U.S. Army Europe CSM visits Commissary to dispel shortage rumors

Photo By Sgt. Justin Stafford | Rosi Kastrinos, an employee at the Vogelweh Commissary in Kaiserslautern, Germany, restocks a shelf on March 15, 2020. U.S. Army Europe Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Abernethy met with Defense Commissary Agency store directors to discuss restocking operations. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Justin W. Stafford)  

GERMANY

03.15.2020

Story by Spc. Justin Stafford 

49th Public Affairs Detachment   

WIESBADEN, Germany - U.S. Army Europe Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Abernethy met with Defense Commissary Agency store directors to discuss restocking operations Sunday.

Abernethy walked the aisles of the Vogelweh Commissary with Kevin Kegler, the Ramstein commissary store director and discussed the increased efforts to quickly replenish shelves during the current surge in purchases across Europe.

Keglar said no one should be worried.

"There is no doubt in our DeCA minds and community," Keglar said. "Our supply channels are healthy as they've always been. We maintain above a 93 percent fill rate, which is normal, even during these times."

Keglar said the biggest challenge that stores are facing is the triple of daily sales at all 33 stores in Europe, but reassures shoppers there is nothing to worry about. He said stores are reordering and restocking at the appropriate rate.

"As we are pulling pallets and putting them on the floor, people are pulling [products] off of the pallets," Keglar said. "We have it. It's here."

The stores normally don't receive shipments on Sunday, but because of the increased business, the distribution center is pushing additional deliveries as quickly as possible to even out the stocks. There are also ocean vessels arriving every week with more stock.

Abernethy said his tour of the store with Keglar was a positive experience.

"It inspired confidence that the stores are going to stay stocked and going to continue to provide the necessities for the community here," Abernethy said. "We're keenly focused on making sure that we provide for this military community."

He said the military community has gone through tough times before, but it's a very resilient community because of that.

• Date Taken: 03.15.2020
• Date Posted: 03.16.2020 06:36
• Story ID: 365276
• Location: DE