The White Falcon - 24.02.1967, Page 3

Friday, February 24, 1967
WHITE FALCON
8
NATO Base Supply Department Most
Essential In Carrying Out Mission
The Navy Supply Officers
Corps celebrated their 172nd An-
niversary yesterday and marking
the affair will he a Supply Of-
ficer’s Ball to be held tonight at
the Officer’s Club at 7 p. m.
The Naval Station Keflavik
has 14 supply officers serving at
the different activities and com-
mands. The Naval Station alone
has seven officers which coordi-
SUPPLY HEAD—Commander John
Foil and his secretary Barbara
Wasoleck discuss matter pertinent
to the operation of the Naval Sta-
tion Supply Department. The de-
partment handles supplies for the
entire naval station and all sup-
porting activities and commands.
(WHITE FALCON STAFF
PHOTO)
nate duties in support of the U.S.
Naval Forces, Iceland.
The supply officers are con-
cerned with the business proce-
dures to supply the many depart-
ments. Their basic pattern of du-
ties has been the same down
through history; to feed, to pay,
to supply ships, and to keep the
Navy’s financial accounts.
Birth of the Bureau
Historical records show that
the Department of the Navy’s
Bureau of Supplies and Accounts
came into being during July in
1892. But actually it had its be-
ginning in February of 1795,
when the Congress established
the job of Purveyor of Public
Supplies. Since the establishment
of the Bureau, to the beginning
of World War I, the responsibil-
ity of the department was mainly
the same, — the procurement and
distribution of supplies.
The first chief of the bureau,
Charles W. Goldsborough, was a
civilian. His major responsibility
was to “administer all clothing
and provisions and labor, con-
tracts and accounts related
thereto.”
In 1902 while Rear Admiral Al-
bert S. Kenny was bureau chief,
the first Navy cookbook was
published. It was a slim volume
of 32 pages and the forerunner of
the modern Navy-Marine Corps
recipe cookbook used today. Also
introduced in the Navy at this
time was an accounting system
which covered the purchasing,
handling and distributing of
supplies, and the transporting of
men and supplies.”
The title of Supply Officer was
authorized in 1913 for any pay
officer who was appointed as the
head of the supply department
ashore. The next year, the first
Navy standard stock catalogue
was compiled and demonstrated
its usefulness during World
War I.
The Wars
Foresight and planning prior
to the beginning of the war en-
abled the Bureau to meet its com-
mitments to purchase, store,
transfer and account for naval
supplies. By the end of the war,
the number of Supply Corps of-
ficers had increased from 232 to
3,315. Also during the war period
the following departments had
been developed: purchase, logis-
tics and fuel, overseas, inland
traffic and fleet. There were also
divisions of employment, dis-
bursing, storage development, and
accounting.
A new payroll system was in-
troduced in July of 1944 to handle
the payment of some 200,000 of-
ficers and men. Under the new
method each individual’s pay re-
cord was kept on a separate card
which always accompanied the
individual upon transfer.
At the outbreak of World War
II, naval personnel on active duty
Emblem of the Supply Officer’s
Corps
totaled 383,000. By August of
1945, three million more men were
serving on active duty for naval
forces througout the world. Of
that total, 16,800 were officers
serving in the Navy Supply Corps
and of that 14,900 were reservists.
During the war period, the
Navy Supply Corps was respon-
sible for procurement of most of
NEW ITEMS-Discussing new
items and display techniques, Lieu-
tenant Joe A. O’Connor, commissary
store officer, (right) examines one
of the items as Petty Officer First
Class Ray Dimapilis, inventory
clerk checks his store item list.
(WHITE FALCON STAFF PHO-
TO)
OFFICE SUPPLIES-Checking the
invoice and order items at the
Naval Station’s Self Service Mar-
ket (SERV-MART) is the Material
Division Officer Lieutenant Willi-
am J. Germann and Petty Officer
First Class Earl H. Kirkland,
supervisor of SERV-MART. SERV-
MART handled approximately
$173,000 worth of business last
year or an average of $400 daily.
the Navy’s material requirements.
They processed requisitions, nego-
tiated contracts, procured and
purchased provisions, clothing
and fuel for the Marine Corps, the
Coast Guard and Lend-Lease as
well as the Navy.
During February of 1947, the
Secretary of the Navy approved
a plan for an integrated Naval
Supply System. This comprehen-
sive plan was for the accom-
plishment of all supply support
of the Navy.
The same year, the first center
on the East coast was established
at Norfolk. It put under one roof
a unified and centralized activity
for nearly all naval logistic and
support material.
By 1948, the duties of the Chief
of Naval Material had expanded
to making plans for the contract-
ing and production of material
throughout the naval establish-
ment which is to be used in meet-
ing requirements of the Fleet.
During the years of 1950 to
1965, there were numerous other
technical and managerial innova-
tions within the Bureau which
had their influence upon the Na-
val Supply Corps. Automatic
data processing was the most in-
fluential invention during that
15 year span. Another important
influence was the new language
of communications, the Automatic
Digital Network, better known as
the Autodin process.
Last year, the Bureau of Sup-
plies and Accounts got a new name,
the Naval Supply Systems Com-
mand. Rear Admiral Herschel J.
Goldberg, commander of the NSSC,
said, “The Bureau of Supplies and
accounts has served our Navy and
Supply Corps well. It has been the
organization most responsible for
the integration of various
supply efforts into a unified Navy
Supply System responsive to our
Navy’s requirements.”
Local Department Active
Serving the Naval Station here
is Senior Supply Officer, Com-
mander John L. Foil. Giving
material support to the stations
departments, tenants, and assig-
ned activities, are the 300 men
of the Supply Department and the
main objective of the Supply
Corps.
Some of the major accomplish-
ments of the Supply Department
during last year were rehabilita-
tion projects to the galleys and
several of the warehouses and
“do it yourself” repairs to the
Fuel Farm buildings and vehic-
les. Throughout the past couple
of months the Supply Depart-
ment has been responsible for the
increasing build up of supply
and household shipments to and
from the states.
Officials at the water terminal
in Reykjavik report that sea ship-
ments are coming in every other
week with approximately 500 tons
of supplies. Air cargo and house-
hold good representatives report
that aircraft are coming in weekly
to insure a more rapid and con-
stant flow of military supplies
and household goods.
Each of the individual sup-
porting activities and commands
serving the base here are repre-
sented by their own supply offi-
cer who works in conjunction
with the Naval Station’s Senior
supply Officer.
MONEY AND LOTS OF IT—Naval
Station Disbursing Office handles
pay records for all military per-
sonnel other than those of the Air
Force. Talking figures is Lieute-
nant David A. Aleva, fiscal officer
(right) and Chief Petty Officer
Thomas R. Itonan, office super-
visor. (WHITE FALCON STAFF
PHOTO)
FUELING UP—Supplying all military aircraft into the Keflavik Inter-
national Airport are ten 500 gallon fuel trucks operated by the Naval
Station’s Supply Department. Last year fuel amount was nearly
15,000,000 gallons.
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS—Approximately $20,000,000 a year is spent
on supplies for the NATO Base here. Ships arrive every other week
with approximately 500 tons of supplies for the base and tenant
commands. The supplies are stored in warehouses until the goods are
requestioned.