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27-443: The commissary benefit is not a recent innovation. Sales of goods from commissary department storehouses to military personnel began in 1825, when U.S. Army officers at specified posts could make purchases at cost for their personal use; by 1841, officers could also purchase items for members of their immediate families. However, the modern era of sales commissaries is considered to have actually begun in 1867, when enlisted men received

54-642: A Common Access Card . At some military bases authorized patrons are allowed to bring guests into the commissaries. Guests are not authorized to make commissary purchases, and patrons are not permitted to make commissary purchases for guests. Base commanders can order the restriction of guests to the commissaries. Commissary privileges overseas are covered under Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA), Visiting Forces agreements, treaties, etc. Since products sold in overseas commissaries pass across international borders and are customs, duty, and tax free; there are shopping restrictions. *Patron eligibility documentation required

81-561: A Next Generation USID card. Prior to December 2020 the Department of Defense issued military ID cards utilizing a color-coded system the consisted of Department of Defense (DD) Form 2, for retirees; the DD Form 2765, for privileged veterans; and the DD Form 1173-1. Until the CAC was phased in, starting in late 2003, the DD Form 2, in branch-specific variants, served as active duty members' IDs. Prior to

108-477: A person as a member of the Armed Forces or a member's dependent , such as a child or spouse. The card is used to control access to US military installations , Base exchange (such as AAFES , Navy Exchange , Marine Corps Exchange, Coast Guard Exchange ), commissaries and Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facilities. It also serves as proof of eligibility for medical care delivered either directly within

135-688: A single agency, and DeCA assumed full control of all commissaries on Oct. 1, 1991, at its headquarters in Fort Lee, Va. After leading DeCA through its initial year of operation, Dreska retired in 1992, and Army Maj. Gen. Richard E. Beale Jr. became the new director. Beale retired from the military Sept. 30, 1996, but stayed on the job as the first civilian director of the agency. He was succeeded by Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert J. Courter Jr. (November 1999 to August 2002) and Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael P. Wiedemer (August 2002 to October 2004). Patrick B. Nixon, who served as director and CEO from October 2004 to October 2007,

162-792: A surcharge on their purchases, which was mandated by Congress in 1952 to make commissaries more self-sustaining. The surcharge, which has been set at 5 percent since April 1983, provides modern shopping facilities for service members at a reduced cost to taxpayers. Unlike a tax, surcharge funds go right back into the commissary to work for commissary customers, paying for the cost of building new stores, renovating and repairing existing ones and purchasing equipment and store-level information technology systems such as cash registers. Commissary patrons worldwide save thousands of dollars annually on their grocery bills. Customers can use manufacturer's coupons to save even more on their commissary purchases. Annual sales now are nearly $ 5 billion. Surveys consistently rate

189-574: Is a smart card about the size of a credit card. Defense personnel that use the CAC include the Selected Reserve and National Guard , United States Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees, United States Coast Guard (USCG) civilian employees and eligible DoD and USCG contractor personnel. It is also the principal card used to enable physical access to buildings and controlled spaces, and it provides access to defense computer networks and systems. It also serves as an identification card under

216-561: Is primarily based on VA letter for caregivers and VA VID. Some newly categorized patrons receive an additional charge on top of regular Surcharge to satisfy U.S. Treasury fees to avoid a hit on taxpayers. Authorized Commissary patron may designate an agent or representative, on a temporary basis not to exceed one year, to accompany and assist an authorized patron to the commissary under the following conditions: The personal agent will be provided official agent credentials or an approval letter, and then may enter any commissary to shop on behalf of

243-604: The Geneva Conventions (especially the Third Geneva Convention ). In combination with a personal identification number , a CAC satisfies the requirement for two-factor authentication : something the user knows combined with something the user has. The CAC also satisfies the requirements for digital signature and data encryption technologies: authentication, integrity and non-repudiation . Beginning December 2020 all DoD ID card facilities discontinued issuance of

270-479: The military health system or non-military providers via the TRICARE medical system. The modern military identification card is a smart card commonly known as a Common Access Card (CAC) used by servicemembers and DoD civilians. It works with specialized card readers for use with automatic building access control systems, communications encryption, and computer access. U.S. military ID cards being issued today are

297-481: The Army to "care for its own." The stores provided food beyond what was supplied in the official rations, and the savings they provided supplemented military pay. The modern concept of commissary sales stores, which were established to benefit military personnel of all ranks by providing healthful foods at cost, reached its 150th anniversary on July 1, 2017. The commissary retail function developed and grew, roughly parallel to

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324-520: The CAC, for active duty, reserve members, National Guard members, and DoD & Coast Guard contractors and civilians. Dependents, retirees, and privileged veterans, are issued and use the new Next Generation USID card. Though being phased out legacy ID cards are still accepted through their expiration date. The Common Access Card , also commonly referred to as the CAC , is the standard identification for Active Duty United States Defense personnel. The card itself

351-469: The Coast Guard and National Guard and Reserves, may shop in the commissary on any U.S. military installation, around the world. Military retirees – those who have served in uniform 20 years or more – were first allowed to make commissary purchases in 1878, and they continue to have shopping privileges. Spouses and dependent children of service personnel are authorized commissary privileges, as are recipients of

