Rep. Johnson tours Ft. Gillem’s Commissary on-site sale

Congressman fights for veterans, active duty personnel to have new commissary in Atlanta area

FOREST PARK, GA – Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) toured the on-site sale at Fort Gillem on June 27, which is being used as a stop-gap measure to provide quarterly commissary services to metro Atlanta military personnel following the closure of commissaries at Fort McPherson (Sept. 2013) and Ft. Gillem (2011).

The closings have left no commissary for military and veteran personnel in the metro Atlanta area. The nearest commissaries to Atlanta are at Ft. Benning, Robins Air Force Base, and Ft. Gordon, each of them hours away.

Rep. Johnson penned a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in 2013 and garnered a bipartisan list of signatures from most of the Georgia delegation, urging the Defense Department not to close the commissary at Fort McPherson in College Park before a new one was built.

Johnson said due to sequestration, the Department of Defense’s plan to build a new commissary at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta is not being funded, leaving an enormous gap for military families.

To try to fulfill the need within the limited budget, the Department of Defense has instituted quarterly commissary on-site sales. While this is a great gesture, Congressman Johnson contends that it is not good enough. Today, he observed long lines and undue hardships for those trying to access the service.

“Thousands of veterans and service members across northeast Georgia, including the Atlanta region, deserve a commissary,” said Johnson.

“I met dozens of these brave men and women and their families standing in long lines and coming from across metro Atlanta to buy groceries. These heroes have earned this benefit through service to our nation. In these difficult economic times, with veterans and service members facing the impact of sequestration, reduced benefits, and the effects of two recent wars, it is deeply disappointing that the Department would make the decision to deprive Atlanta-area veterans of a commissary. I urge them to continue looking for ways to make the numbers work and re-open a fully functioning commissary in metro Atlanta.”

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