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that such action would take certain of the controls off and result in turning over the judgment factor to us. There would be a greater chance of an occasional error, but I feel that if they were waived the program would be expedited.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. We are looking for suggestions from people who have had the actual experience. It is going to become a major program, and I am glad to see that one of your recommendations was that it would be given high priority.

On the $1,000, I am in favor of liberalizing it. How would you justify the $1,000?

Captain CHURCH. It was somewhat arbitrary, based on a discussion we had here at the time of the visit of Admiral Gingrich, and on our feeling that $1,000 is about the best guess when applied to BuDocks type equipment. I say it is pure judgment as to whether you want to go to $5,000 or stick at $100.

Mr. BALWAN. You may have a $2,000 item you can still dispose of without reporting?

Mr. HOLIFIELD. No. That is a problem that must be resolved by the GSA and the Department of Defense.

GSA has definite reasons why they don't want to raise that limit. It took a year's determination before they decided to go ahead with that. That was brought down by GSA to $300.

That forms a big problem that we ought to consider as a committee, as to the part GSA is playing in helping or hindering the disposal problem.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. It is a very good point.

I feel we have gotten a great deal out of this testimony. The hour is getting late and if there is no more discussion, on behalf of my colleagues and the members of our staff, we would like to say we appreciate your fine cooperation shown here today.

We are delighted to have the Assistant Secretary of Defense with us today.

Mr. THOMAS. I have enjoyed this testimony, and have gotten a lot out of it.

Captain CHURCH. We were delighted to have you gentlemen with us and hope you will return.

SURVEY OF MILITARY SUPPLY MANAGEMENT AND SURPLUS PROPERTY DISPOSAL PRACTICES

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1953

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

MILITARY OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS,
Sacramento Air Materiel Area (SMAMA),

McClellan Air Force Base, Calif

The subcommitte met at 9:15 a. m., at Headquarters, Sacramento Air Materiel Area, McClellan Air Force Base, Calif., Hon. R. Walter Riehlman (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Hon. R. Walter Riehlman, chairman of the subcommittee, and Hon. Chet Holifield, member of the subcommittee.

Also present: Hon. John E. Moss, Representative, Third District, State of California, United States House of Representatives.

Also present: Michael P. Balwan, staff director; Robert T. Morris, staff member; and Harold Lane, field secretary to Congressman Holifield.

Present from the Department of Defense, Washington, D. C. : Hon. Charles S. Thomas, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Supply and Logistics); and Col. William H. Smith, Deputy Chief, Investigations Division, Directorate of Legislation and Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force. (Special Department of Defense representative accompanying subcommittee.)

Present from Sacramento Air Materiel Area (SMAMA), McClellan Air Force Base, Calif.: Maj. Gen. A. W. Vanaman, Commander; Brig. Gen. W. T. Hefley, Deputy Commander; Col. E. L. Ramme, Director of Supply and Services; Jack G. Fenton, Executive, Directorate, Supply and Services; James Paul, Deputy Chief, Materiel Control Division; Clayton Johnson, Chief, Management Branch; Raymond Peck, Assistant Chief, Disposal Division; Joanne Zambelich, Chief, Excess Branch, Disposal Division; Col. A. C. Perry, Director of Maintenance Engineering; Lieutenant Colonel Thomas, Assistant Director of Maintenance Engineering; Col. H. H. Tellman, Director of Procurement and Production; Col. G. A. Simeral, Director of Personnel; Col. R. G. Pankey, Base Commander; Col. G. W. McGregor, Assistant for Programing; Col. A. P. Conch, Inspector General; Col. Paul Walker, Comptroller: Lt. Col. H. A. Arnold, Staff Judge Advocate; and First Lieutenant Kempton, PIO.

Present from Headquarters, Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio: Col. Walter B. Packard, Deputy for Operations, Directorate, Supply and Services; Col. Ward R. Betz, Chief of Disposal Task Group, Directorate, Supply and Services; and

J. P. Haines, Sr., civilian, Property and Disposal Branch, Directorate, Supply and Services.

Present from General Services Administration, regional office, San Francisco, Calif.: Clarence Hull, regional counsel; and H. C. Maaske, deputy regional director, Federal Supply Services.

Mr. RIEHLMAN (chairman of subcommittee). The subcommittee will be in order.

I believe that General Vanaman has planned to brief the subcommittee on the general mission of the Air Materiel area. Would you please proceed, General Vanaman.

STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. A. W. VANAMAN, COMMANDER, SACRAMENTO AIR MATERIEL AREA (SMAMA), MCCLELLAN AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.

General VANAMAN. Gentlemen, first of all I would like to welcome you to SMAMA. I have welcomed you for the photographers quite a few times now. We are a little bit off the beaten path and we feel very much honored that you would come up to SMAMA and confer with us. It is our understanding that, first of all, you would like a brief, very brief, overall briefing on the mission of the command, and then an overall briefing on supply. Quickly, a run through, and then we'll get right down to the disposal operation.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. That is what we hoped we could do, General, because there will be many questions that I think we would like to ask after we have had an opportunity to actually see what you have here, in the way of surplus. I'm afraid that if we get into the discussion and question period here at the beginning, we may not get out to actually see what is here at the base, and we would like to see that and then come back here to complete the briefing and question period if that is agreeable.

General VANAMAN. We won't waste any time, then. Our mission here at SMAMA is to provide logistical support for the Air Force. That is, the Air Force, all over the world, in the fields of supply, maintenance, procurement, and training. Now this providing of logistical support means that wherever there is an airplane for which we are prime, whether it is in FEAF, whether it is in Europe, whether is it some place in the United States it is our responsibility to see that supplies in the right quantity, at the right time, at the right place, are there.

