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37 overseas commissaries to remain open during furloughs

Posted 6/18/2013 Email story   Print story

    


by Kevin L. Robinson
Defense Commissary Agency


6/18/2013 - FORT LEE, Va. (AFNS) -- Thirty-seven military commissaries in Europe and the Pacific will remain open with local national employees while U.S. civilian employees are affected by furloughs, the Defense Commissary Agency's top official said here today.

Most Defense Department civilian employees will be off work for up to 11 unpaid furlough days from July 8 to Sept. 30 as the Pentagon copes with deep spending cuts for the rest of the fiscal year. DeCA civilians will be furloughed on Mondays.

"DeCA is committed to doing everything possible to minimize the impact of any budget decisions on its patrons," said Joseph H. Jeu, DeCA's director and CEO. "We're doing just that at overseas commissaries, where we have sufficient local national employees to open during furloughs."

Because of international agreements, local national employees are exempt from furlough. Store staffs overseas include a mix of U.S. and local national employees, and 37 of DeCA's 66 overseas stores have enough local national staff to remain operational and will remain open during the furlough period, officials said.

The following commissaries will be open on furlough days:

-- Royal Air Force Base Menwith Hill, England;

-- U.S. Army Garrison Bamberg, U.S. Army Garrison Garmisch, Patch Barracks, Sembach Air Base, Spangdahlem Air Base, U.S. Army Garrison Vilseck and Vogelweh Air Base -- all in Germany;

-- Chièvres Air Base, Belgium;

-- Aviano Air Base, U.S. Army Garrison Livorno, Naval Support Activity Naples, Naval Air Station Sigonella and U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza -- all in Italy;

-- Lajes Field, the Azores, Portugal;

-- Naval Station Rota, Spain;

-- Ankara Air Base, Incirlik Air Base and Izmir Air Base -- all in Turkey;

-- Cairo, Egypt;

-- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

-- K-16 Air Base, U.S. Army Garrison Camp Stanley, U.S. Army Garrison Camp Carroll, Hannam Village Housing Area, Kunsan Air Base, U.S. Army Garrison Camp Humphreys, U.S. Army Garrison Daegu, Naval Base Chinhae and Osan Air Base -- all in South Korea;

-- Camp Foster Marine Corps Base, Okinawa; Camp Courtney Marine Corps Base, Okinawa; U.S. Army Garrison Camp Zama; Kadena Air Base, Okinawa; and Misawa Air Base; Sagamihara Housing Area and Yokota Air Base -- all in Japan.

Commissary customers can quickly find out about any changes to their local store's operating schedule by going to http://www.commissaries.com, clicking on the "Locations" tab, then "Alphabetical Listing," finding their store and clicking on "Local Store Information."

Because the budget situation is fluid, DeCA officials said, plans for the furlough period are subject to change.



tabComments
6/22/2013 5:20:31 AM ET
to the I in Team... have you ever lived overseas With the current dollar to euro rate shopping off base is NOT an option for MANY of us because Everything costs 30percent more and no we are not getting enough overseas pay and benefits to clothe and feed our families by shopping off base. So please before you toss off comments walk a mile in our shoes is all I ask. Thanks.
CJ, OCONUS
 
6/21/2013 3:42:29 PM ET
@me. I did read the full article. I refer you to the third paragraph first sentence. DeCA is committed to doing everything possible to minimize the impact of any budget decisions on its patrons. Again my point is that if any OCONUS patron perceives any adverse impact due to temporary or permanent closure of their base commissary then they are probably over reliant on it and should get off base more.@Heidi. Good for you and your family. I hope you continue to make the most of your overseas tour. I was certainly never suggesting that I do not appreciate the convenience of our commissaries. Just wanted to emphasize that it should be more widely understood they are a convenience not a necessity in most locations.
The I in, Team
 
6/21/2013 10:45:29 AM ET
The choice was keep the commissaries open or pay the local nationals to not come to work. So it wasn't really that big of a decison.
Jerry, CONUS
 
6/21/2013 4:52:35 AM ET
Some of the commissaries like the one on our base were closed more than one day per week before the furlough. If a furlough day was added it would be closed half the week. And I do shop off base - very often but there are things essential to a lot of my recipes that are not available on the economy. While my family enjoys eating the local foods they do like to have familiar foods every now and then especially since we are so far away from our extended family.
Heidi, USAFE
 
6/21/2013 12:19:55 AM ET
The I in Team if you read the full release it's not to support the troops it's because local nationals in foreign countries cannot be furloughed due to international agreements.
me, here
 
6/20/2013 4:28:27 PM ET
@Ron Shady J. Let us not forget many GS civilians will lose thousands of dollars in pay and vacation days as well.
Arctic Warrior, Colorado Springs CO
 
6/20/2013 12:07:53 PM ET
Entire squadrons of combat aircraft are grounded with pilots losing proficiency in order to comply with the sequestration and yet these commissaries are considered too mission essential to close for one extra day per week. Go figure.
Ron, Shady J
 
6/20/2013 10:28:40 AM ET
@Karen. Noted. My comment was more an observation on how OCONUS commissaries are viewed as a necessity rather than a convenience. In very few locations are they actually needed to ensure access to safe food products. In many more locations they are merely a convenience for those who are unable or unwilling to step out of their comfort zone.
The I in, Team
 
6/20/2013 8:46:21 AM ET
The I in Team read the article again. This has nothing to do with the desire or ability to shop off base. These commissaries have enough LNs who are not affected by the furlough that they can remain open.
Karen, Langley AFB
 
6/19/2013 11:08:59 AM ET
I spent 7 of the past 10 years in Japan and had no problem buying food or groceries on the local economy. It is sad that so many of my fellow servicemembers and their families are unable to actually live in their host country and do something as simple as shop at an off base supermarket.
The I in, Team
 
6/19/2013 5:23:07 AM ET
Troops overseas need all the support they can get. This is a good idea. At the same time CONUS civilians are 'taking one for the team'. Let's not forget that.
JK, JBLE
 
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