FORT LEE, Va., 2014-7-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Air Force Command Chief Master Sgt. Stuart M. Allison is the Defense Commissary Agency’s new senior enlisted advisor to the director. He reported to the agency July 1. Allison succeeds Army Command Sgt. Maj. John M. Gaines Jr., who retires Aug. 31.
Allison comes to DeCA from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., where he served as superintendent of the 509th Mission Support Group.
At DeCA, he will be the agency’s military advocate for enlisted service members – active duty, retired and Reserve components – on all commissary benefit issues. He will address their questions and needs to DeCA Director and CEO Joseph H. Jeu. The senior enlisted advisor is also the agency’s chief liaison to the military’s senior enlisted leaders.
“Chief Allison will help us stay connected to our enlisted patrons and their families,” Jeu said. “His vast experience gives him a unique understanding of the issues that affect our military community, and he will play a key role to help ensure we are delivering the best benefit possible.”
A lot of Allison’s time from 2006 to 2014 has been spent in and out of deployments. In 2006, he served four months at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, as a supply superintendent for the 506th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
From November 2009 to September 2010, Allison was a senior enlisted advisor for the Afghan National Army, Logistics Command, in Kabul, Afghanistan, during Operation Enduring Freedom. For three months in 2012, he served as squadron superintendent for the 376th Logistics Readiness Squadron Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan; and from July 2013 to January 2014, he served as superintendent with the 407th Expeditionary Group in Jordan.
“I am proud to join the outstanding DeCA team,” Allison said. “I’m laser-focused on ensuring that every military member understands that DeCA delivers a vital benefit that enhances quality of life and readiness.”
He joined the Air Force in 1992 as an inventory management specialist. In addition to his deployments, his career has taken him to Griffiss Air Force Base, N.Y.; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Fort Hood, Texas; Kimhae Air Base, South Korea; Sembach Air Base, Germany; Gunter Air Force Base, Ala.; Robins Air Force Base, Ga.; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; and McConnell Air Force Base, Kan.
Allison holds a Master of Business Administration degree in military operations from Trident University, Cypress, Calif., and a Bachelor of Science in logistics management from Bellevue University, Bellevue, Neb.
You’ll find Allison’s complete biography here.
NOTE: For photos of the new senior enlisted advisor, visit DeCA’s Flickr site.
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5–percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices – savings amounting to thousands of dollars annually. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
Media Contact:
Kevin L. Robinson
(804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773
kevin.robinson@deca.mil