PERSONAL EFFECTS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Determine how the personal effects of both enlisted and officer personnel should be handled when these individuals are no longer able to care for them. List and describe the five classes and categories of personal effects, and identify who is responsible for the personal effects that have been collected. Explain inventory requirements and the action that should be taken by the inventory board.

No person other than those authorized by directives will handle or disturb in any way the personal effects of another person.

ENLISTED PERSONNEL

When any enlisted person on board a naval unit is declared a straggler or becomes mentally or physically incapacitated and can no longer care for his or her personal effects, they should be collected, inventoried, and sealed by a division petty officer in the presence of the division officer and an MA. The effects should be delivered to the CMAA for safekeeping and disposition according to current directives.

OFFICER PERSONNEL

The personal effects of an absent or incapacitated officer will be inventoried and packed by two officers designated by the XO and delivered to the supply office for safekeeping and disposition according to current directives.

CLASSIFICATION OF PERSONAL EFFECTS

Personal effects consist of the articles owned by an individual, as well as articles of government property in his or her temporary custody. Personal effects are classified and described as follows: 

l Class 1. Navy-owned, organizationally furnished clothing and equipment, furnished on a loan or custody basis and subject to turn-in when no longer required. In determining that items in class 1 are Navy-owned, consideration should be given to the fact that large quantities of such material have been sold by naval activities to private individuals and to retail commercial enterprises. When Navy ownership of items in class 1 cannot be established conclusively, such items will be included in class 5. 

. Class 2. Uniform clothing prescribed by U.S. Navy Uniform Regulations. 

. Class 3. Money.

l Class 4. Negotiable and nonnegotiable instruments, such as bonds, checks, notes, deeds, wills, receipts including those covering safekeeping deposits, agreements, certificates, insurance polices, and bankbooks. 

. Class 5. Miscellaneous articles of intrinsic, sentimental, or utility value, such as jewelry, fountain pens, cameras, wallets, insignia medals, photographs, books, diaries, razors and other toilet articles, flight logs, and other personal papers, souvenirs, firearms, musical instruments, sports and athletic equipment, civilian clothing, wardrobe trunks and other containers suitable for shipment as baggage, motor vehicles, trailers, boats, and household goods.

CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL EFFECTS

Personal effects are categorized as follows:

. Category 1. Lost, abandoned, or unclaimed personal effects. This includes the personal effects of persons whose identity or location cannot be determined; personal effects of persons in the Navy who have been declared absentees or deserters; and personal effects unclaimed by the next of kin, the heir, or the legal representative when such personal effects were the property of deceased persons who were not members of the armed services. 

l Category 2. Personal effects of deceased or missing Navy personnel. This category includes the personal effects of persons who are determined to be deceased or missing. A missing person is one who, because of the circumstances incident to his or her absence, is not declared an absentee or a deserter. The personal effects of absentees and deserters are considered to be abandoned personal effects and are identified as in category 1. 

. Category 3. This category includes the personal effects of incapacitated persons (personal effects of persons determined to be mentally or physically incapacitated). 

l Category 4. Lucky bag items. This category includes items of clothing and other personal effects that are deposited in the ship's lucky bag when such items are found adrift or when such items are donated. 

l Category 5. This category includes the personal effects unavoidably separated from the owner.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERSONAL EFFECTS

Upon receipt of personal effects from inventory boards, the supply officer is responsible for the custody, storage, security, shipment, and disposition of personal effects, and for the maintenance of adequate records.

INVENTORY

Lost, abandoned, or unclaimed personal effects should be inventoried when the effects first come into the custody of a naval activity. Also, personal effects should be inventoried when the owner is determined to be deceased or missing. It is important in this instance that the inventory be completed as promptly as possible so the next of kin, heir, or legal representative can receipt for the personal effects without undue delay. The personal effects of incapacitated persons should be inventoried when such action appears necessary or desirable to protect the interests of the incapacitated person.

When an inventory of personal effects is required, the commanding officer will appoint, verbally or in writing, an inventory board. The inventory board should consist of two members, one of whom (when practical) should be an officer.

ACTION BY THE INVENTORY BOARD

The inventory board should take an accurate and complete inventory of the personal effects and investigate and record any information that may assist in the settlement of the affairs or the estate of the owner. All articles of personal effects except as specified below should be described in detail in the section List of Personal Effects on the reverse of the Inventory of Personal Effects (NAVSUP Form 29).

Classified Material

The inventory board should remove from the personal effects all classified matter, which should be disposed of according to the Department of the Navy Information and Personnel Security Program Regulation, OPNAVINST 5510.1.

Objectionable Material

Pornographic or similar matter, including personal letters containing objectionable matter, should be removed from the personal effects and disposed of as directed by the commanding officer. This material should not be recorded on the inventory.

Articles Injurious to Personnel

Articles injurious to personnel, such as small arms ammunition or other explosives, and articles that constitute a fire hazard should be rendered harmless if practical. If such articles cannot be rendered harmless, they should be disposed of by qualified personnel.

Inventory of Valuables

Extreme care should be exercised in describing articles of intrinsic or sentimental value, such as jewelry, precious stones, valuable papers, and keepsakes. Such general terms as diamonds, gold, and platinum should not be used without qualifying remarks, as such articles may not, in fact, consist of these elements. Money should be recorded on the inventory form by denomination and value of the currency. When desirable or appropriate, the inventory board may determine whether the owner of the effects has any debtors or creditors within the command.

Complete detailed information concerning the handling and distribution of personal effects is contained in Afloat Supply Procedures, NAVSUP Pub 485.