Civilians working on several local bases will be allowed to use the commissary for the first time under a pilot program.
The military commissaries at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Naval Base Norfolk, Naval Air Station Oceana and Norfolk Naval Shipyard are part of 16 commissaries nationwide that are part of a limited trial.
The Defense Commissary Agency runs more than 236 stores around the world, catering to 8 million troops and their families. Prices at the locations are subsidized by the federal government.
Like other retailers in recent years, the commissaries have faced stiff competition from crowded retail markets in places like Hampton Roads, as well as online retailers.
A 2022 Government Accountability Office study showed sales have dropped worldwide since 2015. The retailer is supposed to offer a 23% discount on groceries and other goods, but the GAO found that the discounts were inconsistent, sometimes varying from base to base.
In 2023, the DCA selected the Norfolk commissary as the best commissary in the system.
For the pilot project, the DCA selected commissaries on installations with a large number of civilian Department of Defense employees.
Families of DOD employees or DOD retirees are not eligible to shop on base during the test, which runs through March.
