MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This is an informational guide on packaging and marking requirements for the Department of Defense, published by the Defense Contract Management Agency in March 2014.

The guide provides comprehensive instruction on military packaging standards, preservation methods, and marking requirements for federal contracts. It covers two primary standards: ASTM D-3951 for commercial packaging (appropriate for items intended for immediate use, depot consumption, or domestic shipment) and MIL-STD-2073-1E for military packaging (required for items deployed during wartime, requiring reusable containers, intended for delivery-at-sea, or entering the Defense Transportation and Distribution System with storage exceeding six months). For hazardous materials, packaging must comply with modal regulations including Title 49 CFR for land, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air transport. The document identifies 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 with desiccant). Specific packaging methods (31-52) are detailed with illustrations showing unit pack, intermediate container, and exterior container configurations. The guide specifies marking requirements across identification markings, bar code markings, address markings using Military Shipping Labels, and special markings for hazardous materials, shelf-life, project codes, fragile items, and expedited handling. It includes packaging requirement codes (PRCs) that translate contract specifications into specific packaging parameters, quality assurance provisions with inspection and leakage testing requirements, palletization standards per MIL-STD-147, heat-treated wood packaging material requirements, and RFID tagging specifications. The document serves as a reference tool for contractors and procurement personnel to ensure compliance with DoD packaging standards across military and commercial shipments.