Politics & Government

Fort Monmouth commissary could remain open for another two years

The future of the commissary will be conditional on a volume of sales that supports operational costs.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh has issued a formal request to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness [USD (P&R)] to keep the Fort Monmouth commissary open for a transitional two-year period following installation closure.

“If USD (P&R) approves this request, the continued operation of the commissary for this two-year period will be conditional on a volume of sales that supports operational costs,” McHugh said in a letter to Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, dated Feb. 24, 2011. “Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) projections indicate annual sales of $9.2M in the year following closure. DeCA will continue to review sales and cost data and will advise the Army if sales decline significantly.”

U.S. Senators Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and U.S. Reps. Rush D. Holt (D-NJ-12) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06) have been calling on Secretary McHugh to keep this facility open for military retirees and their families.

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“We are pleased that Secretary McHugh has listened to our concerns about meeting the needs of military retirees, dependents and others who rely on the commissary,” Lautenberg, Menendez, Holt and Pallone said in a joint statement. “While the announcement that the commissary would remain open for two years after the closure is welcome, we will continue to press Secretary McHugh and the Defense Department to keep the facility open even longer. New Jersey’s military retiree community and their dependents rely on this facility and deserve our full support.”


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