Expanded Commissary Privileges For Guardsmen
Forgot that loaf of bread and gallon of milk? Afraid you don’t have enough visits left at the commissary to stop for only a few items? Think again. The 1999 Defense Authorization Act, passed by Congress last October, gives each National Guardsmen and Reservists an additional 12 visits to the commissary each year.
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"Gray-area" Reservists who have retired from the Reserve, but who have not yet reached age 60 also get the 12 additional commissary shopping visits in 1998. As always, Reservists who are called to active duty enjoy full-time commissary shopping privileges.
"Unused visits, including the additional 12 visits for 1998, do not carry over from one calendar year to the next. If Reservists do not use their commissary visits during December, the visits (from 1998) will be gone come the first day of January," said Kaye Fannin, DeCA consumer affairs advocate at the headquarters of the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), Fort Lee, Va.
"We definitely want the men and women of the Reserve and National Guard to use their additional visits before the end of the year. To accommodate Reserve members using their additional 12 commissary visits in 1998, commissary personnel will date and initial 12-visit 1998 Commissary Privilege Cards a second time, as necessary."
"The commissary benefit is part of the non-pay compensation of our reserve forces," said Fannin, "With thoughtful planning, a Reservist with a family of four and 24 shopping visits per year could save about $2,000 on their grocery purchases each year. Members of the Guard and Reserve can use their commissary shopping visits anytime during the year."
Guard and Reserve personnel who want additional information about their commissary shopping privileges should contact their units or talk with the commissary officer where they shop.
[Comissary Locations In Washington] [Defense Commissary Agency Homepage]
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