{"id":78515,"date":"2025-04-28T21:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T21:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2025\/04\/28\/commissary-director-sees-opportunity-for-stores-amid-dod-upheaval\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:52:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:52:02","slug":"commissary-director-sees-opportunity-for-stores-amid-dod-upheaval","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2025\/04\/28\/commissary-director-sees-opportunity-for-stores-amid-dod-upheaval\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissary director sees opportunity for stores amid DOD upheaval"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amid the whirlwind of changes within the Defense Department under the Trump administration, commissary agency officials said the organization is looking to strengthen the benefit for customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to use everything that is happening to make [the Defense Commissary Agency] a better organization. This is a strategic opportunity for DeCA to transform itself,\u201d said John Hall, director of the Defense Commissary Agency, at an American Logistics Association meeting in Richmond, Virginia, on April 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to become more like a commercial grocery chain than ever before. We\u2019ll be a commercial grocery chain that happens to work for the Department of Defense. \u2026 By that I mean we\u2019ll offer all the products and services<\/a>, all those good things you see in a good commercial grocery chain, and while doing that, we\u2019re going to continue to deliver 25% savings,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Privatization of commissaries and exchanges<\/a> has come to the forefront of discussions, in light of an April 7 memo from Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg on restructuring the DOD civilian workforce, which stated, \u201cAll functions that are not inherently governmental (e.g. retail sales and recreation) should be prioritized for privatization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But officials are contending with more than just the Feinberg memo, said Steve Rossetti, president of ALA. In addition to discussions in Congress about privatizing programs and services on military installations, the Trump administration has taken steps to reduce the federal workforce and implemented a hiring freeze<\/a>. There\u2019s also the tariff situation, and its looming effect on military stores<\/a>, which sell many of the same products carried by civilian stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 200 of DeCA\u2019s 12,500 employees took the federal workforce early buyout offer, Hall said. While some of those were key people whom officials will need to figure out how to replace, he said, there hasn\u2019t been much of an effect otherwise. The agency hasn\u2019t been significantly impacted by the hiring freeze so far, Hall said, but officials are asking DOD for some exemptions to keep workers in the stores and in the central distribution centers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe longer it goes, the more likely it will start to have an effect,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, DOD and commissary officials are taking steps to improve commissaries for troops and families, and officials said they are seeing results. Officials are expected to soon award a contract for nationwide doorstep delivery and are continuing efforts to improve the supply chain to decrease costs for suppliers, customers and the commissary system. <\/p>\n\n\n\t