Arlington, Virginia (VOA) —
Members and former members of the US military and their families can shop at a special grocery store called a commissary. There are nearly 240 such supermarkets on military bases inside and outside America.
Twice a month US Army Captain Adel Hussain visits the grocery store at the Myer-Henderson Hall joint military base in Arlington, Virginia, near the city of Washington.
Picking up a bottle of ketchup, Hussain said, “I eat this every time I’m on duty!”
In 2018, Hussain trained members of the Ukrainian military as part of a training exercise by NATO allies in Europe. Hussain remembers seeing the usual grocery store he would find in the US containing all the ingredients he would buy at the US military base in Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Hussain explained, “The German military didn’t have this Jiff peanut butter. So, what I did was I went to the grocery store on base to get some. So they’d say, ‘Adel, when you come to base, bring us Jiff’s peanut butter, Pop Tarts and Mountain Dew!”
Members of the US military shop at the commissary at the Ramstein air base in Germany (photo: doc).
During his 11 years of service, Hussain has lived in several countries, and each has a US commissioner. He said the presence of the grocery store nearby helped him a lot.
“I know what to expect when I come here. I know the types of products available. This kind of consistency really helps me,” he admits.
The US military has 236 such stores in the US and on bases overseas. Commissary offers products that are commonly found in US supermarkets, but at a lower price. By offering the food soldiers are known for, the military hopes to keep their morale high.
Gissell Horde of the Defense Department Commissary, said, “We don’t make a profit. All of our funding comes from Congress. Any profit goes back to the community in the form of savings. We are mandated by Congress to offer at least 25 percent savings compared to off-base markets.”
About 5.5 million military families buy their groceries at these stores every year. Most of the staff are family members of soldiers. Kathleen Davis has worked in military shops for nearly 30 years, following her husband on duty from base to base.
Kathleen, who is the deputy supervisor of the store, said, “I am the wife of a military member. We move everywhere. But wherever we are, we have a feeling of being at home here. It’s like a community. So it’s more than just a grocery store.”
Overseas military commissaries sell not only ingredients that the US is familiar with, but local groceries as well.
Hala Anderson, the daughter of a member of the US military, says, “My father worked in the Air Force. So we move every year or two. I think, I’ve moved 11 times now. I’ve lived in South Korea, Germany, Hawaii, New Mexico, now in DC. In South Korea, we found an apple soda drink that everyone at the commissary loves!”
Lower prices, a variety of familiar products and some fun products from all over the world – these are the advantages felt by soldiers and their families who have to be uprooted from their roots in their service to the country. (uh/ab)
