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.

The commissary is a place to get food for your family. You buy it take it home and enjoy it. What the commissary is not is a daytime soap opera, or maybe it is. But in all seriousness, we don't want to hear you fighting with your spouse about money that was spent incorrectly or about what you are going to do this weekend. Also disciplining your kids harshly, swearing or having the social manners of a caveman is not only disrespectful to the military installation, your spouse, and the military branch they serve, but it is also discourteous to you. Have a little control and wait till you get home to have your drama show.

Remember when shopping at a commissary you are dealing with women and sometimes men, who can be stressed out from the daily activities, not only of being a military wife, but a military mother. They may be dealing with a deployed spouse, a sick child, bills that are due and a hundred other things on their mind. Be courteous even if they aren't at first. They will more than often come around. If not, don't sweat it. Just keep going about your day and let them stew in their own troubles.

For those stressed out military wives, how long does it take to say 'excuse me?' You are around people in the same situation as you. Everyone has somewhere to be, a certain amount of time to get a lot of stuff done and more things on their mind then you can count. We are all together in this military life.

There are more unwritten codes of the commissary, most of them just common sense and courtesy. Everyone wants to get in and get out, so by following the rules that aren't there, it will make everyone's shopping trip go a little bit smoother. If you don't feel you can follow these rules, there are plenty of grocery chains out there you can go to and break as many of them as you please!