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thedrifter
11-11-08, 08:06 AM
DeCA salutes Marine Corps' 233rd birthday; commissaries supported Marines for 98 years
By: Dr. Peter D. Skirbunt , DeCA historian

FORT LEE, Va. - On Nov. 10, 1775, America's Second Continental Congress authorized the formation of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Since that day 233 years ago, millions of Americans serving as Marines have established a superb record of valor, sacrifice and distinguished service.
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They have served with distinction in every American conflict, from the Revolution and the War of 1812 to the trenches of the western front during World War I, on Pacific islands during World War II, in the jungles and villages of South Vietnam, and in the deserts, mountains, and city streets of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their reputation for excellence and courage is respected around the world.

In addition to their multiple ground and air combat missions and providing security at U.S. embassies, as a vital component of the Navy Department, Marines have served aboard warships since 1775.

In the days of sail, shipboard fare was monotonous and, often, nutritionally deficient. The longer the voyage, the likelier the food would become spoiled, worm-eaten or infested with weevils. Therefore, Marines and sailors alike eagerly anticipated visits to ports of call - foreign or American - where they could get fresh, healthful, tasty foods.

In every port there were civilian merchants who rowed, paddled or sailed small boats - collectively known as "bumboats" - out to the visiting ships.

There, they sold their visitors all sorts of local food items, from fish and lobsters to coconuts and pineapples. These vendors provided a valuable service.

However, by 1910, the Navy Department realized the bumboats could not adequately serve the needs of large crews and Marine contingents aboard the big ships of the modern steel Navy, so the Navy began opening "ships' stores" on all its vessels to replace the overseas bumboats. At ports in the United States, the Navy and Marine Corps established sales commissaries, similar to those the Army had run since 1867.

Commissaries have grown with the Marine Corps, and the benefit has played an important role in the Marine Corps community. At all of the armed services' commissaries, food items were sold to men of all services and all ranks "at cost," providing a valuable nonpay benefit in the form of sizable cost savings.

At first, the stores operated more like warehouses, where clerks pulled items from the shelves for the customers. "Self service" began to gain popularity in the late 1920s and became widespread in the 1940s. The commissaries' importance in attracting and retaining qualified personnel increased even more with the creation of the all-volunteer military in 1973.

During the late 1980s, the Marine Corps Commissary Office in Washington, D.C., was responsible for a dozen Marine Corps commissaries from North Carolina to Japan.

Under the office's guidance, the Marines established permanent and professional staffs for their stores, and built commissaries comparable to contemporary civilian grocery stores and supermarkets.

In 1991, the Marine Corps Commissary Office, along with the commissary organizations of each of the other military services, was consolidated under the newly established Defense Commissary Agency.

Originally created for active-duty personnel, commissaries are now available to military retirees, members of the Reserve and National Guard, and the immediate family members of all eligible commissary shoppers.

By keeping costs down, the stores have always been important to military families living in urban areas, where the cost of living is high.

Commissaries are an important factor in maintaining morale by bringing a taste of home to military families stationed overseas, or living in isolated and sparsely populated areas of the United States.

Today, DeCA serves the Marine Corps and all the armed services by providing modern commissaries at more than 250 locations around the world, including 16 Marine Corps installations - 12 in the United States, and four overseas - and 61 Navy bases.

DeCA's modern stores combine the best materials and design concepts, use state-of-the-art equipment and materials, stock thousands of line items, handle a heavy volume of customer traffic, and provide an average savings of 30 percent or more when compared with civilian supermarkets.

Because of these savings, the commissary benefit continues to be a factor in the services' efforts to attract and retain top-quality personnel.

"We're very proud to share our heritage with the Marines," says DeCA's director and chief executive officer, Philip E. Sakowitz Jr. "For 98 years, the Marine Corps has worked with the commissaries, bringing the best retail foods to their communities, at reasonable cost. We're always striving to make commissaries worth the trip for all our customers.

"On behalf of everyone at the Defense Commissary Agency, I offer our congratulations to the Marine Corps on its 233rd birthday, and," Sakowitz adds, "we're looking forward to the landmark year of 2010, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Marine Corps and Navy commissaries."

Ellie