Sequester hits commissaries

Sequestration will force military and retiree families to revise weekday food shopping routines at commissaries in the region. In Florida, commissaries at Pensacola Naval Exchange near Corry Station and Eglin Air Force base will be among 247 that will be closed on Mondays when civilian defense workers begin unpaid furloughs July 8. The commissary at Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss., will also be closed Monday. About 148 others will close Tuesdays as well. That list includes Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Hurlburt Field and Tyndall in Florida, Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Naval Air Station Columbus and Naval Air Station Meridian, all in Mississippi, and Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in Belle Chasse, La. Commissaries employ 14,000 U.S.-based civilian employees who will be affected by furloughs. The changes will remain through Sept. 30. (Source: Defense Commissary Agency, store locator)