10 U.S.C. § 2482: Commissary stores: criteria…

§2482 Commissary Stores: Criteria for Establishment or Closure; Store Size

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART IV — SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › CHAPTER 147 — COMMISSARIES AND EXCHANGES AND OTHER MORALE, WELFARE, AND RECREATION ACTIVITIES › SUBCHAPTER I — DEFENSE COMMISSARY AND EXCHANGE SYSTEMS › § 2482

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

When the Secretary of Defense decides to open a commissary or pick its location, the main thing to think about is the needs of active-duty service members and their dependents. The Secretary must also pick a store size based on how many authorized patrons are likely to use it. If the Secretary is thinking about closing a commissary, the effect on those members and dependents and on the welfare and security of the military community must be a primary factor, and the effect on reserve members’ quality of life must also be considered. A commissary in the United States cannot be closed until 90 days after the Secretary sends Congress a written notice explaining the reasons and the expected impact on patrons’ quality of life and the community’s welfare and security. That 90-day rule does not apply when the store closes because the whole base is being closed under a base closure law.

Title 10, §2482

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Primary Consideration for Establishment.—

The needs of members of the armed forces on active duty and the needs of dependents of such members shall be the primary consideration whenever the Secretary of Defense—

(1)assesses the need to establish a commissary store; and

(2)selects the actual location for the store.

(b)Store Size.—

In determining the size of a commissary store, the Secretary of Defense shall take into consideration the number of all authorized patrons of the defense commissary system who are likely to use the store.

(c)Closure Considerations.—

(1)Whenever assessing whether to close a commissary store, the effect of the closure on the quality of life of members and dependents referred to in subsection (a) who use the store and on the welfare and security of the military community in which the commissary is located shall be a primary consideration.

(2)Whenever assessing whether to close a commissary store, the Secretary of Defense shall also consider the effect of the closure on the quality of life of members of the reserve components of the armed forces.

(d)Congressional Notification.—

(1)The closure of a commissary store in the United States shall not take effect until the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary of Defense submits to Congress written notice of the reasons supporting the closure. The written notice shall include an assessment of the impact closure will have on the quality of life for military patrons and the welfare and security of the military community in which the commissary is located.

(2)Paragraph (1) shall not apply in the case of the closure of a commissary store as part of the closure of a military installation under a base closure law.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 2482 was renumbered section 2485 of this title. A prior section 2482a was renumbered section 2492 of this title.

Amendments

2011—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 112–81 inserted “in the United States” after “commissary store”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Prohibition on Consolidation or Other Organizational Changes of Department of Defense Retail Systems Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title III, § 367, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 1987, which provided that the operation and administration of the defense retail systems could not be consolidated or otherwise merged unless the consolidation or merger was specifically authorized by a law enacted after Oct. 17, 1998, was repealed by Pub. L. 108–375, div. A, title VI, § 651(e)(3), Oct. 28, 2004, 118 Stat. 1972.