Army Regulation AR 735-5 Property Accountability Policies 22 August 2013

Product Information

Evan M. FitzGerald was a Quartermaster Officer and a platoon leader, support operations officer, and executive officer, assigned to the Regimental Support Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Irwin. He is now a practicing attorney and holds a J.D. from the University of Massachusetts School of Law, and an LL.M. in Transnational Law from Temple University. Army-issued equipment such as the helmet and pair of boots pictured can result in a Soldier's financial liability if not returned properly. Lost, damaged or stolen Army property can be subject to Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss, th... Before a FLIPL investigation begins, SJAs provide FLOs with a legal briefing. Responsibility and its differing types and applications must be presented in the briefing. The SJA also briefs the FLOs on the different types of property and how to identify the property on a hand receipt. SJAs should remember to brief FLOs on required inventories and how these inventories appear on component hand receipts. For more information about property accountability, the unit S-4, G-4, and PBO can provide assistance. Army Regulation 735-5, Policies and Procedures for Property Accountability; Army Regulation 710-2, Supply Policy Below the National Level; and Department of the Army Pamphlet 710-2-1, Using Unit Supply System (Manual Procedures), are also good resources. The FLO's resource is Department of the Army Pamphlet 735-5, Property Accountability Procedures and Financial Liability Officer's Guide.

The commander and supply section should maintain copies of all property-related actions in both their offices and residences and keep this documentation for at least two years after a change of hand receipt holder inventory. A LIN is a six-character alphanumeric identification code for generic nomenclature and pertains to the listing line on which the generic nomenclature appears in bulletins and Army equipment authorization documents. LINs treat all NSN items possessing the functional capability expressed by the generic nomenclature collectively. For example, one LIN may cover all mechanics' tool kits, another heavy equipment transports, and a third M4 rifles. PBOs use LINs to identify equipment commanders will inventory during a cyclic inventory. Financial Liability Investigation of Property Loss, or FLIPL, is the procedure the Army uses to recover the cost of lost or damaged property. Under Army Regulation 735-5, financial liability ordinarily will not exceed one month?'s base pay. However, in certain cases, such as the loss of personal arms or equipment, or damage to government housing, a Soldier can be held liable for the entire loss. The purpose of the pen and paper is to record notes about property. The serial number, date of inventory, and any issues must be recorded. This information is used to correct deficiencies through administrative adjustment reports that list the issues and deficiencies identified with property during an inventory.

Financial liability investigations for property loss (FLIPL) often occur during changes of command. When officers are about to take command, they are thrown into the confusing world of supply and the change of hand receipt process. In a perfect world, all runs smoothly; the outgoing hand receipt holder is present, all hand-receipted property is immaculate, and all sub-hand receipt holders are available. Commanders must conduct inventories for changes of command, changes of hand receipt holder, cyclic accountability, sensitive-item accountability, and when units conduct field exercises or deploy. Not conducting required inventories increases the likelihood of a finding of negligence due to poor accountability.

Durable property is usually not on a commander's primary hand receipt and is often a component of an end item. Durable property may be part of a sets, kits and outfits (SKO) listing or a part of the NSN system. An example of durable property is hand tools. Durable property has an ARC of "D." Follow your unit's inventory and supply procedures. The supply policies are there to prevent property from getting lost. Cyclic inventories occur on a monthly basis when elected by the command in place of the annual 100 percent inventory. Ten percent of the total property on the primary hand receipt is inventoried each month (except for two months). This type of inventory should trigger the update of component hand receipts. In addition to counseling sub-hand receipt holders, the unit commander should not sign primary hand receipts until all sub-hand receipt holders have signed their hand receipts. This ensures that all property is assigned and reduces the threats of liability and negligence. Field exercise inventories should take place within 15 days of the end of an exercise. These inventories should also occur before and after deployments. This inventory should trigger component hand receipt updates.TA-50 is commonly stolen from closets and from cars because it has a high resale value to local pawn shops, so be sure to store TA-50 in a secure location. Next, the appointing authority forwards the FLIPL, along with their recommendation, to the approving authority, usually a colonel or above. The approving authority approves or disapproves the recommendation to assess liability, but before making the decision, he or she receives a legal opinion that the findings and recommendations are legally sufficient and that the FLIPL was completed in accordance with AR 735-5. Change of hand receipt holder inventories often occur at the platoon and squad levels. The incoming platoon leader or noncommissioned officer (NCO) inventories all property signed down to them from the commander. The incoming sub-hand receipt holder is responsible for ensuring 100 percent accountability of all items, including BII and COEI. Command responsibility obligates unit commanders to ensure the property in their command is properly used, cared for, and kept safe. Commanders cannot delegate command responsibility. Change of command inventories occur when the incoming commander inventories all of the property on the primary hand receipt. During this process, the commander inventories every major end item on the primary hand receipt. All items on component hand receipts, including basic issue items (BII) and components of the end item (COEI), also are inventoried.

INVENTORY RECORDS. Recording every step in the inventory is an essential factor to reduce the possibility of negligence. The paper trail should start on day one of the inventory. Current and future hand receipt holders should bring a tape measure, digital camera, pen, and paper. Using a digital camera creates a photographic record of property, identifies features and serial numbers, and creates evidence that can help defeat a claim of negligence, provided the date-time stamp option is on. Most of the evidence compiled should either support or refute a finding of negligence, which takes two forms: simple and gross. Simple negligence is briefly defined as the absence of due care, and gross negligence is an extreme departure from due care. The combination of the command supply discipline program (CSDP) and the use of the Global Combat Support System-Army (GCSS-Army) can help to reduce both types of negligence.The FLO's job is to determine if negligence is involved, who caused the property loss, and the amount of the loss," explained Daniel Haws, attorney-advisor, Administrative Law Division, Staff Judge Advocate Office. "If the FLO recommends liability against a Soldier, that individual has seven days to submit a rebuttal explaining why the liability is not appropriate based on the standards for FLIPL." Nonexpendable property includes all non-consumable major end items. Nonexpendable property has an ARC of "N." Custodial responsibility obligates a person to ensure property in storage and awaiting issue or turn-in is cared for and kept safe. Custodial responsibility often results from a supply assignment. The FLO must include evidence that an inventory occurred properly or improperly. The FLO should obtain a copy of the change of command inventory schedule. The FLO must also obtain a copy of the relevant component listings for any lost, missing, or damaged equipment. However, the most important evidence the FLO must obtain is anything developed by the hand receipt holders during the inventory process. These documents include all relevant administrative adjustment reports and any photographic evidence. UPDATED PUBLICATIONS. The supply section should have the most recent TMs and supply catalog publications on hand during the inventory. To find the most recent publications, the supply section looks at the primary hand receipt, obtains the relevant NSN, NIIN, or LIN for the property, and looks them up in GCSS-Army.