El Toro Battle Cry: Remember the Commissary!

The tug of war over what to do with the closed El Toro Marine base has managed to wind its way down yet another path, this time leading directly to Rep. Christopher Cox’s office.

Half a dozen retired military personnel and their supporters protested outside Cox’s Newport Beach office Friday, hoping to persuade him to live up to what they said was a promise to reopen the base commissary.

The store, which sold food and personal items at a discount to active military and certain retired military members and their families, was closed in October 2000. Military personnel in Orange County who want to go to a commissary must travel either to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base near Oceanside or to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside.

“It’s one of the few remaining benefits the military has left,” said Ken Lee, spokesman for Keep the Commissary, organized in 1999.

Lee, an Irvine businessman, has taken up the cause in support of his deceased father, a decorated Air Force officer. Lee claims that Cox has promised for three years to reopen the commissary but has provided little more than lip service and letters to Washington officials.

“We need Cox to make it a priority and he hasn’t done that yet,” Lee said.

Cox, who was in Washington during the protest, countered that his support has been unwavering. He said his office has drafted 15 letters over the years and arranged meetings between Cox and Pentagon officials.

“I can’t imagine working any harder on something,” Cox said in a phone interview. He said he will continue to support the commissary’s reopening.

In the past, the commissary has been bolstered by support from Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove). But Sanchez’s role in the fight may be diminishing.

“We keep beating and pounding on people’s doors in Washington, D.C., but we can’t afford to spend this much time on this anymore,” said Raul Luna, district director for Sanchez. “We’ve done everything we can up to this point.”

Lee said the average commissary saving for a military family is 26%. The El Toro commissary, he said, served 12,000 families a month. But according to Luna, one of the reasons the Pentagon refused to reopen the store was a decrease in earnings, from $18.8 million in 1998 to $10.9 million in 2000.

Another point of contention is the cost of reopening. Supporters said the building is in pristine condition and could be opened with few alterations. But Luna said officials in Washington claimed the building would have to be torn down and rebuilt to meet earthquake code, costing several million dollars.

Clutching signs that read, “Cox not keeping military promise,” the small crew of protesters stood outside Cox’s office for nearly two hours.

The group claimed their numbers would have been larger if not for ill retirees and active personnel reluctant to speak out for fear of retribution.