WASHINGTON (AFNS) October 03, 2013 – Though Airmen are still receiving their normal pay checks, their bank accounts may still be impacted as their grocery bills take a hit.
Commissaries in the United States closed Oct. 2 as a result of the government shutdown.
“We are acutely aware of the hardships placed on all our customers if we cannot deliver their commissary benefit,” said Joseph Jeu, the Defense Commissary Agency director and CEO, in a DECA press release.
According to the DeCA website, which will not be updated beginning Oct. 1, shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices – savings amounting to thousands of dollars annually.
Though commissaries are closed in the United States until the Department of Defense directs otherwise, commissaries overseas will remain open.
Thirty-eight commissaries in Europe, one store in Puerto Rico and 29 stores in the Pacific (including Guam), would remain open during a government shutdown as a safety and security measure to serve U.S. troops and their families stationed overseas, according to a DeCA press release.
“… because of their geographic location, our service members and their families overseas have a more critical dependence on commissaries, and we are prepared to continue that support,” Jeu said.
Airmen who are in need of financial aid, click here for the Air Force Aid Society, http://www.afas.org/, visit your Airmen and Family Readiness Center, or contact your unit first sergeant.