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SURVEY OF MILITARY SUPPLY MANAGEMENT AND SURPLUS PROPERTY DISPOSAL PRACTICES

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1953

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

MILITARY OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,
Jeffersonville Army Quartermaster Depot,
Jeffersonville, Ind.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:20 a. m., at Jeffersonville Army Quartermaster Depot, Jeffersonville, Ind., Hon. R. Walter Riehlman (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Hon. R. Walter Riehlman, chairman of the subcommittee, and Frank Ikard, member of the subcommittee.

Also present: Paul J. Cotter, chief counsel, Michael P. Balwan, staff director, and Robert T. Morris, staff member.

Present from Jeffersonville Army Quartermaster Depot: Brig. Gen. Arthur L. Marshall, commanding general; Col. James F. Seals, executive officer; Lt. Col. Michael E. Leeper, comptroller; Lt. Col. Lawrence D. Tubbs, chief, Depot Maintenance Division; Lt. Col. Joe L. White, depot inspector; Maj. Kenneth H. Dodd, adjutant; Maj. Robert F. Higgins, chief, Miscellaneous Services Office; Maj. Francis R. MacDonald, chief, Storage Division; Joseph G. Kaster, chief, Salvage Branch, and property-disposal officer; J. Carl Fuller, deputy comptroller; and Harry C. Downes, legal officer.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. The hearing will be in order.

General Marshall, will you please take over from this point with respect to the briefing.

General MARSHALL. Lieutenant Colonel Leeper will do the briefing, gentlemen.

STATEMENT OF LT. COL. MICHAEL E. LEEPER, COMPTROLLER, JEFFERSONVILLE ARMY QUARTERMASTER DEPOT, JEFFERSONVILLE, IND.

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. I am going to attempt to confine my remarks this morning to some general comments on the organization of the depot, and something about our mission, and something about our facilities, and say something more in detail on our property disposal program.

I would like to mention the status of the program, and also some idea of how we process the paper and property for disposition.

The Jeffersonville Army Quartermaster Depot is a branch depot within the Army Quartermaster supply system. We are concerned

41957-54-23

with the storage of only quartermaster supply as compared to a general depot which, of course, handles supply for two or more technical services.

We are under the control of the office of the Army Quartermaster General for technical operations, and because of the fact that we are located in this area we come under the command of the Fifth Continental Army for certain support services, such as medical services, repairs and utilities, and fire support.

The depot has a line and staff organization.

We have five mission or line elements supported by a series of major housekeeping and service elements. These five mission elements are the Research and Development Division, Manufacturing Division, Storage Division, Depot Maintenance Division, and Purchasing

Division.

Now, we have several units or activities that are attached to us for administration and housekeeping support only. One example is the finance office, U. S. A.

The research and development laboratories have the normal responsibility of research and development organizations. They are in the process of moving to Massachusetts under the consolidation move, and the move should be completed shortly.

Our manufacturing division is charged with the manufacture of quartermaster items. At the present time we are principally concerned in tentage items.

The depot maintenance division repairs and modifies quartermaster items. The bulk of our business is concerned with mechanical and nonmechanical equipment, air items, and clothing.

Our storage division has a reserve storage mission as compared to a distribution or a key mission. We ship or issue stocks at the direction of the Columbus General Depot, and we do that because the accountability records are located at Columbus, rather than here. We are strictly a storage site.

The depot is comprised of some 240 acres, and our latest authorization strength report as of last week was in the neighborhood of 2,800 civilian personnel and something like 30 officers.

Before I go into the main item of interest this morning, the propertydisposal program, I would like to mention that we have with us these gentlemen whom you met, the key personnel who are most closely associated with the activity, that is the chief of the depot maintenance division, our chief of the storage division, and our property-disposal officer. Among the three of them, they should be able to answer most questions you might care to ask.

I want to mention that the only excess (and we refer to it as technical service excess property, and we abbreviate it as TSEP) and surplus property that we are concerned with is that physically located here. We have no responsibility for any excess or surplus that may be located at the adjoining posts, camps, or stations.

Our excess property here may be generated in several different ways. The principal ways that it may be generated are these:

First of all, we have some excess generated within our Storage Division. The Columbus General Depot, where the accountable records are, upon review of their supply requirements and supply levels for the quartermaster corps, may determine that a particular item or series of items of material are excess to the QM Corps. When

they make that determination, they will so notify this installation. I will say something about the process and procedure for that notification.

Mr. BALWAN. Will you tie that down to a particular example, something that happened recently, to explain how such excess is generated? Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Yes, sir.

Columbus Army General Depot will review their availability listing, and it will show on a particular item that, according to the supply requirements and the supply levels, the Quartermaster Corps no longer needs that item at all or in that amount. Of course, they will notify Jeffersonville Army Quartermaster Depot that they are going to declare a portion or all of it excess to the needs of the Quartermaster Corps.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. You make no decision here?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. No, sir; because the accountable records are there at Columbus.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. At Columbus?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Yes, sir, at Columbus.

However, we have a second case in which we are not the ones who make the decision, but are instrumental in the initiating action. We make a surveillance inspection of the property we store. Every time the surveillance inspection is made, we will send the surveillance report to the officer at Columbus. There may be a time when that report will cause the people at the Columbus General Depot to declare an item

excess.

For example, you may run into an item where upon inspection you find that the storage life is either nil or very short. Columbus may declare that item excess.

Mr. BALWAN. What is an example of that?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Water-purification tablets. They have an ascertainable storage life. Upon inspection and upon examination by a laboratory, the storage division here at Jeffersonville may determine that they do not have any further use.

Mr. BALWAN. You would initiate that here? You would merely tell Columbus that you have a couple of tons of water-purification tablets whose life expires next month, for example, or had already expired? Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Exactly right.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. How often is this surveillance program carried on? Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. It is a continuous surveillance pro

gram.

