COMMISSARY OPERATIONS INC history

On the 12th of November, 1814, the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of Representatives took up the matter, and, after having had the same under consideration, instructed its chairman to address a communication to the Secretary of War, requesting information on the following points, viz.:

In 1817, the Seminole Indians, of Florida, then a province of Spain, began to make hostile demonstrations on the southern frontier of Georgia, then embraced within the limits of the Division of the South, commanded by Maj.-Gen.

George Gibson, of Pennsylvania, then a quartermaster-general of division, which grade was abolished by Section 3 of the above-mentioned act, was appointed commissary-general of subsistence, on the 18th of April, 1818, and his appointment was announced to the Army in a general order

On the 28th of December, 1820, pursuant to a resolution of the House of Representatives adopted on the 20th of November previous, Mr.

President Monroe, in his annual message to Congress, dated December 3, 1822, in referring to the new system of subsisting the Army, made the following suggestion:

Eustis, of Massachusetts, chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives, to carry into effect the foregoing suggestion, which bill became a law on the 23d of January, 1823, in the following form:

Commissaries still sell discounted products to authorized patrons as they have since 1825.

On the 29th of April, 1826, the rank of brigadier-general, by brevet, was conferred on Colonel Gibson, the commissary-general of subsistence, under

A bill in conformity with the foregoing recommendations was introduced in the House of Representatives, on the 2d of January, 1828, by Mr.

By 1841, officers could also purchase items for members of their immediate families.

The expansion of the Subsistence Department to the extent necessary to enable it to meet the requirements of the service in the war with Mexico, in 1846, was provided for by Section 5 of an act entitled "An Act supplemen-

Excerpts from War of the Rebellion especially concern an investigation into Symonds’ failure to adequately supply troops in Nashville in the summer of 1862.

By the following act, approved February 9, 1863, the Subsistence Department was given a stronger and more symmetrical organization, better adapted to the exigencies of war:

A. Beckwith, Sherman’s commissary officer, regarding supplies for Sherman’s troops during the Atlanta Campaign in 1864.

The act of July 28, 1866, entitled "An Act to increase and fix the Military Peace Establishment of the United States," contained the following provisions fixing the organization of the Subsistence Department, and enlarging its province.

The modern era of sales commissaries actually began in 1867, when enlisted men received the same at-cost purchasing privileges officers had already enjoyed for four decades.

The commissaries’ 82-item stock list of 1868 was comparable to the stock assortment in a typical civilian dry goods grocery store at that time.

By Section 24 of the Army-appropriation act, approved July 15, 1870, it was provided that the pay of an acting assistant commissary of subsistence should be one hundred dollars per annum, in addition to the pay of his rank.

Retirees, first allowed to make commissary purchases in 1879, have shopping privileges, as do reservists and members of the National Guard.

At present, DeCA has more than fulfilled its expectations, producing savings far greater, and in a shorter period of time, than were projected in 1989.

The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) was established May 15, 1990, by a memorandum from the deputy secretary of defense.

30, 1996, but stayed on the job as the agency's first civilian director.

In 1998, DeCA received a President’s Quality Achievement Award in recognition of its commitment to using world-class standards to improve customer service and save tax dollars.

Following Nixon’s retirement, Richard S. Page served as acting director until the arrival of director and CEO, Philip E. Sakowitz Jr., in June 2008.

Thomas E. Milks served as acting director and CEO following the retirement of Sakowitz in June 2010.

The modern concept of commissary sales stores, which were established to benefit military personnel of all ranks by providing healthful foods “at cost,” reached its 150th anniversary on July 1, 2017.