MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This is an informational guide on packaging and marking requirements for Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and solicitations, issued by the Defense Contract Management Agency in March 2014. The guide is not officially adopted by DoD and is intended for familiarization purposes only, serving as a reference for understanding packaging standards rather than establishing binding contractual requirements.

The guide covers packaging requirements located across multiple sections of solicitations and contracts (Sections A through J), including commercial item descriptions, military and federal specifications, aperture cards and drawings, and packaging instruction codes. It addresses hazardous materials packaging in accordance with modal regulations (Title 49 CFR for land, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air), with all markings required per MIL-STD-129. The document details two primary military packaging standards: ASTM D-3951 for commercial packaging (applicable to items for immediate use, depot consumption, and small parcel post shipments) and MIL-STD-2073-1E for military packaging, which applies to wartime deployments, reusable containers, delivery-at-sea items, and shipments exceeding six months' storage. The guide describes five basic preservation methods (Methods 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50) with corresponding packing levels (Level A and Level B), specific container types (bags, rigid containers, metal containers), and detailed visual examples of proper packaging configurations. Additional sections address packaging requirement codes (QUP, ICQ, MOP, CD, PM, WM, CUD, CT, UC, IC, UCL, OPI, PACK, and SP MK), quality assurance provisions including preservation inspections and leakage testing, identification and address markings, special markings (shelf-life, project codes, fragile items, Method 50 labels, ESD sensitivity, expedited handling, hazardous materials), wood packaging material requirements with heat-treatment marking standards, palletization standards per MIL-STD-147, RFID tag requirements per DFARS Clause 252.211-7006, and relevant key specifications including MIL-STD-129, MIL-DTL-117, MIL-DTL-6060, MIL-STD-3010, and ASTM standards D1974 and D5168.