Maj. FRANCIS R. MACDONALD (chief, storage division). The cycle is determined by a Quartermaster Corps manual which tells us exactly which classes we will conduct a surveillance in within 12 or 24 months. Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. How often do you perform an inspection program on clothing, for example, Major MacDonald?

Major MACDONALD. Most clothing comes under the 24-month or 2-year period.

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Those are the two principal ways in which excess property is generated here within the storage division. We have with us our depot maintenance division. One of their principal functions is to classify supplies that are turned in by activities at this depot, possibly the storage division, for example, or posts, camps, and stations that are based upon us for service.

The depot maintenance division classifies this property as to whether

it is in condition good enough to be returned directly to stock, or whether it is an item that should be subject to repair, or, thirdly, whether it is an item (consistent with the repair criteria) that is not economically repairable.

Of course, if it is the type of item that is repairable, economically repairable, we have no problem.

If it is the type of item that is not economically repairable, as defined by regulations, it is classified as technical service excess property.

One example of it is office furniture items. By regulations, if the cost of repair of these items exceeds 55 percent of the replacement cost, office furniture is considered not economically repairable.

Mr. COTTER. In that case, there is no red tape. The classification officer determines on the ground that the property should be reclassified as excess and be disposed of without clearance from Columbus. Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Exactly.

JEFFERSONVILE QM DEPOT, JEFFERSONVILLE, IND.

SEPTEMBER 28, 1953.

LIMITATIONS COVERING REPAIR OF QUARTERMASTER ITEMS
BY DEPOT MAINTENANCE DIVISION

1. 35 percent of replacement cost

(a) All clothing.

(b) Can, gasoline, Military, 5-gallon capacity, Stock No. 42-C-2140.

(c) Drum, inflammable liquid, steel, 16-gage, 55-gallon capacity, Stock No. 42-D-1410.

(d) Tank, collapsible, for petroleum products, 3,000-gallon capacity, Stock No. 58-T-135.

(e) Tank, collapsible, for petroleum products, 900-gallon capacity, Stock No. 58-T-125.

2. 65 percent of replacement cost

(a) Automotive group:

(1) Materials-handling equipment-nonpowered

(2) Major assemblies (including all engines)

(3) Minor assemblies

(4) Special-purpose vehicles

(b) Mechanical group:

(1) Fixed bakery equipment

(2) Refrigeration and mechanical kitchen equipment

(3) Graphic arts

(4) Laundry and dry cleaning equipment

(5) Special-purpose equipment

(c) Nonmechanical group:

(1) All commodity code 1 and 2 items other than clothing.

(2) Furniture (except office furniture)

(3) Metal and Wood

(4) Saddlery and leather goods

(5) Shoe lasts

(6) Petroleum-handling equipment other than indicated in paragraph 1,

above.

S. 55 percent of replacement cost

Desks, tables, chairs, stands, file cabinets, bookcases, supply cabinets, wardrobes, and lockers, (whether made of metal, wood, or other material).

4. Special instructions

(a) Parachutes, aerial delivery equipment and heavy drop kits will be repaired in accordance with repair limitations listed in SR 750–295–10, February 12, 1953. (b) Typewriters will be repaired in accordance with repair limitations listed in SR 700-235-10, August 12, 1952.

(c) Materials-handling equipment-powered, will be repaired in accordance with SR 750-240-5, and change No. 1 thereto.

(d) Repair of the following office appliance will be in accordance with the standard replacement cost percentage scale as established for typewriters in paragraph 6b, SR 700-235-10:

(1) Computing

(2) Embossing
(3) Letter opening

(4) Shaving dictating

(5) Stamp canceling

(6) Duplicating.

NOTE. The Quartermaster items listed above are authorized for repair when the total cost of the repair represented by direct labor, direct materials, depotmaintenance overhead, packing, and crating supplies, and local hauling, do not exceed the percentage of replacement costs as specifically indicated for the categories of items.

Mr. COTTER. Do you have an equal classification authority on this property that you say you make a surveillance inspection of? If you found property there that was R-4 or was not repairable, and you felt that you should get rid of it, do you have to go to Columbus to get authority to get rid of it?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Yes, sir. In the first instance, the property is on the accountable record of the chief of the maintenance division, and in the second instance, it is property another man is accountable for.

Mr. COTTER. This other property classified by the depot maintenance division is property on Columbus records, too.

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. No. If it is property previously issued, it is coming in from the posts, camps, and stations. If it came from the storage division, it is dropped from the records.

Mr. COTTER. If you have a piece of property that is patently scrap, it seems slightly inconsistent that in one division you have the authority to declare it technical excess and in the other you have to ask Columbus if you can declare that. Is there any lost motion?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. No, sir; it is a paper transaction to clear that man's accountable records.

Mr. COTTER. You tell him you did that?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. Yes, sir. If we ran into a situation in which an item was absolutely scrap or salvage, that would happen. I doubt if it happens very often.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. The only time you take action in that respect is on items shipped in from the field, posts, camps, or stations? Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. That is right.

General MARSHALL. The basis of that is that the classification activity is under the maintenance division. So, therefore, it is shipped from the field. They pick up the accountability.

If it is property going back to storage, and if in that shipment there was property that should go back to stock, they would go to the storage division, and that is in Columbus.

Mr. COTTER. Aren't there many instances where your technical services, perhaps out of depots at your post, camp, or station level, have already classified this property and you do not have the classification job?

Lieutenant Colonel LEEPER. We have some instances where it is shipped directly into storage, at which time it goes on the accountable records at Columbus.

Mr. BALWAN. Would that be from the posts, camps, or stations? Do you have anything coming directly in?

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