FORT LEE, Va., 2015-10-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — The last phase of the Defense Commissary Agency’s in-store Wi-Fi rollout schedule begins Oct. 19 as the agency opens Internet access for patrons at its remaining 109 commissaries.
Since Feb. 6, patron Wi-Fi has been deployed to 131 stateside stores and Puerto Rico. This final schedule “closes the loop” on DeCA’s in-store Wi-Fi deployment, said Duane Woodfin, an information technology specialist and wireless expert at DeCA headquarters.
“We’re proud to bring this customer service to our patrons at all our stores so those with smart phones and tablets can use Wi-Fi to expand their commissary benefit,” Woodfin said. “We live in a world where our customers have technology at their fingertips that gives them access to information and services that save them money while they shop.”
In-store Wi-Fi allows patrons to use their smart phones and tablets to access the Internet and websites such as www.commissaries.com, where they can download digital coupons for the Commissary Rewards Card, see the current DeCA sales flyer and view promotional prices from the “Savings Aisle.”
Here are some things to know about access to a commissary’s Wi-Fi connection:
- Anyone can access the store’s Wi-Fi from the sales floor area
- Users must accept DeCA’s “terms of service” agreement
- Some websites are blocked
- Patrons with questions about access should contact the store’s customer service representative
With this announcement DeCA begins the final phase of its in-store Wi-Fi deployment, which coincides with the agency’s regularly scheduled technical refresh of commissaries that don’t have the system requirements to support Wi-Fi access. The previous schedule involved stores whose systems had already been upgraded.
Following is DeCA’s final Wi-Fi deployment schedule for 109 stores between Oct. 19, 2015 and April 4, 2016:
Remaining stateside Wi-Fi deployments
- HAWAII, Oct. 19 – Hickam and Pearl Harbor commissaries at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Schofield Barracks and Marine Corps Base Hawaii (Kaneohe Bay)
- OHIO, Oct. 19 – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
- MISSOURI, Oct. 19 – Richards-Gebaur, Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood
- FLORIDA, Oct. 19 – Hurlburt Field, MacDill Air Force Base and Patrick Air Force Base; March 21 – Whiting Field, Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Pensacola
- UTAH, Nov. 9 – Hill Air Force Base and Dugway Proving Ground
- NEBRASKA, Nov. 9 – Offutt Air Force Base
- SOUTH DAKOTA, Nov. 9 – Ellsworth Air Force Base
- OKLAHOMA, Nov. 9 – Tinker Air Force Base; Nov. 23 – Vance Air Force Base
- ILLINOIS, Nov. 23 – Rock Island Arsenal and Scott Air Force Base
- WISCONSIN, Nov. 23 – Fort McCoy
- ARIZONA, Dec. 21 – Luke Air Force Base, Fort Huachuca, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma
- TEXAS, Dec. 21 – Laughlin Air Force Base; Jan. 18 – Goodfellow Air Force Base and Dyess Air Force Base; Feb. 22 – Fort Bliss
- LOUISIANA, Jan. 18 – Barksdale Air Force Base and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
- MISSISSIPPI, Feb. 1 – Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport and Keesler Air Force Base
- VIRGINIA, Feb. 1 – Little Creek Commissary at Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story and Fort Eustis Commissary at Joint Base Langley-Eustis; April 4 – Fort Lee
- GEORGIA, Feb. 22 – Fort Gordon and Fort Benning
- KANSAS, Feb. 22 – McConnell Air Force Base
- NEW MEXICO, Feb. 22 – White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base; March 21 – Cannon Air Force Base and Kirtland Air Force Base
- PENNSYLVANIA, March 21 – Tobyhanna Army Depot
- NEVADA, April 4 – Nellis Air Force Base
- NEW JERSEY, March 21 – U.S. Army Picatinny Arsenal (Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center); April 4 – Lakehurst Commissary at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and Dover Air Force Base
- MARYLAND, April 4 – Naval Air Station Patuxent River
Overseas Wi-Fi deployments
- BELGIUM, Oct. 26 – Chievres Air Base
- ITALY, Oct. 26 – Aviano Air Base, Livorno Commissary at Camp Darby, Naval Support Activity Naples, Naval Air Station Sigonella and U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza
- NETHERLANDS, Oct. 26 – U.S. Army Garrison Schinnen
- SPAIN, Oct. 27 – Naval Station Rota
- UNITED KINGDOM, Oct. 27 – Commissaries at the following Royal Air Force bases: Alconbury, Croughton, Lakenheath, Menwith Hill and Mildenhall
- TURKEY, Oct. 28 – Ankara, Incirlik Air Base and Izmir
- GERMANY, Jan. 4 – Commissaries at the following U.S. Army garrisons: Ansbach, Baumholder, and those serving USAG Bavaria at Garmisch, Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels, and at USAG Stuttgart in Kelley Barracks; Jan. 5 – Panzer Kaserne, Patch Barracks and Robinson Barracks commissaries at USAG Stuttgart, Ramstein Air Base, Spangdahlem Air Base, Vilseck (USAG Bavaria), and the military communities at Vogelweh and Wiesbaden
- AZORES, Nov. 11 – Lajes Field
- JAPAN, Nov. 16 – Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Camp Zama, Camp Kure and Hario Village; Okinawa – Camp Courtney, Camp Foster and Camp Kinser; Nov. 17 – Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Kadena Air Base (Okinawa), Misawa Air Base, Sagamihara Housing Area, Fleet Activities Sasebo, Naval Base Yokosuka and Yokota Air Base
- SOUTH KOREA, Nov. 18 – Camp Carroll, Camp Casey, Camp Humphreys, Camp Red Cloud and Camp Stanley; Nov. 19 – Fleet Activities Chinhae, Daegu Commissary at Camp Walker, K-16 Air Field, Kunsan Air Base, Osan Air Base and U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan
- GUAM, Nov. 23 – Andersen Air Force Base and Orote Commissary at Naval Base Guam
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