How to explain commissary etiquette to your civvie bestie
She emerges from the guest room in a cute matching set that would be perfect for the gym—and all wrong for the commissary.
You sigh. Okay, you tell her. We're doing something weird today. Not bad. Just… very military. You're going to need to change.
No, it's not like Target. Yes, it's technically a benefit. Yes, that means the cereal's cheaper—but you never know who you're going to see. And don't forget cash to tip the bagger.
You explain that the commissary is on base, and base is its own universe. It's federal property. It has its own rules.
Think: small-town grocery store with a dress code, built on tax dollars, full of people who can report directly to your spouse's commander.
She blinks. Coolcoolcool. She wears sneakers.
You tell her to bring a sweater—not because it's cold. Because shoulders matter. Not officially. But unofficially? Very. If she walks in with spaghetti straps, you'll spend the whole trip dodging eye contact from someone who knows your last name.
You explain that uniforms go first in line. You don't make a scene. You just step aside. It's not politeness—it's an unwritten rule you don't want to be the first to break.
You explain why you're whispering about your wish list for the next duty assignment in the bread aisle. Why you're watching your kid like they're holding a live grenade. Why you're texting instead of talking on the phone.
Because at the commissary, everyone sees everything. And everything communicates.
She nods, but she doesn't really get it—not yet.
The uniforms. The low voices. The teenager with the dependent ID and visible panic trying to find their parent in a sea of matching haircuts and boots. The woman in a tank top getting The Look. The man FaceTiming on speaker near the cheese. The kid mid-meltdown in the cereal aisle—and the mom, calm and quiet, holding the line.
She sees the cart someone left drifting in the wind. Sees the baggers pushing loads in the heat for tips. Sees how no one talks loudly, but everyone is listening.
'It's like a town hall in disguise,' she says.'Welcome to the commissary,' you reply.
Then she leans in and whispers: 'Is this… stressful for you?'
You think about it. About how it's now second nature to check what you're wearing before you head out. About how you pause before answering a call, because walking and talking on a cell phone without earbuds is basically a no-go. About how you avoid entire aisles because someone there once saw you ugly-cry during deployment #2.
You say, 'It's not stressful. It's just… watched. This is where military families read each other. It's where people decide if you 'get it.''
She nods. Quiet. Taking it in.
'Baggers work for tips only.'
You hand over cash and explain: they bag, they load, they do it in all weather and all chaos, and they don't get paid otherwise. She adds a few extra dollars. You don't say anything, but you're glad she noticed.
You return your cart all the way to the front door of the commissary. When you get back in the car, she looks confused.
'That mattered, didn't it?'You nod. 'More than you'd think. We don't have cart corrals here, so this is how we do things.'
This is where etiquette lives in military life. Not in the handbook, but in the quiet, ordinary places where you're seen before you know it. Where returning a cart, lowering your voice, dressing like you're on federal property—those things signal something real. That you understand where you are. That you're fluent in the system, even if no one taught you the language.
She stares out the window and says, 'I'd mess it up if I lived here.'
You laugh. 'We all did at first.'
Then you turn out of the parking lot, past the gate, and head home.
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