.  Responsible  senior  enlisted  personnel  are positioned to observe the flow of material and watch for possible material loss. The most experienced personnel should  be  placed  at  possible  bottlenecks  and  in  areas normally associated with the receipt of sensitive items such  as  pilferable,  hazardous,  and  classified  material. · Personnel  should  not  be  allowed  to  begin  receipt processing   under   any   conditions   that   encourage carelessness.  When  necessary,  material  receipt  can  be processed upon completion of the replenishment and after  stores  are  located  in  secure  spaces. TYPES  OF  STORES  ANTICIPATED.—  The number  of  receiving  stations  that  must  be  manned depends largely on the amount and types of stores anticipated. Normally 2 or 3 days before the scheduled replenishment,  the  transferring  ship  notifies  the receiving ship as to the nature and amount of stores to be transferred. The figures given are, in most cases, rough estimates that can be used for planning purposes. A safe rule of thumb is to plan for a one-third excess over  the  tonnage  expected,  and  planners  should  assume that at least some of every category of material will be received.  A  replenishment  plan  must  be  flexible  to make sure that its use is not destroyed by sudden, unexpected changes in quantities and type of stores received. Personnel must be available to handle all types of material at one time. It is especially important to know the quantity and type  of  dangerous  and  semisafe  material  to  be  received. Adequate  flammable  storage  space  must  be  available  to accommodate  such  material.  Special  procedures should be established so that this type of material can be taken directly from the receiving station to the paint or  flammable  storerooms  and  not  be  allowed  to accumulate on deck. Each type of stores received is handled in a different manner and should be directed to different storage locations.  Plans  for  the  replenishment  must  include  the consideration  of  peculiar  characteristics  of  all  types  of incoming stores. Some of the most important aspects of handling each category of material are discussed in the following paragraphs. Aviation  Stores.—  Aviation  material  received during  UNREP  normally  involves  several  different small  items  packed  together  in  large  boxes  at  the shipping  point. Shipping   containers   obviously containing only one item need not be opened, but are directed to the proper staging area or storeroom at once. Items   shipped   as   multipacks   should   be   opened, checked,  sorted,  and  forwarded  to  storerooms  (or special receiving areas) as soon as possible. Normally, it is not advisable to move multipacks into storerooms simply to save time in clearing the deck. The AK in charge of flight clothing should be on hand during the sorting to take charge of his or her material. Sorting  and  checking  of  aviation  stores  should  be performed  where  manual  handling  can  be  minimized, and  where  the  necessarily  slower  activity  does  not interfere  with  the  rest  of  the  replenishment  operations. Debris from breaking open boxes should be cleared at once  and  disposed  of  according  to  local  instructions. General  Stores.—  General  stores  received  during UNREP include bulky materials such as rags, toilet paper, brooms, swabs, and paint. Many of these items are difficult to handle with mechanical equipment. Sorting and checking of this type of material should be done under the supervision of a senior Storekeeper. Dry Provisions.— Dry provisions represent a large portion  of  any  replenishment.  This  category  of  material is the easiest to handle and sort. Most of these items are shipped in sturdy fiberboard cartons that are designed to move on conveyors easily and stack neatly on pallets. They  are  normally  light  enough  to  be  handled  by  one person. Checking and sorting of this type material is required  in  all  cases  by  senior  Mess  Management Specialists. Particular  care  must  be  exercised  in handling items in bags such as flour and sugar. Fresh  Provisions. —Fresh   provisions   are somewhat difficult to handle and to move to the reefers. This is particularly true on ships where reefers are located  in  areas  where  access  is  difficult.  The  process of moving fresh provisions below decks can become bogged down and create a bottleneck. Qualified  personnel  from  the  medical  department should be on hand to inspect fresh produce and survey fruits and vegetables that did not pass inspection. Mess Management Specialists should be stationed in such places as necessary to detect spoiled produce and save manhours used in handling the commodities. Frozen  Provisions.—  The  most  important requirement  when  moving  frozen  provisions  is  speed. Frozen  products  must  be  moved  into  the  freezer immediately  upon  receipt.  When  the  ship  is  operating in hot climates, the steel decks become very hot and frozen items thaw rapidly (partially or completely) and make  them  unsafe  for  consumption.  Checking  and sorting of this type receipt should be done by Mess Management   Specialists. 3-15