Recently many comments have been made and letters written concerning the loss
of the Cost of Living Allowance at Adak andthe inadequacy of certain facilities
at this station. While these letters and comments appear to be principally..in
volved withthe loss of the Cost of Living Allowance, other statements regarding
the inadequacy of the Adak Commissary Store and Navy exchange very much concern
me. As Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Station, Adak, I am responsible for
the performance of these retail operations. When they are not functioning pro
perly I am naturally interested. •
As a result of these letters and complMhts I have made a thorough investiga
tion into the operation of the Commissary Store and the Navy Exchange. In each
instance there was logical cause for the prices charged and the quality of the
service offered. No doubt everyone realizes that prices of items we use' fluct
uate with supply and demand, are priced differently in various parts of our
country, and in general are ,subject to a slight upward trend. Also everyone
must realize that the building housing our retail stores has been under constr
uction since March of this year. Temporary provisions had to be made during
remodeling to accomodate the users. These'.I know have caused inconvenience to
the costomers. These inconveniences have been corrected upon completion of the
work in October. Personally, I am most pleased with the improvements that have
been made in the Commissary Store,and Navy Exchange..
As you know Commissary Store prices did advance 09% effective 16 July’I960.
This raise was the result of congressional action which requires Commissary
Stores in Alaska and Hawaii to bear,the cost bf freight shipments to their loc
ation. This raise does not apply to merchandise which is purchased locally, but
of course there is no local source of supply on Adak. This blanket raise was
the direct result of congressional action and the only possible relief would be
a change in existing law on the matter.
A few words on the concept of Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), may be helpful.
Also I should like to point out that there is no connection what-so-ever between
COL\ paid to graded civilian contract personnel and that paid to military pers
onnel. The programs are set up under different laws and administered through
completely separate and distinct administrative processes. Cost of Living All
owances for military personnel are authorized by Section 303(b) of the Career
Compensation Act of 1949 for the purpose' of defraying the average excess cost
of living, less housing, experienced by members on permanent dutyat places out
side the United States. The excess' costs are derived by comparing the average
cost of living of members in each area-'-outside the United States with the aver
age cost of living for their contemporaries on duty within the United States.
This allowance is computed bythe Per Diem Travel and Transportation Committee
which is composed of an Assistant Secretary for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
All overseas commands provide this committee with information pertaining to the
cost of living in their particular area. "This information is submitted by each
individual who has dependents on board, the information is submitted on forms
that are provided to reflect comparative prices of all items purchased in the
overseas area with similar items that can be purchased in the United States.
The prices are based on the percentage: of utilization of all types of facili
ties, such as Navy Exchange, Commissary, Commercial sources and mail order hou
ses, as reported by the individual on the forms. The Cost of Living Allowance
payable for any given area is controlled by the information reported on these
forms. The results of these price comparisons are.identifieJ as a Cost of Liv
ing Index. An Index of "100" or more requires the payment of a Cost of Living
Allowance, an index of beloW "100" does not. The Per Diem Travel and Trans
i ' ’ (continued on next page)