Department of Defense civilian employees can shop at 16 commissaries during a pilot program for the next 120 days.

Selected stores, all located in the continental United States, will be open to all DOD civilian employees, both appropriated and non-appropriated fund employees. The DOD pilot program is testing the feasibility of extending commissary benefits to DOD civilians in all U.S. commissaries, Defense Commissary Agency officials said in an announcement of the test, which begins Thursday.

Defense officials have asked the oversight agency to monitor any effect of increased customer numbers on pilot store operations and report those findings.

Family members of DOD civilian employees and former or retired DOD civilian employees are excluded from testing. DOD civilian employees will not be able to purchase tobacco or alcohol products and will not benefit from the Commissioner’s Click2Go online purchasing privileges.

For 157 years, military commissaries have offered discounted groceries on installations to current authorized customers including active, reserve and retired military personnel; veterans with service-connected disabilities; Purple Heart and Medal of Honor recipients; and authorized family members, among other eligible customers.

The 16 stores are located in seven states:

• Alaska: Eielson Air Force Base
• California: Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Fort Irwin
• Georgia: Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany and Robins Air Force Base
• Maryland: Naval Air Station Patuxent River
• Oklahoma: Altus Air Force Base
• Texas: Laughlin Air Force Base
• Virginia: Naval Support Facility Dahlgren; Joint Base Langley-Eustis (Commissars of Fort Eustis and Langley Air Force Base); Fort Gregg-Adams; Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story (Little Creek Commissioner); Naval Base Norfolk; Naval Air Base Océana; and Norfolk Naval Shipyard (Portsmouth).

Managers selected the test stores based on criteria such as store size, from small to large, and the store’s ability to accommodate additional customers. They also selected certain stores with high concentrations of DOD civilians in the area to test the agency’s ability to handle large increases in customers.

Information was not immediately available on how many DOD civilians would be eligible to shop at those 16 stores.

“Ultimately, allowing DOD civilians to shop at commissaries should increase (commissary agency) sales volume, generating additional savings for all customers through lower wholesale prices and to increased promotions from suppliers,” police station officials said.

In May 2021, defense officials extended procurement privileges to DOD and the Coast Guard. civilian employees in military exchange stores in the United States and American territories and possessions.