We are also responsible for the technical end of it. That is, if anything is wrong with an F-86, it is our responsibility to determine how that airplane can perform its combat mission.

We have here at SMAMA an operation which is unique to SMAMA alone. That is, it is the focal point for support of the Pacific area, including FEAF, and the Alaskan Air Command. Now that means all of the supplies, all of the technical work on the things for which we are prime, but also all of the supplies for which the requisition comes to SMAMA, and it is our responsibility to then have the prime depot ship that to San Francisco for FEAF, and then when it gets to San Francisco, we get a case and item report, and know that the article has been shipped. If it isn't shipped in the proper length of time we follow up and see that it is shipped as soon as possible.

Now, in order to perform our operation, this is our setup-I won't go into it in detail at all except that the Director of Supply, Director of Maintenance, and the Director of Procurement, the Director of Personnel function as directors of their operation. In other words, the responsibility and the commensurate authority is delegated down to the Director of Supply to perform all of the supply mission-the same way with maintenance, the same way with procurement. If there is any question on this, I will be very glad to answer.

Now the United States is divided up into a western zone and an eastern zone. In each of the zones there are prime assignments, prime to Oklahoma City, for instance, prime to Sacramento. Then in the eastern zone for all the things that are prime in the western zone, there is a zonal responsibility. I will go into that on the next page, but I wanted to get this division between the western zone and the eastern zone. Now, in the eastern zone, there are prime depots, and then for each prime there is a zonal responsibility in the western zone.

The prime depots determine the requirements. Now that means that all of the articles that will be bought are computed by that prime depot, the zonal depot has nothing to do with that, then at the proper time they purchase the requirements, then control the distribution, then at the prime they receive and store and issue, and then repair the reparables.

Now the zonal would not determine requirements; all the requirements would be determined by the prime. The prime tells the zonal what they will store and issue. You can see the reason for that; we don't want to be shipping from Sacramento to all the fields over here-eastern zone-if we can have a zonal depot over there-eastern zone that can make the short distribution. They receive and store and issue the material upon orders of the prime and they repair the repairables in that zone, under the control of the prime.

Prime casses:

MCCLELLAN AIR FORCE BASE EXHIBIT No. 1

SMAMA PROPERTY CLASS RESPONSIBILITY

01L Lockheed spares F-80, F-94, T-33, C-121.

01M North American spares F-51, F-82, F-86, F-100, T-6, T-28, B-25, B-45.

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03J

Miscellaneous engine accessories.

03K A/C breathing O, equipment.

05C A/C flight instruments and parts.

16 Ground electrical and communications equipment.

19D

Marine equipment.

02A R-3350 engines.

02A R-4360 engines.

Determine requirements.

Control distribution.

SUPPLY MISSION

Receive, store, and issue zonewide and basewide.
Monitor supply to Pacific.

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MCCLELLAN AIR FORCE BASE EXHIBIT No. 2

MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITY

Overhaul and modification of aircraft: F-86, F-51, T-33, F-94, F-80, B-26; area support.

Preparation of aircraft for shipment to Pacific.

Overhaul and modification of engines R-3350, R-4360.

Accessories overhaul.

Vehicle overhaul.

Communication engineering.

Communications equipment overhaul.

Technical services.

PROCUREMENT RESPONSIBILITY

Purchase for the Air Force, worldwide, classes of equipment assigned; printing equipment, spares for Lockheed and North American aircraft.

Administer contracts through plant representatives and procurement districts. Negotiate civil maintenance contracts.

Procurement for base, area support, and Far East Air Force.

Now our responsibility here at SMAMA: In the prime classes we have the 01-L Lockheed spares. Not the prime aircraft-we are responsible for the Lockheed spares; for the 01-M-North American spares. For 03-L, which is the auxiliary fuel tanks; 19-F, electrical equipment and parts; 33-A, printing equipment and parts.

Now we have at SMAMA the zonal responsibility for which someone in the eastern zone has prime responsibility: for 03-J, miscellaneous engine accessories, breathing oxygen flight instruments, ground electrical and communication equipment, marine equipment, 3350 engines and 4360 engines.

That is a report of our supply mission. Colonel Ramme will brief you on supply. They determine requirements, control distribution, receive, store, and issue, zonewide, basewide, and monitor the supplies to the Pacific.

In our maintenance, we have the responsibility for overhaul and modification of aircraft. Now these are Lockheed and North American aircraft. Last year we overhauled or modified 641 aircraft through our shops. We prepare aircraft for shipment to the Pacific. That is the ones that can't fly over-the fighter type airplane. They fly in here, they are prepared for shipment, and then barged down to San Francisco and there they are put on carriers and are taken over to the Pacific. We prepared for shipment, last year, 841 aircraft. Now, we have responsibility for the overhaul of the R-4360 and R-3350; also the accessories overhaul, vehicle overhaul, communication engineering, communications equipment overhaul, and the technical services. The technical services are what I mentioned before, that if there is an F-86 that is not flying in Europe, FEAF, or anyplace in the United States, we are responsible to determine what will make that airplane fly.

In our procurement responsibility, we purchase for the Air Force, worldwide, classes of equipment assigned to us by Dayton-the spares for the Lockheed and North American aircraft and for printing equipment. Then we administer contracts with the various contractors through our plant representatives. We have responsibility for Lockheed and North American. We have plant representatives there, and we have procurement districts, 1 in San Francisco and 1 in Seattle.

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