Guard troops get $100 shopping sprees

Guard troops get $100 shopping sprees
By Seamus O’Connor - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jan 11, 2008 16:44:22 EST

A total of 9,500 National Guardsmen recently got mini-shopping sprees at their local commissaries, courtesy of the industries that stock the military stores.

The problem is, for many Guardsmen, their closest commissary is anything but local.

In December, the American Logistics Association presented $95,000 in donations to the National Guard Bureau to be distributed in $100 “Certifichecks” to Guardsmen across the country. The donations came in from commissary suppliers like Johnson & Johnson, Hanes and Nestle.

The certificates were then distributed to state Guard bureaus, who gave them out on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Manny Pacheco, a spokesman for the NGB.

The question now is how some Guardsmen will manage to use those funds. Many live hundreds of miles from the nearest commissary, so a trip to the store can offset the benefits of reduced prices.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/military_guard_commissaries_080111/