MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This is an informational guide for packaging and marking requirements applicable to Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and solicitations. The document is not officially adopted by DoD and serves instructional purposes only, derived from current government packaging documents, pamphlets, and technical manuals.

The guide covers packaging requirements located across multiple sections of solicitations and contracts (Sections A through J), including solicitation forms, supplies and services descriptions, specifications, statements of work, inspection and acceptance criteria, delivery terms, contract clauses, and attachments. Key standards referenced include Commercial Item Descriptions (CIDs), military and federal specifications, aperture cards and drawings, special packaging instructions, DLA master solicitations, FAR and DFARS clauses, product specifications, Military Standard Drawings (MS), industry standards (ASTM), and packaging requirement codes. Hazardous materials must be packaged in accordance with 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 details five basic military preservation methods (Methods 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50), military packing levels (Level A and Level B), and provides visual examples of specific packaging methods (31–52) for different item types and shipment conditions. Additional coverage includes packaging requirement codes (QUP, ICQ, MOP, CD, PM, WM, CUD, CT, UC, IC, UCL, OPI, PACK levels, and special markings), quality assurance provisions from Appendix G, inspection procedures including leakage and heat-sealed seam testing, package markings (identification, bar codes, address, and special markings), unit and intermediate container labeling examples, exterior container labeling, Military Shipping Labels (MSL), and special markings for shelf-life, project codes, fragile items, Method 50 packages, expedited handling, hazardous materials, wood packaging materials (requiring heat-treated marking compliance), palletization standards (MIL-STD-147), RFID requirements (DFARS 252.211-7006), and relevant specifications (MIL-STD-2073-1E, MIL-STD-129, MIL-DTL-117, MIL-DTL-6060, MIL-STD-3010, ASTM D3951, D1974, D5168).