Overseas, military stores often serve as a lifeline. Military bases are self-contained communities that provide service and support mechanisms to facilitate the military lifestyle and to make sure the mission is accomplished. They help smooth the turmoil that is an inherent part of the military profession. Some members are disillusioned by current events. Military stores are a dependable part of military life.
Military stores provide a vital supplemental financial benefit.
With over 60 percent of military members married, wherever they are stationed their families become part of the military equation. The more-reasonable prices at military stores provide a means to run a family on a military budget. This is particularly important for an enlisted family where the food portion of a family budget is proportionally larger. One indication of the important economic impact commissaries have on military families is the millions of dollars of Food Stamps and Women and Infant Children redemptions each year. Whether the actual commissary savings is 20 percent, as maintained by the CBO, or 29 percent as maintained by DeCA, the savings is extremely important to military members.