378-740: The Medal of Honor, and veterans honorably discharged from service with 100% disability in connection with military service also have authorized commissary privileges. As the role of the American military grew larger, commissaries began to spread around the world. The first overseas stores opened in Cuba, the Philippines and in China between 1898 and 1904. They were soon followed by commissaries in Panama and Puerto Rico. Eventually, all

405-812: The Navy Resale System Support Office (NAVRESSO), the Commissary Section of the Marine Corps Services Command, and the Air Force Commissary Service (AFCOMS). In 1989, Congress directed DoD to conduct a study of the separate military commissary systems. The ensuing report by the Jones Commission (headed by Army Lt. Gen. Donald E. Jones) recommended consolidating the service systems into one agency to improve service and save money. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA)

432-559: The October 1993 revision, the DD Form 2 form number was appended with one of five variant codes denoting branch of service (A, AF, N, MC, or CG), and the typewriter-filled blank form variants were overprinted with branch names and logos. Current DD Forms 2 and 1173 are identical for all branches; the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System ( DEERS ) ID workstation prints branch-unique names and logos onto

459-533: The authorized patron. Only an installation commander can authorize agent privileges. Guard/Reserve On-Site Sales is a program that allows Guard/Reserve members and their families, and any authorized shopper living long distances from a commissary store. The sales which provide patrons significant savings; the same as active duty military personnel that shop regularly at the commissaries. Guard/Reserve On-Site Sales are held at Reserve Centers, National Guard armories and Air National Guard bases. Today's customers also pay

486-422: The blank form along with the holder's personal information at the time of issue. Current DD Forms 2 and 1173 variants differ only in the color in which the blank form is printed, indicating the holder's status. DD Forms 2 and 1173 are easily confused as they are similar in appearance and purpose, however they are two distinct forms. The DD Form 2, DD Form 2765, and DD Form 1173 ID\S cards are color-coded to denote

513-472: The commissaries as one of the military's top non-pay benefits. Many young service families, particularly those stationed in high cost-of-living urban areas, could not make ends meet without the price savings provided by the commissaries. DeCA has delivered more than $ 2 in savings to customers for every taxpayer dollar used to support the commissary system. In other words, preserving this level of compensation in direct dollar payments to military personnel would cost

540-519: The development of the retail grocery industry. The commissaries’ 82-item stock list of 1868 was comparable to the stock assortment in a typical civilian dry goods grocery store at that time. Commissaries kept pace with developments in civilian supermarkets, and the average commissary today has more than 12,000 line items; the largest stores have several thousand more. The list of eligible shoppers has also grown. Originally, only active-duty Army personnel could shop. Today, personnel in all services, including

567-618: The director and CEO from January 2011 until his retirement in June 2017. Michael Dowling served as acting director and CEO following Jeu’s retirement. On Oct. 24, DOD announced retired Rear Adm. Robert J. Bianchi as the interim director and CEO. Bianchi is also the CEO of the Navy Exchange Service Command. Authority to shop at Commissaries is normally determined by presentation of the U.S. Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card or

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594-483: The government more than twice the current fund appropriation. United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card A United States Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Card (also known as U.S. military ID , Geneva Conventions Identification Card , or less commonly abbreviated USPIC ) is an identity document issued by the United States Department of Defense to identify

621-751: The legacy color-coded Uniformed Services Privilege and Identification Cards with the Next Generation USID card. The Next Generation USID card incorporates an updated design and security features to deter counterfeiting and fraud and is printed on a plastic cardstock. USID cards are issued to retired and reserve members, dependent family members of uniformed Service members, and other eligible individuals in accordance with DoD policy to facilitate access to benefits, privileges, and DoD bases. Legacy USID cards will remain valid through their expiration date, however, individuals with an indefinite (INDEF) expiration date on their legacy USID card may replace those ID cards with

648-418: The same at-cost purchasing privileges officers had already enjoyed for four decades. No geographic restrictions were placed upon these sales; the commissary warehouse at every Army post could become a sales location, whether they were located on the frontier or near a large city. From the start, commissaries were meant to take on-post retail functions out of the hands of civilian vendors and post traders and allow

675-593: The services adopted the Army's concept of commissary sales stores and tailored the concept to their own needs. The Navy and Marine Corps opened their first commissaries in 1909 and 1910, and the Air Force inherited its stores from the Army Air Forces in 1947 and 1948. By the mid-1970s, each of the services ran its own commissary agency, with differing procedures and systems: the Army Troop Support Agency (TSA),

702-407: Was established May 15, 1990, by a memorandum from the deputy secretary of defense; this was the first DoD functional agency consolidation during the post-Cold War cutbacks and downsizing. DoD appointed Army Maj. Gen. John P. Dreska as the agency's first director in June 1990. Shortly afterward, a transition team of commissary functional experts managed the consolidation of all the service systems into

729-513: Was the first person in U.S. history to become director of any commissary agency after beginning his career at store level and steadily rising through the commissaries' civilian career field. Following Nixon's retirement, Richard S. Page served as acting director until the arrival of director and CEO, Philip E. Sakowitz Jr., in June 2008. Thomas E. Milks was acting director and CEO, from Sakowitz's June 2010 retirement until Joseph H. Jeu succeeded Sakowitz 3 June 2011. Joseph H. Jeu subsequently served as

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