the commanding officer and conduct investigations on
surveys submitted to him for action. A survey board
consists of two or more persons, usually commissioned
or warrant officers.
The surveying officer or survey board investigates
the material or the circumstances under which material
is missing. The investigators try to determine the
condition of the material at the time of survey, and fix
the cause and responsibility for that condition. They also
note when they could not fix responsibility or when the
material wore out through normal use.
For more detailed information about the survey
process, see your ship’s survey instructions and chapter
5 of NAVSUP P-485, which is available in the supply
office.
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF SHIP’S
OPERATING TARGET (OPTAR)
In this section, we’ll explain briefly how the Navy
is funded and the method it uses to finance the
day-to-day operation of ships.
With few exceptions, such as shipbuilding and
alteration, research and development, the Navy is
funded by annual appropriations included in the
Defense Appropriations Act passed each year by
Congress. The money is then appropriated by Congress
and the Navy assigns it to the various systems
commands and bureaus that administer them. As an
example, appropriation 17-1804 is for operations and
maintenance of ships. NAVSEA administers it and
distributes it through the fleet commanders. The fleet
commanders then grant operating budgets to each type
commander under their command.
The type commanders grant obligational authority
to the ships within their commands so they can procure
supplies and equipage to meet the ship’s OPTAR. The
fleet accounting office performs the accounting required
for the operating budget. But the supply officer of each
ship must maintain records to help the commanding
officer know the status and ensure the best use of
OPTAR funds. The TYCOM budgets for the initial grant
and establishes the method each ship uses to request and
justify OPTAR funds.
We often use two terms when we speak about supply
operations: Navy Stock Fund (NSF) and Navy Stock
Account (NSA). The following paragraphs contain a
brief explanation of those terms:
NSF is a revolving fund used to procure material.
After procurement, the material is held in an inventory
account, NSA. The NSA inventory is stored at ashore
supply activities and on some supply ships. The
relationship of the NSF and NSA is shown in figure
5-13.
Figure 5-13.-Relationship of the Navy Stock Fund (NSF) and the Navy Stock Account (NSA).
5-24
