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Commissaries

Commissaries are military supermarkets, with items sold at cost plus a 5 percent surcharge. The Defense Commissary Agency oversees 268 stores worldwide on Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps installations.

Most of DeCA's larger commissaries are relatively full-service grocery stores. The commissaries routinely stock 4,000 to 18,000 items in grocery, meat, produce and deli, bakery, household, health care and cosmetics departments.

Contact: www.commissaries.com.

Customer satisfaction. Commissary products can be returned for an exchange or refund.

Eligibility. Single and married military personnel, regardless of rank or service, and their families are eligible to shop in commissaries. Active-duty, retired, National Guard and reserve members and their families are eligible, as are disabled veterans, surviving spouses, former spouses and their families.

Special assistance is offered for those with disabilities or infirmities.

Individuals caring for children of service members who are deployed, on remote assignment or deceased may be authorized to use the commissary for 12 months, sometimes longer in cases of continued hardship.

Employees. Most commissary employees work for DeCA. Their salaries are covered by federal civil service regulations and are paid by taxpayer dollars. Baggers are not DeCA employees; their only compensation is customer tips.

Gift certificates. These can be purchased at www.commissaries.com or by calling (877) 770-4438. Shipping and handling charges apply.

Hours. Most stores have evening and weekend hours.

Online shopping. Click on "Virtual Commissary" at www.commissaries.com for a limited selection of items. Officials hope to expand the number of manufacturers who participate in the online commissary store. Defense Department civilians stationed overseas who have commissary privileges are expected to be able to shop online by mid-2006, when the authorization database is updated.

Overseas. Commissaries overseas operate under unique restrictions. Limits are imposed on purchases that can be sold on illegal markets; in Korea, for example, shoppers are limited to a monthly spending cap based on family size.

Rules on who can use overseas commissaries are affected by status-of-forces agreements between host nations and the U.S. government. Service members on leave, retirees and Guard and reserve members visiting overseas countries in unofficial capacity may not be granted commissary privileges. Reservists in Germany are not granted the full privileges enjoyed by stateside units.

Payment. Commissaries accept cash, personal checks, traveler's checks and debit and credit cards. Food stamps and WIC vouchers are accepted in the United States, including Puerto Rico and Guam. Commissaries overseas accept the overseas military-issued WIC vouchers for military families.

Sales restrictions. Federal law restricts what commissaries can sell. For example, they do not stock beer, wine and many general merchandise items carried by base exchanges.

Savings. Shoppers get average savings of 30 percent or more. There is no sales tax. The 5 percent surcharge pays for construction and renovation of stores and equipment purchases.

Information on monthly sales and promotions are available at www.commissaries.com.