DeCA Deputy Director and COO Dowling retires after 44 years of service

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – Institutional memory. That’s how Michael Dowling, former Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) deputy director and chief operating officer (COO), was referenced by Pentagon leadership during his retirement ceremony April 27 at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia.

Thomas Constable, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, complimented Dowling for being the steady hand in DeCA’s ongoing mission to deliver the commissary benefit to service members and their families.

 “Somebody has to keep up with all the good ideas from all those experts, internal and external,” said Constable, who officiated Dowling’s retirement ceremony. “The one that had to keep the ship on course for the long haul. And that person, the master craftsman, just has to know the organization better than anyone. Mike, I wish I had gotten to know you better because I soon came to learn that for DeCA that’s you.

“The nation, the Department of Defense, the Defense Commissary Agency is so fortunate to have had your service for so many years – keeping the trains running, keeping business operations hitting all their marks, staying, leading and making a real difference. For that we are truly grateful,” he added.

After 44 years, Dowling, a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), is retiring from government service, one of the last original members present when the agency formed Oct. 1, 1991. Dr. Theon Danet, executive director of the IT Group, was named acting deputy director and COO, while the agency goes through the process to select the next full-time deputy director.

Since July 17, 2012, Dowling has served as the deputy director and COO, a position responsible for overseeing the agency’s retail operations, safety and security, program management, plans, commissary support functions and systems engineering in support of the day-to-day operations of DeCA’s worldwide chain of nearly 240 commissaries across 45 states and 13 countries.

Dowling’s DeCA odyssey began before the agency even existed with him being on the transition team in 1990, working with representatives from the services’ separate commissary organizations to consolidate them into one defense commissary agency.

“It was interesting times back then,” he said. “Some of you are still around. We couldn’t pay our bills. We literally could not pay our bills to our suppliers. But we worked hard and we got it going.”

During his retirement ceremony, Dowling received various awards, including the Office of Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award which recognized some of the following accomplishments:

• He directed the reform actions to transform DeCA’s business model per congressional FY 2016 - FY 2022 NDAA mandates, while addressing significant challenges from industry/supply chain shortages and ongoing COVID-19 impacts

• He aided in category management improvements to optimize item assortments, expand commissary private label and mature variable pricing function by reaching FY22 margin goals ($76.4M) to offset operating costs.

• He was heavily engaged with OSD and the DEPSECDEF to provide greater savings and eliminate margin requirements for our patrons. Through his guidance, DeCA achieved over $130 million in cost savings back to military families in 2023 in conjunction with DoD’s initiative, “Taking Care of Our Service Members and Families.”

• He completed the deployment of the “Emerald” point-of-sale system which enhanced e-Commerce functionality by initiating online payment options for retail delivery program known as Commissary CLICK2GO.

“It’s been a long 40-something years,” Dowling said. “Let me be clear: All those things they said on those certificates, DeCA did them. A lot of hard work that went in. A lot of pain, ups and downs, challenges, taking steps backwards.

“But the one thing that was constant is that DeCA people did what we needed to do to deliver the benefit,” he added. “It’s a credit to this agency that we were able to accomplish so much over the years.”

Selected to the Senior Executive Service in 2004, Dowling has served twice as director of DeCA Europe and also twice as director of DeCA East. He became the executive director of the Logistics and Engineering Group Oct. 9, 2011.

Dowling began his federal service on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1978 to 1989, which included a two-year tour as a commissary officer of the commissary in Cairo, Egypt, with the Troop Support Agency (TSA).

After the Army, he began his civil service career with TSA. His involvement in developing the agency’s distribution planning established the concept used in Europe today.

Dowling served in a variety of senior leadership positions in Europe as well as at DeCA headquarters at then Fort Lee (now Fort Gregg-Adams), including as director of performance and policy, and deputy to the chief operating officer.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1978 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His awards include the Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, three DeCA Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Superior Civilian Service Award and the National Performance Review Hammer Award.

As Dowling closed out his remarks, he reminded agency leadership that they have a responsibility to continue looking out for store associates around the world.

“There’s always the mission,” he said. “But remember we have 12,000-plus people out in the field and we need to make sure that they’re taken care of as they deliver the benefit because that’s where the rubber meets the road.”

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees 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 covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.