MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This is an informational guide issued by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) in March 2014 that provides packaging and marking requirements for Department of Defense contracts and solicitations.

The guide outlines where packaging requirements are typically located within solicitation documents (Section D for Packaging & Marking, along with specifications, statements of work, and attachments) and details the five basic military preservation methods: Method 10 (physical protection), Method 20 (preservative coating), Method 30 (waterproof protection), Method 40 (watervaporproof protection), and Method 50 (watervaporproof protection with desiccant). For hazardous materials, shipments must comply with modal regulations including Title 49 CFR for land transport, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air, with markings per MIL-STD-129. The guide includes visual diagrams of each preservation method showing the layering and containment approaches required.

The document provides comprehensive guidance on packaging requirement codes (QUP, ICQ, MOP, CD, PM, WM, CUD, CT, UC, IC, UCL, OPI, PACK, SP MK) referenced in MIL-STD-2073-1E, marking requirements including identification, bar code, address, and special markings (shelf-life, project code, fragile/delicate, Method 50, expedited handling, hazardous materials), and military packing levels A and B for different operational environments. It references key specifications including MIL-STD-2073-1E (military packaging standard), ASTM D3951 (commercial packaging), MIL-DTL-117 (heat-sealable bags), MIL-DTL-6060 (watervaporproof bags), MIL-STD-129 (marking standards), and MIL-STD-147 (palletization standards). The guide emphasizes that contractors are responsible for quality assurance per Appendix G, including preservation inspections, leakage tests, and heat-sealed seam testing. Additional resources include a packaging code lookup tool and references to RFID tagging requirements under DFARS Clause 252.211-7006 for supply chain visibility.