Long-time DeCA ceo to retire in October

Fort Lee, Va. Defense Commissary Agency announced that after nearly 30 years of service, Patrick Nixon, director and ceo of the company, will retire effective Oct. 27.

Nixon has served the past three years as DeCA’s acting director and its director and ceo, after being appointed ceo in 2001. He is the agency’s first career civil servant to have been appointed DeCA director.

“The decision to retire was certainly not an easy one,” Nixon said. “I have enjoyed every job, every friendship and every challenge. I started this ride in 1966 with a three-year enlistment in the United States Marine Corps that included a 21-month tour in Vietnam with the 1st Marine Division. I gave my heart pretty early on to the men and women of our country’s armed forces and I have been truly fortunate to have assumed a progressively active leadership role in providing the premier quality of life benefit to our country’s most deserving customers and their families around the world.”