LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

1. Explain the procedures for material identification used within the Mine Force.

2. Identify the material identification terminology used within the Mine Force.

3. Describe the procurement procedures used within the Mine Force.

4. Describe the procedures for the receipt, custody, and stowage of mine material.

5. Describe the procedures for issue, transfer, survey, and disposition of mine material.

6. Describe the mine inventory management.

As a Mineman, in addition to simply forwarding material requests to the supply department, you are required to screen all material requests to ensure that the material is necessary and supports the command's function, within the command's allowance requirements, and within the command's budget limitations. You may also be required to assist supply personnel in preparing specific reports, conducting inventories, and determining priorities for requisitions.

Supply personnel cannot do the whole job of requisitioning material. They must first know your requirements and then whether the material is authorized for use. You, as a member of the supply department, should have a good understanding of the procedures required for the procurement of material through Navy supply channels. It is quite possible that, at sometime in the future, you will be in charge of the supply department. Therefore, understanding the procedures, forms, and proper record-keeping techniques is beneficial to both you and your command.

This chapter is not intended to make you an expert in supply matters. Rather, it is designed to give a basic understanding of supply matters and to provide a better understanding of, and relationship with, the supply department. To do that, this chapter discusses material identification; supply terminology; procurement responsibility; receipt, custody, and stowage of mine material; material disposition; and inventory management.

MATERIAL IDENTIFICATION

Before you can order and receive material, it must be properly identified. The problem of material identification is not peculiar to the Navy or to any specific military branch. You have probably had experiences of purchasing parts for your car at a store or through a mail order catalog; such items are identified by a catalog or part number. That catalog or part number is the material identification system used by the manufacturer or the supplier, and it is used for the same reason the Navy uses one: to provide a brief and accurate means of identifying specific items of material.

There are over four million items in the Department of Defense (DOD) Supply System. The Navy Supply System (NSS) alone stocks over one million items. Your unit or detachment stocks hundreds, maybe thousands, of items. A common method and a common language have been developed for properly requisitioning a specific item and for ensuring expedient delivery of item requests. Proper item identification and classification are essential to the receipt of the correct material.

This section discusses the Federal Catalog System and the Technical Manual Identification Numbering System.