Throughout the year, the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) holds special sales at locations where there isn't a commissary store. DeCA calls them Guard and Reserve Sales, I call them remote location sales because I don't want people to be confused: these sales are open to all eligible commissary patrons, including retirees, active duty living away from bases, geographically separated eligible family members, and National Guard and reserve families.
A local military-related organization hosts the sale at their location, and a specific bricks-and-mortar commissary is responsible for the details and logistics. The links in each listing below will take you to the contact information for the managing store. Please contact them to verify dates and locations as well as discover the hours that the sale will be open. This is particularly true if you are traveling a distance. These sales require a lot of manpower and can be challenging to put together, so occasionally they are postponed or cancelled.
August 13-14
4675 State Route 181 N
Greenville, KY 42345
August 13-14
One Maguire Way
Newburgh, NY 12550
August 19-20
1065 N. Airport Rd
Cedar City, UT 84721
August 18-20
Military Family Support Center
1901 Terrell Mill Road Ste. 200
Marietta, GA 30067
August 26-27Guard and Reserve
VFW Hall
102 N. Colville Road
Walla Walla, WA 99362
These sales can be a great way to stock on commissary products at commissary prices without having to make the often-long trip to a military base that has a commissary store. The timing is great if you are preparing for the new school year or stocking up so that you won't have to do as much shopping once winter rolls around.
I've never lived near a remote sale, so I can't personally report on them, but my readers tell me that there is usually a large but limited selection of items. Prices are generally great but occasionally there are a few things that aren't really bargains. To me, they sound a lot like the case lots sales offered at regular stores. If you have the opportunity to go to one of these remote location sales, let me know what you discover!
