1. Two-year Commissary And Post Exchange Privileges
ELEMENT 48
Pg. 207

2. Purpose
To ensure that an eligible involuntarily separated SM is aware of their 2 year commissary and exchange benefits. .

3. Who is eligible?
Service members who are involuntarily separated from active duty during the period of Oct and ending Dec. 31, 2018.
A member of the armed forces who receives a sole survivorship discharge.
Eligibility is based on your SPD code.
You will receive a DD214 and a DOD Guard and Reserve Family Member ID Card
Those individuals who separated and retired and elect to live in a foreign country may lose commissary and/or Base Exchange privileges due to treaty, Status of Force Agreement (SOFA) or military base agreements between the US and host county. Japan however, is not one of them.

4. In somewhat related news…
Commissaries will begin selling beer and wine within 90 days; however, hard liquor is excluded from the new policy.
Commissary alcohol prices will be comparable to those at military exchanges.
To minimize impact on exchange profits, the commissary will purchase alcohol for resale from the exchange in the same way that tobacco products are sold.

5. Veterans Online Service Benefit (VOSB)
But wait, there’s more…
Veterans Online Service Benefit (VOSB)
Offers honorably discharged service members the ability to shop via any of the military exchanges’ online sites including
Currently, 92% of all Veterans, the vast majority whom served honorably, receive no military exchange shopping privilege. This proportion is even higher for recently discharged Veterans, many of whom served multiple tours and were discharged prior to meeting the 20-year criteria for retiree status. Allowing online shopping is a way to recognize those who served honorably and allows Veterans to make a tangible contribution to the quality of life of those who remain on active duty.

6. Determining Eligibility
Create your account on 
access DoD records and inform Veterans, regardless of branch of service, if their records are complete and they have the proper discharge status to qualify.

7. Questions?