nothing prior to the 1951 pack except some spices which are good keepers. There is no abnormal deterioration of the subsistence stock and OQMG is taking expeditious action to dispose of all of the older pack.

Mr. BALWAN. Do you have any Gibson forklift trucks?

Colonel Cook. We have five that were shipped to the Depot Maintenance Division from posts, camps, and stations. They were frozen here. Luckily, we have never had any issued for use.

Are there any more questions, gentlemen?

Mr. RIEHLMAN. There appear to be none. Thank you, Colonel. Colonel CLEARWATER. Thank you, Colonel Cook.

Gentlemen, you will now hear from Colonel Murnan, Engineer Supply Officer.

ENGINEER SUPPLY SECTION

STATEMENT OF LT. COL. HERBERT B. MURNAN, CORPS OF ENGINEERS, ENGINEER SUPPLY OFFICER, SHARPE ARMY GENERAL DEPOT, LATHROP, CALIF.

Colonel MURNAN. Gentlemen, the Engineer Supply Section operates as a distribution depot with technical control by the Office of the Chief of Engineers and the logistical control at the Engineer Supply Control Office at St. Louis, Mo.

We furnish logistical support for the Sixth Army area, and satellited on us is the Pasco Engineer Depot at Pasco, Wash. We have consolidated stock control at this depot for Sharpe Engineer Supply Section and Pasco.

We have just recently started on financial stock accounting.

Our inventory is $84,740,355, and our excess reports which are recorded on form 120, as of October 31, listed items valued at $4,905,865, which is included in the above $84,740,355. Currently all of our excesses are screened from the stock control cards maintained at the Engineer Supply Control Office, St. Louis. We have at the present, 347 form 120's open and being considered on which there are 363 line items.

We're in the same situation as Colonel Cook. We, too, have had in this regard an accelerated program of excessing. Starting back in August our excess on hand was $7,645,902, for which we did not have disposition authority. On September 30, that figure had been reduced to $5,065,742. At the close of October business we had a balance of $4,905,865 awaiting disposition.

Our excesses are reported by policies established by the Engineer Supply Control Office. They follow practically the same route as Quartermaster excesses except that they go to ESCO for screening. Mr. BALWAN. What is ESCO?

Colonel MURNAN. Engineer Supply Control Office at St. Louis. They coordinate almost all of engineer stock except spare parts which is controlled by the Columbus General Depot.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Do they have knowledge of all equipment you have at this base?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes, sir.

The current excessing, unless we get more excess items, should be completed within the next 60 days. However, recently we have started screening all nonstandard stock-small items. Anything

under $25 we excess without referring to anyone; this amounts to only 500 tons. We have on cards 15,161 line items which include the Pasco stock.

That is, basically, the coverage of the Engineer Section. We receive engineer items from procurement, returns from overseas, ports of embarkation, and posts, camps, and stations. We perform care and preservations on the items; we store and issue. We also have mission to repair heavy equipment and support troop units in the field through our repair and return to user program.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Do you have heavy construction equipment? Colonel MURNAN. Yes, it is mostly heavy construction equipment. Mr. RIEHLMAN. What are some of the items you have-bulldozers, tractors, and the like?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes, we have tractors and carryalls, rock crushing plants. Our general supplies are the normal engines and small tools.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. How many asphalt plants do you have?

Colonel MURNAN. Not over six. We had heavy shipments to Korea prior to end of the Korean situation.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. What would you normally have?

Colonel MURNAN. We only stock as the Engineer Supply Control Office (St. Louis, Mo.) establishes.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Do you have any questions [addressed to Mr. Holifield].

Mr. HOLIFIELD. No.

Mr. BALWAN. I see a notation about property in the ESS-searchlight trailers do you still have them here?

Colonel MURNAN. Some are being disposed of. Mr. Miller and General McConnaughy took special action to assist in getting disposition-the first time in getting rid of tires and tarps. We don't have complete trailers, so we are disposing of those to other Federal agencies. Some are being shipped to the property disposal officer here at the depot.

