ship’s  store  stock.  At  such  times,  you  should  be able to determine if, when, and how you can use a  survey.  You  will  use  the  survey  method  to expend  stock  from  your  records  and  accounts when stock items have been lost or damaged, have deteriorated, or are otherwise unsuitable for use or  sale.  This  section  deals  with  several  of  the alternatives you should consider when you must survey  for  losses  in  the  value  of  your  stock. Under  certain  circumstances,  such  as  loss  of stock  by  evident  theft,  you  must  immediately prepare  a  survey  request.  These  circumstances  are discussed  in  detail  in  NAVSUP  P-487.  Under other  conditions,  however,  you  are  not  required to prepare a survey request at the time of survey. The   ship’s   store   officer   initiates   a   survey   by requesting  that  an  immediate  inspection  of  the stock involved be made by the formal surveying officer. Ship’s  store  surveys  are  distinct  in  several ways.  The  most  important  distinction—also  the most  frequently  abused—is  that  the  value  of  a ship’s  store  survey  should  be  charged  to  one  of three  different  appropriations:  the  Navy  Stock Fund (17X491 1.23 10); Ship’s Store Profits, Navy (General Fund) (17X8723.23 10); or Ship’s Store Profits,  Navy  (own  ship)  (17X8723.2301).  Since charging a survey to the correct appropriation is so important and easy to foul up, what guidelines should  you  follow?  The  key  to  your  selection  of the correct appropriation is the manner in which the  stock  was  lost  or  damaged. Before you charge a survey to an appropria- tion,   you   must   know   what   the   appropriation covers.  The  information  below  examines  the  three appropriations, discusses the types of damage or loss each one is designed to absorb, and explains some  procedures  you  can  follow. NAVY   STOCK   FUND.—   The   NAVSUP P-487  is  quite  specific  concerning  the  types  of losses  you  can  survey  to  the  Navy  Stock  Fund. In general, this appropriation covers any loss or damage  that  does  not  result  from  negligence  or misappropriation  on  the  part  of  shipboard personnel. Specifically, the Navy Stock Fund pays for any loss or damage in shipment including underway replenishment,  except  for  concealed  losses.  The Navy  Stock  Fund  also  covers  act  of  God  losses or  damages  by  fire,  water,  or  oil.  You  should generally interpret these disasters to mean large- scale  fire,  water,  or  oil  damage  that  was  not incurred  by  negligence  or  willful  destruction  on the  part  of  a  human  being.  For  example,  a  fire caused   by   faulty   wiring   would   be   properly chargeable  to  the  Navy  Stock  Fund,  even  if proper   electrical   procedures   had   not   been followed.  However,  if  the  store  operator  drops a cigarette and burns a hole in a billfold, the Navy Stock Fund will not cover the damages. You can charge  all  clothing  losses  to  the  Navy  Stock  Fund, regardless of cause. This is because the handling of  clothing  cannot  affect  ship’s  store  profits. SHIP’S  STORE  PROFITS,  NAVY  (GEN- ERAL FUND).—  The Navy Resale and Services Support  Office  (NAVRESSO)  maintains  a  fund to cover various expenses for ship’s stores in the fleet. This fund is financed by part of the assess- ment of sales paid every accounting period by each ship’s  store  afloat.  Some  of  the  expenses  the General Fund covers are certain types of surveys. Actually,  you  will  rarely  ever  use  the  General Fund for a survey of ship’s store stock. You must be aware, however, of the specific circumstances under  which  you  can  charge  a  survey  to  this appropriation.  By  using  this  fund  correctly,  you can  prevent  losses  to  your  own  ship’s  store  profits. There are two instances when you can properly charge a survey to the General Fund (GF). First of all, you can charge any survey of $25 or more covering concealed losses or damage upon receipt of   stock   from   a   Navy   transshipping   activity. Losses and damage to goods are considered to be concealed   when   there   are   no   visible   signs   of damage  upon  arrival  of  the  shipping  container. However,  before  initiating  a  General  Fund  survey, you  should  send  a  letter  to  the  responsible vendor explaining all the facts about the loss or damage  and  requesting  replacement  or  reimburse- ment. If you receive a replacement of the lost or damaged  merchandise,  you  can  cancel  the  survey. If  the  vendor  reimburses  you,  you  should  go ahead and process the survey and charge it to your own  ship’s  store  profits.  As  explained  in  NAV- SUP P-487, you should report the amount of the reimbursement  as  a  contribution  to  your  own ship’s  store  profits. If the vendor does not replace the merchan- dise  or  does  not  agree  to  a  reimbursement,  you should forward the survey to NAVRESSO along with   copies   of   the   correspondence   with   the vendor.  If  the  survey  in  this  situation  amounts to less than $25, you should charge it to your own ship’s store profits. You can charge any losses or damage  upon  receipt  of  merchandise  directly  from Navy activities to the Navy Stock Fund. Do not accept  any  damaged  articles  that  you  receive directly  from  a  vendor. 5-10