Unwritten Rules for Shopping at the Base Commissary

A commissary is a retail store that sells equipment and provisions to military personnel. There is one on every military base worldwide. Commissaries sell a wide variety of food for at cost price and tax free. These are things you probably know, but what you may not know is the unwritten code for shopping at the commissary.

In any military installation you keep to the right, walking down the hall, driving or pushing your cart down the aisle at the commissary. This is one of the biggest unspoken rules of shopping. Keep your shopping cart to the right when going down an aisle. This allows the flow of traffic to continue and allows people to easily pass you if necessary. If you leave your cart in the middle of the aisle, have it on the wrong (left) side or leave it diagonally in the aisle, do not be surprised to see it moved when you return. People shopping are not afraid to move something if it is in the way.

Another common courtesy is if you are stopping talking to a friend, looking at items on the other side of the aisle and you or your cart are in the way of someone trying to get something, move over a little to let them in.

Being a mom and wife in the military can be tough. You may now, and if not, eventually you will have to bring your children along with you to the commissary. It can be an exciting adventure for kids, especially young ones. But for the safety of your children and the sanity of other shoppers, do not let your kids run wild through the commissary like it is an amusement park. At one time, there was an actual rule in commissaries that no children were allowed in. So just be grateful you don't need to hire a sitter just to go grocery shopping.

Although there is no sign, there is an unwritten rule of kids pushing grocery carts. They can't see where they are going and often are having more fun running around then thinking about running into the ankles of the person in from of them. Keep them away from the cart as well.