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CHAPTER 5
PROCUREMENT
Procurement is the act of obtaining materials or
services. In the Navy, it is a tremendous undertaking.
Think for a moment about the size of our modem Navy
and the enormous quantities of materials essential for
its operation. Just as a gun without ammunition cannot
perform its intended job, ships cannot be effective
fighting units unless they have the materials required to
support and sustain them.
Material may be procured by requisition or
purchase. Requisitions are most frequently used, but
procurement of nonstandard material and emergency
requirements is usually accomplished by purchases.
You will play an important role in the procurement
of material for your ship. You must know what material
is authorized, where it is obtained, the forms used in
procurement, and how to prepare them.
This chapter presents the general responsibility for
procurement and the methods normally used afloat.
RESPONSIBILITY FOR
PROCUREMENT
Supply officers are responsible for procuring all
equipment and supplies used by the ship. This does not
include medical stems, ammunition, Marine Corps
stems, and those materials aromatically furnished to
ships.
Supply officers procure replenishment material for
supply department stocks on their own initiative. They
also procure supplies for other departments when they
are within the ship’s allowance. When procuring
technical materials, supply officers consult with other
department heads to ensure that the materials meet
desired specifications.
Many materials, equipments, and supplies used
aboard ship are not stocked in supply storerooms but are
ordered to meet a specific requirement of one of the
ship’s departments. This material is ordered for “direct
turnover” (DTO) to the requestor when received.
The procurement of medical stores, ammunition,
and Marine Corps stems is the responsibility of other
departments. Some material will be received aboard
ship without any procurement action by the supply
department. These materials are usually new items of
equipment or equipage that are automatically furnished
to ships as replacements for obsolete items.
While procurement is the responsibility of the
supply officer, the actual job of preparing documents
will normally be assigned to SKs. You maybe assigned
to perform one or more specific tasks relating to
procurement. The supply officer will rely on you to
perform your job properly.
DETERMINATION OF REQUIREMENTS
The supply officer is responsible for maintaining
stocks to meet probable demands within the limits
established by operation plans. This includes; general
stores, subsistence items, ship’s stem and clothing
stocks. The supply officer, with other supply personnel,
must be able to accurately determine the requirements
for these items.
When repair parts are in the custody of supply
officers, they are responsible for requisitioning
replacements for those that has been issued. When
department heads have custody of repair parts, they are
responsible for notifying the supply officer each time a
repair part is taken from stock. The supply officer then
requisitions a replenishment repair part.
Special Requirements
Other departments may require special material or
an item in a greater quantity than is usually stocked in
the storeroom. For example, the engineering officer
plans to re-brick a boiler, and you do not carry firebrick
in the storeroom. It is the engineering officer’s
responsibility to inform the supply officer of the special
Requirement.
Responsibilities of Storekeepers
Supply officers rely on SKs to prepare procurement
documents. SKs usually determine routine
requirements and inform their supply officers about
requirements requiring their judgment and decision.
This is not the sole job of one SK, all SKs share in this
responsibility regardless of rate or where they work.
Briefly stated below are some of the ways that SKs may
fulfill their advisory functions.
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