Title 10Armed ForcesRelease 119-73

§2721 Property records: maintenance on quantitative and monetary basis

Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART IV— - SERVICE, SUPPLY, AND PROPERTY › Chapter CHAPTER 161— - PROPERTY RECORDS AND REPORT OF THEFT OR LOSS OF CERTAIN PROPERTY › § 2721

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Defense must, when practicable, keep the military departments' records of property, installations, major equipment, and stored supplies both by count and by dollar value. Those records must be kept current, show whether inventory levels are sufficient or excessive, and let the Secretary include in the annual budget under section 1105 of title 31 the amounts proposed for inventory purchases for each appropriation account and the amounts obligated from that account in the preceding fiscal year.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §2721

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Under regulations prescribed by him, the Secretary of Defense shall have the records of the fixed property, installations, major equipment items, and stored supplies of the military departments maintained on both a quantitative and a monetary basis, so far as practicable.
(b)The regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) shall include a requirement that the records maintained under such subsection—
(1)to the extent practicable, provide up-to-date information on all items in the inventory of the Department of Defense;
(2)indicate whether the inventory of each item is sufficient or excessive in relation to the needs of the Department for that item; and
(3)permit the Secretary of Defense to include in the budget submitted to Congress under section 1105 of title 31 for each fiscal year, information relating to—
(A)the amounts proposed for each appropriation account in such budget for inventory purchases of the Department of Defense; and
(B)the amounts obligated for such inventory purchases out of the corresponding appropriations account for the preceding fiscal year.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 2701(a) 2701(b)5:172i (less last sentence).5:172i (last sentence).July 26, 1947, ch. 343, § 410; added Aug. 10, 1949, ch. 412, § 11(410), 63 Stat. 590. In subsection (a), the words “equipment” and “materials” are omitted, since the word “supplies”, as defined in section 101(26) of this title, includes equipment and materials. The word “stored” is substituted for the words “held in store by the armed services”. In subsection (b), the words “on property records maintained under this section” are substituted for the word “thereon”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1991—Pub. L. 102–190, § 1061(a)(17)(A), substituted section catchline for one which read “Basis: reports”. Pub. L. 102–190, § 347(b), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b). 1990—Pub. L. 101–510 struck out “(a)” before “Under

Regulations

” and struck out subsec. (b) which read as follows: “The Secretary shall report once a year to Congress and the President on property records maintained under this section.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Implementation of 1991 Amendment Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title III, § 347(c), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1347, provided that: “The Secretary of Defense shall establish the uniform system of valuation described in section 2458(a)(3) of title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), and prescribe the

Regulations

required by section 2721(b) of such title (as added by subsection (b)), not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 5, 1991].” Inventory Investigations Pub. L. 100–456, div. A, title III, § 343, Sept. 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 1961, provided that: “(a) Undercover Investigations.—(1) Congress finds that the use of undercover investigative techniques by the Department of Defense enhances the ability of the Department of Defense to detect and investigate theft of Government property (including munitions) from the Department of Defense supply system. “(2) The Secretary of Defense is urged to continue to conduct undercover investigations to detect and investigate thefts referred to in paragraph (1). “(b) Inventory Security Incident Repository.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish and maintain a centralized computer system for recording and organizing information on theft, fraud, and breach of security and incidents involving the loss of Department of Defense supplies (including munitions).”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 2721

Title 10Armed Forces

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73