{"id":60544,"date":"2019-08-22T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T09:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/22\/is-dod-moving-too-quickly-to-merge-commissaries-and-exchanges\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T10:26:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T10:26:50","slug":"is-dod-moving-too-quickly-to-merge-commissaries-and-exchanges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2019\/08\/22\/is-dod-moving-too-quickly-to-merge-commissaries-and-exchanges\/","title":{"rendered":"Is DoD moving too quickly to merge commissaries and exchanges?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deputy Secretary of Defense David L. Norquist has given the green light to consolidation of military commissaries <\/a>and exchanges \u2014 pending changes in law that would allow that consolidation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Norquist\u2019s Aug. 19 memo marked his official agreement with the recommendation to consolidate<\/a> the Defense Commissary Agency, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the Navy Exchange Service Command, and the Marine Corps Exchange into one entity. That merger was recommended by DoD\u2019s chief management officer, following a business case analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe department\u2019s intent is to improve community services for our service members and families, improve support to commanders, and fulfill its fiduciary responsibility\u201d concerning taxpayer dollars and morale, welfare and recreation funds, stated Norquist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But advocates, long concerned that this consolidation may pose a threat to the stores\u2019 future, are concerned that DoD is moving too quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a bold document,\u201d said Kelly Hruska, government relations director for the National Military Family Association. \u201cWe are concerned that DoD is moving forward much too quickly with their recommendations. We don\u2019t think they\u2019re considering the risks to the defense resale system as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, NMFA was among a group of 27 groups in The Military Coalition, who wrote a letter<\/a> to House and Senate armed services committee leaders expressing their concerns that the consolidation will cost more than anticipated and fail to result in projected savings in operational costs. If those predictions are accurate, they said, the defense resale system may be unable to provide the low-cost groceries and support for morale, welfare and recreation programs that service members, their families and survivors rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current law prohibits consolidation of commissaries and exchanges. Norquist lays out actions that can be taken to prepare for the merger in the event the law is changed \u2014 such as determining whether any legal mechanisms currently exist in DoD for financing a consolidated resale enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move comes as the House and Senate armed services committees are in the midst of conference about the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. A provision in the House version of the bill would delay any military store consolidation until the Government Accountability Office has conducted a review of DoD\u2019s business case analysis. That GAO report would include information such as implications for the financial viability of the military exchanges and commissaries if they are consolidated; and the ability of exchanges and commissaries to provide earnings to support morale, welfare and recreation programs under a consolidated model. It also calls for review of the DoD\u2019s analysis related to pricing, sales assumptions, accuracy of methods that measure customer savings levels, timetable for consolidation, and budget and oversight implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have more questions than I have answers,\u201d said Hruska. \u201cWe think DoD should hold off on consolidation until a GAO study is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t