The Congressional Base Realignment and Closure Commission process has been a mixed blessing for Cobb County and the rest of our state, with the latest round resulting in the closure of the Naval Air Station Atlanta here and plans to close three other high-profile metro area military facilities.

But there is a silver lining to be had for Cobb. It was announced on Friday that a huge military commissary will be added at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb to replace those at Forts Gillem and McPherson in Atlanta and at the Naval Supply School in Athens that likely will close as those bases are closed. The Dobbins commissary would serve all of the metro area and north Georgia and is expected to serve about 100,000 customers per month and create 100 jobs. The nearest other commissary would then be in Columbus, too distant to be of much use to the tens of thousands of Cobb residents eligible to use it.

A military commissary is a government-subsidized grocery store open to use by active-duty military personnel, National Guardsmen, military retirees and their families. It's not to be confused with a post exchange, or PX, which is a government-subsidized department store on a military base.

Cost estimates and construction timelines for the facility are yet to be determined, but it hopefully would be open by the time the other commissaries close with their bases in 2011.

"We will be working with the (Defense Commissary Agency) in regards to funding and a timeline for the project, and are hopeful that we can get some funding through in-kind donations from the community," U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta), told the Marietta Daily Journal. "We couldn't be more excited, but the work's not over. We have to stay on top of it, and make sure everything comes together on this end."

Let's hope it comes together as planned. If so, it would be a winner for local military families, for Dobbins and for Cobb.