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Commissary chief to retire next month

After three years as director of the Defense Commissary Agency, Patrick Nixon will retire Oct. 27, commissary officials said.

The next day, he will take the helm of the American Logistics Association, a trade association representing manufacturers and distributors who do business with commissaries, exchanges, and the morale, welfare and recreation community.

A replacement has not yet been named.

Before his appointment as DeCA director in June 2006, Nixon served as acting director for two years, and had been chief executive officer since June 2001. The agency employs 18,000 people in 260 stores in 13 countries around the world.

He has worked in the military commissary system for 24 years, starting at the Army Troop Support Agency at Fort Bragg, N.C., in 1983. He was the senior civilian tasked with establishing the Defense Commissary Agency in 1991, leading the transition team that melded the four diverse commissary systems into one defense agency.

Nixon worked for A&P Food Stores from 1962 to 1982, with time out for a three-year stint in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1969, during which he served 21 months in Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division.

Under his leadership, the commissary system’s score on the American Customer Satisfaction Index rose to 77 — two points higher than the commercial industry average and second only to Publix supermarkets.

His awards include the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Senior Executives and Professionals, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service, the Senior Executive Service Exceptional Performance Award, and the Defense Commissary Agency’s Distinguished Civilian Service Award.

“The people of DeCA and all of our stakeholders have a real love and passion for the commissary benefit and America’s armed forces and their families,” Nixon said in a statement. “My retirement won’t change any of that.”