MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This is an informational guide published by the Defense Contract Management Agency in March 2014 that provides instruction on packaging and marking requirements for Department of Defense contracts and solicitations. The guide is not officially adopted by DoD and serves only as a familiarization resource, not as a replacement for contractual requirements, specifications, or regulations.

The guide covers packaging and marking standards applicable across multiple solicitation and contract sections, including supplies and services, descriptions and specifications, packaging and marking requirements, inspection and acceptance, and contract clauses. Key standards referenced include MIL-STD-2073-1E for military packaging, ASTM D-3951 for commercial packaging, and MIL-STD-129 for military marking. The document outlines five basic military preservation methods (Methods 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50), details specific packaging levels (Level A for severe worldwide conditions and Level B for moderate conditions), and provides comprehensive guidance on container selection, preservation materials, wrapping, cushioning, and marking requirements. Hazardous materials 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 transport. The guide includes sample worksheets, packaging requirement codes, quality assurance provisions for visual examination and leakage testing, detailed marking examples for unit and intermediate containers, military shipping labels, special markings for shelf-life and hazardous materials, heat-treated wood packaging requirements, palletization standards per MIL-STD-147, and RFID tag specifications for passive identification systems.