Editor's Note: This article by Gina Harkins originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.

Navy aircraft were sidelined as they awaited parts last year that the service actually had in a warehouse. The problem? They didn't even know the warehouse was there.

"Not only did we not know that the parts existed, we didn't even know the warehouse existed," Thomas Modly, the Navy's No. 2 civilian said at last week's annual Military Reporters and Editors conference.

The issue was discovered in last year's Navy- and Marine Corps-wide audit, which Modly said has helped the sea services correct some serious problems tracking inventory it owns.