A key Pentagon official has thrown his support behind merging the military's three separate exchange systems and the Defense Commissary Agency into a single defense resale entity, directing a task force to begin planning the consolidation. The Defense Department is prohibited by law from undertaking consolidation without new legislation. But in a memo to defense leadership Aug. 19, Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist said he supports the move and has directed personnel to undertake planning and determine what can be done under current law to finance a consolidated enterprise. If a law is enacted, Norquist said he will decide whether to create a new agency to oversee all defense resale facilities or expand an existing office, such as the Defense Commissary Agency, to manage the new system. Read more on Military.com.