MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This document is an informational guide prepared by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) in March 2014 that provides guidance on packaging and marking standards for Department of Defense contracts and solicitations. The guide is not an officially adopted DoD policy but serves as a familiarization resource for contractors regarding contractual packaging requirements, specifications, and regulations.

The guide details the locations where packaging requirements appear in solicitations and contracts (Sections A through J), emphasizing that the entire contract must be reviewed for packaging specifications. It addresses hazardous materials packaging requirements, which must comply with Title 49 CFR for land transport, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air. For non-hazardous items, the guide references ASTM D-3951 for commercial packaging and MIL-STD-2073-1E for military packaging. MIL-STD-2073-1E (with Change 1, effective January 7, 2011) establishes military packaging standards for items requiring preservation during shipment and storage, including wartime deployment, reusable containers, sea delivery, and extended storage exceeding six months. The document outlines five basic military preservation methods (Methods 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50), detailing specific requirements for each method including protective materials, containers, cushioning, and marking standards. It provides visual examples of packaging methods, packaging requirement codes (PRC) that decode specific packaging specifications, quality assurance provisions including preservation and leakage testing, marking requirements (identification, bar codes, address, and special markings), and references to key specifications such as MIL-STD-129 (military marking), MIL-STD-147 (palletization), MIL-DTL-117 (heat-sealable bags), and relevant ASTM standards.