Mr. BALWAN. Are they sold as end items? Do these have any kind of utility? Are people buying them for end items?

Colonel MURNAN. Once we excess-we have no further control. Mr. HOLIFIELD. Were they cannibalized before being declared excess?

Colonel MURNAN. To prevent the tires from deterioration. Tires were removed and shipped to Ordnance. Ordnance needed tires, and these were a required size, so they were pulled back into stock. We had no use for them except for light trailers.

Mr. BALWAN. Do you have some pipe fittings which were returned from Hawaii?

Colonel MURNAN. There are no foreseeable requirements at this installation. The fittings have been excessed and have gone to the property disposal officer.

Mr. BALWAN. Will we get a report on that?

Colonel MURNAN. That will come from the property disposal officer.

Colonel CLEARWATER. Yes, we will handle that.

Mr. BALWAN. How large a supply of depot lumber do you have?

Colonel MURNAN. That is depot property-only for our own use. Mr. Miller picked that up as Engineer stock on his first visit herethat was box plant lumber.

Mr. BALWAN. It was noted on Mr. Miller's report that you had some 250,000 square feet of space, four-fifths of which was assigned for the storage of paint.

Colonel MURNAN. That erroneous estimation has been corrected. Mr. RIEHLMAN. What do you mean corrected?

Colonel MURNAN. The actual facts are that but 173,000 gross square feet was so allocated, the net usable portion of which is 121,000 square feet, and only 50,000 of that was used for this paint storage. Mr. BALWAN. Do you have any paint?

Colonel MURNAN. Our paint stockage is as small as it ever was. Mr. BALWAN. Do you have any idea what your level is?

Colonel MURNAN. No, we stock as the Engineer Supply Control Office (St. Louis, Mo.) advises.

Mr. MORRIS. Aren't you given figures as to what your stock levels are?

Colonel MURNAN. We will do that under simplified supply system. Mr. BARRON. The Transportation Supply Section is operating under the simplified supply system completely.

Colonel MURNAN. The Engineer Section is operating partially under the simplified supply system.

Mr. MORRIS. Is the Quartermaster Section on the simplified supply system?

Colonel Cook. Under that system, you know, we have no interest in levels. Utah takes care of that since Stock Control is there.

Colonel MURNAN. There is an actual breakdown of responsibility from ESCO, and they give information to us. We are told the number of tractors that we are to stock of one type, make, and model.

We never knew previously what the disposition of that tractor was by ownership. At the present time we are breaking down ownership codes. Normally the maximum is 27. In Air Force construction they have several subaccounts that may make that as high as 52 acWe could not control some universal requirements since, at the present time, we have that broken down only in the basic ownership codes.

Under the simplified supply system every stock card shows a stock number nomenclature. Previously only the stock stack number was on IBM. At the present time each card is maintained by a stock manager for that class of items; that stock manager is able to post both the receipts, adjustments and issues on her stock card for that item. Backing up each stock control card is an ownership card.

It is a very efficient system and it enables us to give much faster action on issue of items. It allows us to discover substitute items. Under IBM we couldn't tell how to substitute items without knowing nomenclature..

Mr. BALWAN. Does the Engineer Supply Control Office (St. Louis, Mo.) keep track of property issued from warehouse stocks-all Engineer property? If they want to know the total Engineer inventory-could they tell beyond the depot level what they have on hand? Colonel MURNAN. Yes. They would have to go back to each Engineer Supply Office and request a listing.

Mr. BALWAN. Do you receive searchlights to ship?

Colonel MURNAN. We shipped from listing before, and now from cards.

Mr. BALWAN. Do you have complete control of searchlights at all time?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes, the Office of the Chief of Engineers knows where they have searchlights stored.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Are you screening that stock all the time?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes. We receive lists every day of what to screen by class, other than nonstandard items and items under $25.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. You have an $84 million inventory, and how much have you screened?

Colonel MURNAN. We are all through class 39.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Can you tell us what amount of property that represents in dollars?

