Using the Military Post Exchange is one of the most undervalued military benefits that there is. The post exchange, also called the PX, The commissary, or the base exchange, depending on the branch of the Armed Forces that you join, saves military members a great deal of money. It is it is the equivalent of the “military store” and offers a wide variety of goods and services at significant savings to members of the United States Armed Forces. They operated at a cost plus a small amount, and this represents a reduced cost to Servicemembers, Veterans, Retirees, and their dependents and family members. The benefits and savings that military Servicemembers realize are commissioned by the government, to help assist members of the Armed Services.
The PX military commissary is a facility that sells items at just above cost, or at cost, and this gives members of the military the ability to save big money. The standard price for most items has been set by the United States Congress, which is 5 percent charge above cost. This 5 percent pays for exchange operations, new stores, renovations, and other costs incurred by the military Exchange. Civilian payroll of commissary stores is taxpayer funded, to keep the costs separate from the goods and services offered. Most of the PX, Commissary and Post Exchanges tend to save their customers about 30 percent and for the average family of four this can be up to $2,900 dollars a year. The history of military exchanges date back to the early 1800’s when US Army officers were supplied with rations and items at Army Post Stores. This soon became a benefit that young frontier Army Officers came to expect, and even demand, being able to purchase items on the frontier at cost provided by the US Government. The entire premise behind military Post Exchanges are the Government attempting to take care of its own, by providing services, food, retail goods, and other items at substantial savings. The Military Post exchange program is one of the biggest military benefits available to military Servicemembers in the United States.
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In the last several years, the advent of the Web and the Internet the PX exchange and commissary are expanding. The post exchange and commissary benefits are also highly beneficial to younger service families that live in high cost of living areas.
