Dry Provisions Dry  provisions  represent  a  large  portion  of  any replenishment,    since   ships’   personnel   com- plements  consume  food  by  the  ton.  This  group of  material  is  the  easiest  to  handle  and  sort.  Most of the items are shipped in sturdy fiberboard car- tons and the material moves on conveyors easily; it stacks neatly on pallets; and the individual boxes are  light  enough  to  be  handled  by  one  person. Checking  and  sorting  are  done  in  all  cases  by senior Mess Management Specialists, with such assistants as are necessary. Particular care must be exercised in handling items in bags such as flour and sugar. Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Fresh  provisions  are  somewhat  difficult  to handle  and  to  move  to  the  reefers.  This  is  par- ticularly true on those ships having reefers located in what appears to be the most inaccessible spots possible. The process of striking fresh provisions below  can  become  bogged  down  on  these  ships and  must  be  monitored  carefully. If potatoes are to be stored on sponsons, they should be sent there directly. Manual handling of potatoes is the usual rule and should be taken in- to account when the working party is assigned— persons  handling  heavy  boxes  of  potatoes  need to be relieved sooner than others in the working party. Medical  department  personnel  should  be  on hand to inspect fresh provisions for quality and to  recommend  survey  when  appropriate.  Mess Management  Specialists  should  be  stationed  in such  places  as  necessary  to  detect  spoiled  produce before  too  much  labor  is  wasted  in  moving  it below. If the working party is not adequately super- vised,  considerable  waste  may  be  encountered through the breaking open of crates to get fruit to eat on the spot. However, the damage can be reduced  to  acceptable  limits  by  opening  a  few crates  for  consumption  by  the  working  party.  Par- tially opened crates not only waste the food that is  spilled,  but  contribute  to  the  more  serious danger of people slipping on the juicy pulp on the deck. Sand or other material should be on hand to  sprinkle  over  wet  decks  to  prevent  slipping. Frozen Provisions The  most  important  requirement  when  moving frozen  provisions  is  speed.  Particularly  in  hot climates where steel decks become very hot, frozen foods  may  be  reaching  the  safe  limits  of  out-of- refrigeration  time  when  they  are  received  and should  be  moved  into  the  refrigerators  with  a minimum  of  wasted  motion.  Monetary  loss  on spoiled  frozen  foods  is  high,  due  to  the  greater processing cost. Checking and sorting should be done  by  Mess  Management  Specialists. Working  party  units  assigned  to  handle  frozen foodstuffs should be advised in advance to wear gloves, if they are to handle the boxes manually. The gloves should of course be reasonably clean, and  it  should  be  possible  to  have  canvas  work gloves  issued  for  this  purpose  from  supply. Accountable Stores Receipt of fairly large amounts of ship’s store stock  is  routine  on  a  replenishment.  Clothing items are normally received in small lots. The bulk of  the  shipment  consists  of  canned  drinks,  con- fections, and toiletries. The ship’s service division should  be  represented  by  responsible  people  at each  loading  station  to  take  charge  of  such  ac- countable material as soon as it is received. Ac- countable  items  are  sometimes  found  mixed  in with general stores or food items, in spite of the care  exercised  by  shipping  and  handling  activities. Virtually all items in this category are highly pilferable, and every person in the supply depart- ment  should  assist  in  preventing  theft.  While relatively  few  people  attempt  to  appropriate,  there are always a few who try to misappropriate a case of  candy.  If  the  shipment  is  large,  responsible petty officers from other supply divisions may be used  as  escorts  for  the  working  party  carrying the material into storerooms, or for watching con- veyor  tracks  or  chutes.  Every  foot  of  the  entire route followed by accountable stores must be in full view of a responsible petty officer at all times. DEPARTMENTAL  RESPONSIBILITIES Replenishment at sea comes very close to living up to the hackneyed phrase “an all hands evolu- tion.” With the possible exception of a major am- munition  movement,  it  involves  more  people directly and physically than any other operation. Material is removed from holds in the delivering ship,  loaded  into  cargo  nets,  and  sent  across  to the receiving ship at rates of well over a hundred tons per hour. It must be removed from the land- ing area as fast as it arrives and struck below at approximately the same rate. With all this activity concentrated  into  a  short  time  the  efforts  of  all these  people  must  be  coordinated  carefully  to avoid   chaos. 7-9