An Evaluation of the Perceived and Actual Cost Comparisons of Commissaries: Fort Ord Case.

There is a continuous effort by civilian lobbyists to induce Congressional legislation that will require commissaries to contract their management with private firms or either prohibit military retirees from using the commissary or eliminate all commissaries within the Continental United States CONUS. This thesis is concerned with the commissary as a privilege. It highlights the tangible value currently available to the service family in the Monterey, California area. The data analyzed in this thesis is the result of an extensive empirical study of shelf prices gathered from the Fort Ord Commissary, California and is compared to the shelf prices of three commercial chain supermarkets in close proximity to Fort Ord. A questionnaire was distributed to potential patrons of the Fort Ord Commissary to gather information on the perceptions of the commissary as a military benefit. The questionnaire responses and price data were than used to derive theoretical models which encompass the direct and indirect costs of grocery shopping. Author keywords include Commissary Savings Price comparison.