guards. The globe and guard were miss-
ing from one light fixture, so the light bulb
was unprotected. One hose tender was sta-
tioned in the hold and another stood out-
side at a hatch that opened into it.
Notice that the writer begins with the rigging
of the hose between the two ships. Then the reader
is led inside the hold of the cargo ship and can
picture the situation there. Finally, the positions
of the two men involved in the accident are given.
The next two paragraphs of the accident report
illustrate the use of CHRONOLOGICAL
ORDER to narrate events and to explain the
various steps involved.
Upon signal to commence the transfer
of fuel, a pump was started on the barge,
and pressure was applied within the hose.
A section of hose in the cargo hold rup-
tured; the hose whipped with great force,
and struck, and broke the unprotected
light bulb.
Arcing from the filament of the broken
bulb ignited combustible vapor and caused
a flash fire which, although extinguished
within a short time, severely burned both
men. The man who was stationed inside
the hatch died approximately 3 weeks
later.
Note the amount of concrete detail in both the
description and the narrative. This is a condensed
report. The original probably had much more
detail, such as the names and hull numbers of the
ships, the number of the cargo hold, and the
names and rates of the accident victims.
Another example of chronological order taken
from a Navy directive provides guidelines for
USN-R and USNR-R(TAR) personnel who are
requesting conversion to the RP rating. In this
case, procedures in which time frames are
important are involved.
Those USN-R applicants who are
approved for conversion to the RP rating
must agree to recall to active duty for 24
months with the regular Navy on the date
of conversion. Assignment of USNR-R
(TAR) applicants approved for conversion
to the RP rating will normally be delayed
6 months to allow NAVRESPERSCEN to
program a relief. Therefore, such per-
sonnel must incur sufficient active
obligated service to cover a 24-month
3-13
general assignment in addition to the
probable 6-month delay.
When the above eligibility criteria are
met, USNR-R applicants will submit
a NAVPERS 1306/7 to Commander
Naval Military Personnel Command
(NMPC-483) via their commanding
officer. The back of the form and/or at-
tached sheets should be used to cite past
experience and special qualifications. The
request must contain a copy of an ap-
propriate Administrative Remarks/
Page 13 entry and an interview by a Navy
chaplain.
When there are many steps to be covered, it
is often desirable to present them in tabulated
form rather than in a paragraph. When this is
done, the steps are usually designated by letters
or numbers as appropriate.
In the example below, the ideas are arranged
in LOGICAL ORDER, leading to a conclusion
in the final paragraph.
Most people, no doubt, have thumbed
through a mail-order catalog and have
been impressed with the number of items
available. Tools, clothes, toys, drugs,
stationery, and all sorts of household
appliances and general supplies are
available. Actually, the largest catalog
carries around 100,000 different articles.
Compare this 100,000 with the range of
items required by the Navy. In our cata-
logs we carry some 1,200,000 items—more
than 10 times as many as can be found in
the largest commercial catalog. The Navy
supply system carries everything from
missile parts to brooms, from electronic
parts to potatoes, from uniforms to
medicines.
More than 20 million items are issued
by the Navy each year. To meet these
demands, the Navy carries an inventory of
around .5 billion.
In other words, within the total defense
supply operation, the Navy portion alone
is big business. Measured in terms of
dollars, it is twice as large as the entire
General Motors industrial complex.
This example demonstrates several things. It
shows how facts can be advanced to support a
conclusion. In this case, the conclusion that the
Navy supply system is big business is supported
