Commissary closed on MCAGCC Twentynine Palms following rodent outbreak
Marines and their families were taken by surprise when the commissary on the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms was closed on October 11 following a health code violation concerning a rodent control issue. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA, as the military does love its acronyms) is working toward reopening the store, according to a statement put out this week.
"When this pest issue surfaced we immediately sent a team of public health, sanitation, engineer and store operations experts to the store, and they're working with the installation's military health personnel and the pest control contractor to reopen the commissary," said Keith Hagenbuch, DeCA's executive director for Store Operations.
According to DeCA, their team is working to eradicate the pest infestation by addressing where and how the rodents are entering the store, thoroughly cleaning the store, and conducting a comprehensive inspection of all products. They also are providing customized training on how to prevent and control infestations.
"In order to ensure this doesn't occur again, we are specifically tailoring integrated pest management training to Twentynine Palms, this store, this environment," said Lt. Col. (P) Alisa Wilma, DeCA's director of public health and safety.
One may have thought that Marines would be the ultimate pest eradicators, however stories abound locally of how giant rats returned with gear shipped back from the war in Iraq and are enthusiastically adapting themselves to our desert environment. How apocryphal these stories may be is a matter of speculation, and it is unknown at this time if these rodents that staged an invasion of the commissary on base are natives or subversive immigrant rats.
Training provided includes proactive measures such as making sure store entries are properly closed when not in use (things do wander in from the desert if you leave the door open - trust me on that one), and good sanitation is practiced. Poor sanitation is not a problem specific to the base. I once attempted to eat lunch at a Twentynine Palms restaurant during a fruit fly plague of biblical proportions. It was not conducive to a pleasant dining experience and left the ambiance violently degraded as the proprietor roamed the dining room and kitchen swatting at the clouds of tiny flies, asking me if everything was OK with my meal, as if that was a possibility considering the circumstances. I never went back.
Hagenbuch said he has seen significant progress toward the eventual reopening of the Twentynine Palms Commissary.
"We value the trust our customers have in us and we're working diligently to retain that trust by thoroughly addressing this issue so we can reopen the store, which we will do only after all health and sanitation standards are met," he noted. "It's been five days since the store was closed, and as the providers of the highly valued commissary benefit, we at DeCA regret the inconvenience this store closure has caused."
The commissary closure comes at a time when local choices for grocery shopping are on the decline in the hi-desert. Food for Less is closing its store in Yucca Valley this month.