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Recently, we were involved in a discussion about the present state of the army/navy market and its future.

One of the conversants postulated a theory that once Western military forces were no longer directly involved in the conflict, that army/navy business fortunes would drop off drastically.

Essentially, one conversant stated that once the American public no longer maintainted a strong interest in the problems in Iraq, that the whole support-the-troops and wave the flag movement would return to pre-9/11 levels and many army/navy stores would turn back into pumpkins.

It is true that our current military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan provides fodder for sales at mil-surp stores back home. John and Jane Doe certainly enjoy showing their support for the troops by buying up all those t-shirts, patches, flags, camo pants and whatnot, and there’s plenty of whatnot for everyone.

Moreover, our fighting men and women need merchandise offered by army/navy stores in order to do their jobs safely and effectively.

Where will the army/navy market be when coalition military presence in the Middle East is no longer an issue?

It will, of course, be quite some time before we need to deal with the answer to that question. By secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld’s latest assessment, American soldiers will likely remain in force in Iraq for several more years.

You can add to that commitment the necessity of maintaining a major military