Defense Department proposals to change the way commissaries operate will not degrade the benefit — and there needs to be more of a conversation about that touchy subject, defense officials said Tuesday.

"We're not going to reduce the benefit," said Brad Carson, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, at a leadership luncheon of the National Military Family Association.

But Carson went on to say there are ways to improve the commissary benefit while reducing the system's taxpayer subsidy, now running at about $1.3 billion a year.

Commissary officials could provide better merchandising and employment management, and introduce more private labels with some variable pricing, he suggested.

All commissary items are sold at cost from the manufacturer or distributor, and customers receive an average overall discount of about 30 percent, compared to stores outside the gate.

Military family advocates contend that changing the way groceries are sold in commissaries, with some items sold at higher prices in order to pay for some or all operating costs, would degrade the traditional, longstanding commissary benefit.

"It's a very challenging area," said Mike McCord, the Defense Department's comptroller and chief financial officer.

"We need people to be willing to have a conversation, and not turn off the hearing when they hear the word 'commissary,' " he said. "There are ways to improve the system. We're not saying $1.5 billion is an evil thing, but it's $1.5 billion that can't be spent on training, readiness. If we can do better than that, then we all win."

In a later interview, McCord said officials should make commissaries more efficient in order to reduce the subsidy. "In general, these subjects are so touchy, it's hard to have a conversation," he added.

He said defense officials may ask Congress to approve more modest cuts to the annual commissary subsidy than DoD had previously sought. But lawmakers have not reacted favorably to any requests for cuts to the subsidy.

In addition, the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission has brought additional ideas to the table for restructuring the commissary system, which DoD officials are studying.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

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