Happy birthday, Air Force! Commissaries honor service’s 77th anniversary

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FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. - The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) congratulates the U.S. Air Force on celebrating its 77th birthday on Sept. 18.

"We salute the Air Force's anniversary, and we want all our airmen - active duty, reservists, retirees and their family members, as well as disabled veterans and their caregivers - to know we celebrate them every day by delivering the commissary benefit they've earned," said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director. "We endeavor to provide the highest quality product at the lowest price possible to help our eligible patrons boost their financial and food security with at least 25 percent savings on their groceries."

The U.S. Air Force was created from the Army Air Forces, the aerial warfare service component of the U.S. Army that served during and right after World War II.

On July 26, 1947, Congress passed the National Security Act, a law that gave birth to the National Military Establishment, which later became the Department of Defense (DOD). At that time, the military had two branches: The Army and the Navy (Marine Corps is part of the Navy). On Sept. 18, 1947, W. Stuart Symington was sworn in as the first secretary of the Air Force.

Upon its creation, the Air Force inherited all of the Army Air Forces' facilities, including commissaries. The stores were a major benefit for military families, especially those living overseas in Japan and Germany.

For many years, the separate military services ran their commissaries with some assistance from the various service headquarters. They served airmen and their families with pride and began to standardize some of their methodology and terminology with the implementation of the Armed Forces Commissary Regulation of 1949.

Initially, local commanders were responsible for their bases' commissaries. Stores made their own decisions about commodity purchasing, shelf stocking, hours and more. There was little standardization, no continuity of operations, no uniformity and no real career path for civilian or military commissary workers.

In 1952, DOD instituted a 2-percent surcharge on purchases at all military commissaries, and this gradually increased until 1983 when it reached the current 5-percent level. The surcharge pays for supplies and equipment as well as renovation, construction and maintenance of commissaries.

In the early 1970s, Air Force commissary policy and guidance came from the Supply Support and Services Office at Air Force Headquarters in the Pentagon. Professional assistance came from the Air Force Commissary Stores Branch in the Air Force Services Office in Philadelphia, part of the Air Force Logistics Command.

When the armed forces became all-volunteer in 1973, the commissary benefit's importance to recruitment and retention increased. In 1976 the formation of the Air Force Commissary Service (AFCOMS) centralized guidance and control for the Air Force's 181 commissaries under one agency headquartered at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.

Before AFCOMS, all branch commissaries were supplied by the Army Quartermaster Corps. AFCOMS continued to manage the Air Force commissaries until DeCA was formed in 1991.

"Today airmen and their families can access their benefit at any commissary," Rivers said. "By using their benefit, they can save thousands of dollars annually on their purchases in comparison to similar products at commercial stores."

-DeCA-

About DeCA:The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees, disabled veterans and other authorized patrons and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which supports the costs of building, modernizing and sustaining commissary facilities. A core military family support element and valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America's military services and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.