OAK HARBOR, Wash.--Capt. Bill Barich, Commanding Officer of Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Fleet Logistics Center Puget Sound (FLCPS) rolled his utility cart down a narrow aisle among the seemingly infinite rows of bins, shelves, and neatly stacked pallets at the FLCPS Aviation Supply Warehouse on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. He stopped at one of the blue small-parts cabinets and double-checked his inventory list.
Barich sorted and hand counted a bag of tiny machine screws he had retrieved from a small parts bin and placed on the work surface of his cart. The items, small, specialized parts critical to the maintenance and ultimately safe operation of a military aircraft, were located exactly where they were supposed to be, and in the correct quantity.
A few rows away NAVSUP FLCPS Executive Director John H. Hornbrook III was working through his own list of spot checks.
As part of their monthly visit to the FLCPS Aviation Supply Department at Whidbey, Barich and Hornbrook conduct their own inventory spot checks to ensure the warehouse is ready for a full audit. The monthly evolution is a leadership tool that gives Barich a way of interacting with Team Whidbey, one of four FLCPS sites dispersed around the Puget Sound Region.
As part of the audit, supply management organizations are expected to 1) verify the physical existence of material; 2) verify existence of the materiel through completeness of record keeping; 3) verify correct valuation of materiel; 4) ensure that NAVSUP has rights of ownership over the materiel; and 5) determine what organization is obligated to manage the materiel.
The trip to NAS Whidbey Island from FLCPS headquarters in Bremerton involves a ferry ride and about 1 ½ hours of driving each way.
Performing spot checks at the aviation warehouse is also Barich’s way of demonstrating that audit readiness involves all hands.
“Audit is commanders’ business so conducting spot checks is a natural extension to show leadership involvement. It makes sense to perform an audit every visit just based on the periodicity of our trips over,” said Barich.
At the end of the day, Barich and Hornbrook both recorded 100% accuracy in their spot inventory report. The spot checks and other inventory accuracy efforts are in preparation for the Navy Working Capital Fund Supply Management (NWCF-SM) inventory slated for Fiscal Year 2026. The goal of the FY-26 inventory is to achieve a “clean audit” or “favorable audit opinion,” terms used to describe that the accuracy of financial and inventory records is at an acceptable standard.
“A clean audit validates to Congress, our Leadership, and the American taxpayer that we are good stewards of the resources entrusted to us. A clean opinion would also provide the transparency to better inform operational decisions enabling Fleet readiness,” said Barich.
For professional logisticians, it is a matter of pride to maintain an accurate warehouse inventory. An accurate assessment of material readiness is essential to support operating forces and the warehouse team’s ability to deliver the right item to the right place at the right time. A Sailor can’t run to the local hardware store to buy an aircraft bolt or control wire if it is out of stock, has an inaccurate condition code, or if warehouse personnel cannot locate it.
Accountability for every dollar spent, and for every asset—from sophisticated weapon systems down to the tiniest machine screw—is a critical factor and a core reason for the Pentagon’s push for a full financial audit. “Audit is not just about financial compliance but there is also a process improvement piece. A robust audit program can uncover weaknesses in systems and internal controls which then can be mitigated for overall improvements to commands,” said Barich.
“This all comes down to the management of taxpayer money,” said Carla Plettner, NAVSUP FLCPS Regional Inventory Accuracy Officer (RIAO), responsible for conducting RIAO audits at Whidbey as well as at Navy Working Capital Fund supply management facilities, or “plants” throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Plettner noted that audits of inventory accuracy focus on sustainment and growth. They are not simply “one and done” preparations for the sole purpose of passing an inspection with a satisfactory score.
“Audits give us a chance to look at process control to improve the overall plant operation,” said Plettner. Operational readiness is the top-of-mind rationale in the eyes of FLCPS leadership.
“This business may not look so difficult from the outside, but the whole point is that if you let small things get away from you, an operation can go sideways very quickly. Yes, the audits and spot checks validate the quality of our workforce and demonstrate how good we are at what we do. But they also give us an opportunity to review, assess our practices and see where we can improve,” said Hornbrook.
A CO and Executive Director’s active involvement in a command’s inventory accuracy program helps reinforce the importance of audit readiness and establishes the command’s priority of meeting the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) requirement of achieving a clean opinion on financial statements in alignment with NAVSUP and the Navy’s fiscal goals.
Inventory accuracy is a performance indicator that influences operational availability, audit readiness, and overall budget credibility for the Department of War. NAVSUP FLC Puget Sound’s Team Whidbey, along with the FLCPS RIAO, and the Sailors and civilians up and down the FLCPS chain of command, at far-flung sites across the Puget Sound Region, work to achieve and sustain a standard-setting level of accuracy and audit readiness to meet and exceed expectations for the NDAA-mandated audit.
NAVSUP FLC Puget Sound, based in Bremerton, Wash., is one of eight FLCs under Commander, NAVSUP. Headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and employing a diverse, worldwide workforce of more than 22,500 military and civilian personnel, NAVSUP's mission is to provide supplies, services, and quality-of-life support to the Navy and joint warfighter. Learn more at www.navsup.navy.mil,www.facebook.com/navsup and https://twitter.com/navsupsyscom.