Pentagon Possibly Closing Commissaries 

By: Neva Mellow

I had the absolute greatest privilege of visiting Washington, D.C. during the second week of October. I ran in the Army race and saw the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the White House, and the Pentagon. The Pentagon is the center of this story. According to a 2025 Military Times article with Karen Jowers, “Pentagon Takes Step Toward Potentially Privatizing Commissaries”, the Pentagon requested information from the commercial grocery industry regarding moving towards privatizing “178 commissaries across the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.” Commissaries are places where military members are able to purchase food on base (typically at a very discounted price) in a safe and secure shopping environment. However, the Pentagon is hoping to pass over control to brands like Walmart and Whole Foods. 

This becomes an issue when you look at who the commissaries are meant to benefit. For enlisted personnel without a car, commissaries are a close place to purchase fresh produce. Commissaries make food affordable for all service members and are tax-free. I’ve spent time at both Fort Knox and Fort Bragg, and both are such big military installations that they see hundreds, if not thousands, of military personnel daily who utilize the commissaries for essential groceries and household items. According to the Military Officers Association of America’s 2025 article with Cory Titus titled “A Privatized Commissary System Would Put Your Service-Earned Benefit at Risk”, privatizing commissaries would risk the ability for “young military families to make ends meet.”

It’s no longer just their duty to the United States military personnel need to be concerned about. They might now face the stress of paying higher grocery bills and potentially having to travel far off base for food. Closing commissaries sends a clear message: the well-being of service members and their families is no longer a priority.