Pentagon confirms refrigeration disruptions at multiple military commissaries

The Pentagon has acknowledged a series of refrigeration outages affecting more than half a dozen commissaries on military bases across the continental United States this week, though officials are not speculating on the cause.

Affected Locations

The outages have been reported at the following installations, according to official announcements and social media posts:

• Fort Irwin, California
• Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
• Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island
• Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas
• F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming
• Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
• Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Pentagon Response

A Defense Department official declined to confirm the total number of commissaries affected or whether the incidents are being investigated as linked.

“The Department is aware of a possible refrigeration disruption at some Defense Commissary Agency commissaries,” a defense official said in a statement to Military Times. “[The Defense Commissary Agency] has taken appropriate precautions to transfer products to alternate temperature-controlled locations to mitigate any product loss. Commissaries remain open, and all possible measures are being taken to ensure food safety. Beyond this we have nothing additional to provide.”

Impact on Operations

Defense commissaries are a benefit for active-duty military members, their families, and military retirees with base privileges. They offer at least a 25% discount compared to civilian grocery stores by selling food at cost, plus a small markup for staffing and facility maintenance.

Naval Station Newport

The base announced Wednesday on social media that its commissary was affected:

“Due to refrigeration system issues at the commissary, the store will be open for the purchase of dry goods only until further notice. The deli, sushi bar, and grab and go sections will not be available to customers during this time.”

Fort Irwin

The base posted an update Thursday stating that eggs and milk would not be sold “until the refrigeration systems are functioning properly.” It later revised the announcement to say only dry goods would be available. On Friday, the base added:

“Technicians are working diligently to troubleshoot and resolve the refrigeration issues currently affecting the Fort Irwin Commissary. At this time, there is no estimated time for completion.”

Fort Huachuca

The base described the incident as an “overnight equipment failure” on its Facebook page, stating: “ALL freezers went into defrost mode – ALL frozen food has spoiled.”

F.E. Warren Air Force Base

Officials described a refrigeration “malfunction” in a public post.

Speculation on Cause

While no official explanation has been offered for the cluster of outages, some have suggested that bad actors may have intentionally knocked linked refrigeration systems offline.

The popular military page “U.S Army W.T.F! Moments” posted:

“It seems [continental U.S.] commissaries that have fridges linked to an online system have been getting shut off over the past few nights, and we’ve not seen any official notice put out to warn anyone so they can monitor their fridges more closely.”

The page added that reports indicated at least 18 commissaries were affected.

A defense official told Military Times it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause. It remains unclear how the incidents are being investigated.