Colonel MURNAN. Class 01 through 39-60 percent of our classes, and that was $16 million-allocated as to ownership by the card.

We have $68 million yet to allocate. Most of that we have data on now. This screening process will continue on as new makes and models come out and after screening against our new requirements. Colonel MURNAN. It would be cheaper for the Office of the Chief of Engineers to have new equipment than small quantities on hand of something obsolete.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Do you presently have power to declare those items excess?

Colonel MURNAN. No; the Engineer Supply Control Office (St. Louis, Mo.) does that.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Do you have an accurate inventory here that you send to ESCO!

Colonel MURNAN. Yes. We have a cyclic inventory every month. We have two complete inventories a year.

Mr. BALWAN. How much excess are you generating?

Colonel MURNAN. Only 5 percent so far in terms of our total inventory of $84 million.

Mr. BALWAN. Do you expect that to go over 5 percent of your $84 million?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes; we just started keeping figures, and the excess property backlog of approximately $8 million has been reduced to approximately $5 million.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. What methods did you use to dispose of that property?

Colonel MURNAN. It was turned over to the property disposal officer. There was very little demand for it by General Services Administration.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Because of the type of machinery?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes. We normally never move it. On all original form 120 reports it is identified by serial number and condition code.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Is the majority of your stock used or new?
Colonel MURNAN. New.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. What program do you use to check over material? Colonel MURNAN. Cyclic inspection so that stock doesn't deteriorate. We still have a high issuable category.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Do you have some statement on that type of equipment?

Colonel MURNAN. It is new and reconditioned-most never been issued.

Mr. BALWAN. In what condition was the property which was excessed? I note that $4,900,000 of your excess is classified as R-4. Colonel MURNAN. These items are uneconomically reparable machinery-little that has deteriorated in stock. They are mostly classes of heavy equipment. I cannot think of any offhand examples.

Mr. BALWAN. How much is new in this $4,900,000 in excess on hand-any new?

Colonel MURNAN. I don't know. I can find out. I don't recall.

(NOTE. Later qualified by property disposal officer and engineer supply officer as all unserviceable.)

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Any other questions?

Mr. MORRIS. How long have you had dollar figures for the value of your inventory?

Colonel MURNAN. Only this week dollar value was established by the accounting contractor. Under the old electric accounting machine system a value estimate could be given approximately 4 days after it was run off of inventory according to class.

Mr. MORRIS. I can see that would be possible on new equipment, but on stock that has been here a long time

Colonel MURNAN. We would have to suspend action on vouchers so that we could get an actual physical count.

Mr. MORRIS. Do you feel that $84 million is a realistic figure as the value of your total inventory?

Colonel MURNAN. Yes. That is an accurate figure based on acquisition cost.

Mr. RIEHLMAN. Any other questions? Thank you, sir.

Colonel CLEARWATER. Thank you, Colonel Murnan.

Gentlemen, Colonel Robinson, transportation supply officer, will be the next speaker.

TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY SECTION

STATEMENT OF LT. COL. KARL ROBINSON, TRANSPORTATION CORPS, TRANSPORTATION SUPPLY OFFICER, SHARPE ARMY GENERAL DEPOT, LATHROP, CALIF.

Colonel ROBINSON. The Transportation Corps Supply Office at Sharpe is concerned with excess and is responsible to the Field Service Agency at the Marietta TC Depot. The transportation supply officer at Sharpe reports such stock levels as we are notified to screen from the Field Service Agency. We report excess on screening list, to determine action to be taken. On items with a value less than $100, we dispose of items at this level.

The Fielde Service Agency notifies the supply officer of disposal authorization on 120's. Notification is received from the Surplus Materials Division and from General Services Administration as to disposition. If surplus, items are turned over to depot surplus officer for disposition.

Our program became active in July 1952. At that time Sharpe screened $40 million worth of property covering 90,000 line items. Items screened to date equal 45,000 or 50 percent of our total inventory. The rest is to be screened. Determination will be made at Marietta.