MIL-STD-2073.pdf

This document is the Packaging and Marking Guide for the Department of Defense, published by the Defense Contract Management Agency in March 2014. It serves as an informational resource for familiarization with DoD packaging and marking requirements and is not officially adopted by DoD as a binding standard.

The guide provides comprehensive direction on packaging and marking practices required under federal contracts and solicitations. Key packaging standards referenced include MIL-STD-2073-1E for military packaging, which applies to items requiring military preservation for operational demands including wartime deployment, reusable containers, delivery-at-sea, and storage exceeding six months. The document outlines five basic military preservation methods: Method 10 (physical protection), Method 20 (preservative coating only), Method 30 (waterproof protection), Method 40 (watervaporproof protection), and Method 50 (watervaporproof protection with desiccant). ASTM D-3951 applies to commercial packaging for items intended for immediate use, not-mission-capable supply, depot consumption, or small parcel post shipment. Hazardous materials must comply with Title 49 CFR for land, IMO/IMDG for water, ICAO/IATA for commercial air, and AFMAN 24-204_IP for military air, with modal regulations taking precedence in cases of conflict. The guide details specific packing methods (31-45, 50-52) with visual examples, marking requirements including identification, bar codes, address markings using Military Shipping Labels, and special markings for shelf-life, project codes, fragility, Method 50 label designation, expedited handling, and hazardous materials. Additional requirements include MIL-STD-129 for military marking standards, MIL-STD-147 for palletization standards, heat-treated wood packaging material compliance, and RFID tag application per DFARS clause requirements.