lunch, and the VMU FRD JOPA (all 3 of us) would eat lunch there a couple days a week. Their bakery was always run on a shoestring, and when their oven broke the DeCA "committee" debated on whether to just shut down the bakery instead of fixing their oven. But other than lunch, the intermittent sales (albeit some are very good), and the "oh crap I need some stuff and I'm wearing a uniform so I can't go off base" I never used it because I'd have to go to Walmart or the Harry tweeter or Lidl anyway.

So Ft Eustis- one stop shop. MCAS CP- gloried grocery store one and a half steps up from the corner store. CP can go away without much loss (IMO) but if it were like Ft Eustis, I'd use it as a primary source.

Better than the sandwich place next to the gas station at CP?

 

[Swanee]

Better than the sandwich place next to the gas station at CP?

They moved it out of the gas station and next to the Five Guys! the New City Deli is great, but you get half as much for a bit more cost.

 

[Treetop Flyer]

They moved it out of the gas station and next to the Five Guys! the New City Deli is great, but you get half as much for a bit more cost.

Forgot they added a Five Guys. Great for the body composition program I’m sure.

 

[Swanee]

Forgot they added a Five Guys. Great for the body composition program I’m sure.

Five Guys, when you want 5000 calories in one meal.