Tom Philpott recently wrote about the latest threat to curtail commissaries posed by the looming sequestration issue. Philpott explained that funding for DeCA stores could fall by $130 million, or 9.4 percent, if Congress fails to reach a debt-reduction deal by Jan. 2. Tom Gordy, president of Armed Forces Marketing Council, told Philpott that a cut of that size "would be devastating." Gordy further explained that commissary shoppers likely would see store hours and staff services cut by next spring, and might even see some stores closed in areas where two or more bases are co-located. Federal funding for commissaries is used almost entirely for wages and benefits of its 18,000 employees. Read Tom Philpott’s ‘Military Update’ to get the full story. You can also read about the efforts to protect commissaries. Contact your elected officials to let them know how you feel about the sequestration.