A tradition of service: Army quartermasters and the commissary share a historic legacy of service to soldiers, their families
NOTE: To see a DeCA video related to this release, click here.
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – The U.S. Army’s Quartermaster Corps and the commissary share a legacy of service to soldiers and their families that goes back nearly 200 years.
Today, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) continues that service, delivering a benefit deemed mission-critical by the Department of Defense (DOD).
“Centuries ago, Army quartermasters started delivery of a commissary benefit that has since evolved into what DeCA operates today for millions of eligible patrons worldwide,” said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director.
“Time has changed the uniforms of the commissary officers, the features of the facilities and the number of items on the shelves,” Rivers added. “However, then, as now, the goal remains the same: relieve a financial burden from soldiers and their families by offering them significant savings on much-needed food items. Today, our patrons enjoy overall savings of at least 25 percent compared to prices at ‘outside the gate’ grocery stores – that means savings of at least $50 on a $200 grocery bill!”
The Army Quartermaster Corps’ connection with military commissaries began in the early 1800s, when officers in charge of subsistence operations were known as chief commissaries, and their staff consisted of assistant commissaries and commissary sergeants. In 1825, the Army began selling food items from its warehouse to Army officers for their personal use. By 1841, officers could also purchase items for their families.
In 1866, Congress authorized the Army to sell goods at cost from its subsistence warehouses to enlisted men as well as officers, starting on July 1, 1867. This was the beginning of the modern commissary benefit.
The subsistence warehouses of the 19th century were gradually replaced by Army-run grocery stores called sales commissaries, which sold items at cost, providing soldiers good food at reasonable prices.
When the Army’s mission expanded around the world, commissaries followed: first to Cuba and the Philippines in 1898-99, then to China in 1900, Panama in 1904 and France in 1918.
While commissaries were originally created for active-duty Army personnel, they gradually were made available to members of every armed service, military retirees, reservists, authorized family members, and disabled veterans and their designated caregivers.
By 1990, Congress and the Defense Department decided to consolidate the individual service commissary systems into one agency. The newly formed Defense Commissary Agency officially took control of 411 military commissaries and multiple related operations, such as Air Force troop support operations and sales to U.S. Embassy personnel, on Oct. 1, 1991.
Rivers and the agency historian, Tamara Eastman, viewed examples of the legacy between quartermasters and commissaries when they recently toured the Army Quartermaster Museum at Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia.
Since 1957, the museum has preserved the history and heritage of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps, collecting numerous artifacts relating to the Corps’ history. The museum receives over 70,000 visitors a year, including over 17,000 quartermaster soldiers.
“This museum is amazing,” Rivers said. “They have over 24,000 historical items, and just look at all this cool commissary stuff!”
Aside from commissary items, a number of exhibits showcased how quartermaster soldiers supported units on the battlefield. For example, in 1917 during World War I, the Army Quartermaster Corps issued rations to the troops in France using four types of field units: bakery, truck, pack and wagon units.
The bakery unit supplied fresh bread every day to around 2,000 American soldiers. The freshly baked loaves were delivered to the troops in the field. During World War II, bread became a staple on U.S. Navy ships, with bakers kept busy turning out hundreds of loaves of freshly baked bread every day.
“The Quartermaster Corps developed the rolling field kitchen that was sometimes called the bean gun because of the stovepipe that resembled a cannon,” Eastman said. “The division sales commissary also operated rolling sales stores to take goods to the front lines. These mobile kitchens could prepare hot meals to the troops no matter where they were.”
Click here, to learn more about the Army Quartermaster Corps.
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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.