Carter Enterprises LLC

Carter Enterprises LLC, doing business as Mil-Spec Enterprises, is an SBA-certified HUBZone small business manufacturer of military uniforms, personal protective equipment, and specialized textile items, operating as a prime contractor on 360 federal defense-logistics awards valued at $4.87 billion combined potential value. Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and structured as a limited liability partnership, Mil-Spec Enterprises manufactures all products at its Brooklyn facility and competes predominantly full-and-open against the Defense Logistics Agency and U.S. military services, with HUBZone set-aside recurrence on select IDIQs but the majority of task orders issued without set-aside designation.

The vendor's customer concentration is acute and defense-focused. The top three funding agencies account for 99% of awards by count. The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Clothing and Textiles dominates the portfolio with 306 awards worth $1.65 billion combined potential value, spanning dress gloves, fireman's shirts, combat uniforms, women's trousers and coats, combat trousers, and field packs. The Department of the Army's Program Executive Office Soldier places 28 awards totaling $2.55 billion combined potential value, anchored by the $785 million Modular Scalable Vest (MSV) IDIQ, under which Mil-Spec has executed delivery orders for MSV Generation II systems, MSV Law Enforcement variants, and MSV shoot packs. The U.S. Marine Corps awarded 21 contracts worth $646.3 million combined potential value, primarily for Plate Carrier Generation Three systems under a $37.9 million single-award IDIQ established July 26, 2023. The dollar rankings diverge sharply from volume: PEO Soldier anchors 52% of total potential value on just 8% of award count, reflecting large-scale systems procurements; DLA by contrast distributes $1.65 billion across 306 small individual delivery orders.

Mil-Spec's five active parent IDIQs carry ceilings totaling over $1.2 billion. The largest is the $785 million Modular Scalable Vest contract with PEO Soldier (no set-aside), awarded under an undated parent vehicle SPM1C111D1059 that has generated 16 task orders worth $239.6 million to date. The $118.15 million HUBZone-set-aside DLA IDIQ for clips, ends, straps, small arms carriers, and ballistic assemblies (SPM1C111D1025), awarded April 16, 2024, carries 16 task orders valued at $239.6 million combined. A $37.9 million single-award Total Small Business Marine Corps IDIQ for Plate Carrier Generation Three systems, awarded July 26, 2023, has seeded over $25 million in delivery orders. Two newer single-award contracts awarded in 2025 — a $38.96 million Total Small Business DLA IDC for military flyer's gloves (April 14, 2025) and an $11.25 million unrestricted DLA IDC for Fireman's Yellow shirts (September 3, 2025) — support recent task orders. Mil-Spec places substantial order volume under legacy DLA multiple-award IDIQs: one vehicle (SPE1C115D1102) has generated 72 task orders worth $33.5 million combined; another (SPE1C120D1206) carries 23 task orders worth $43.5 million combined.

Activity trajectory shows growth through 2024 then contraction. Awards per year reached 23 in 2023 and 21 in 2024, then dropped to 12 in 2025 and 3 in the first two months of 2026. Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months is light: 10 awards worth $32.6 million combined potential value face ultimate completion before mid-2028, posing modest recompete pressure. Obligated dollars ($810.5 million) represent just 17% of combined potential value, indicating substantial unexercised contract authority across parent vehicles.

Mil-Spec's capability portfolio centers on military apparel, protective equipment, and textile manufacturing. Top NAICS categories are Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (177 awards) and All Other Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (50 awards). Top PSC codes are Clothing, Special Purpose (171 awards) and Armor, Personal (134 awards). Recent representative work includes a $3.92 million DLA delivery order for flyer's gloves (January 14, 2026, completion November 23, 2026), a $399,976 PEO Soldier delivery order for MSV shoot packs (February 20, 2026, completion August 10, 2026), a $21.35 million DLA definitive contract for 4,000 MOLLE field packs in OCP (January 13, 2023, completion August 12, 2024), and an $8.1 million Marine Corps delivery order for Plate Carrier Generation III complete systems in coyote (September 28, 2023, completion August 29, 2025). The source identifies a subsidiary, Florida Armor LLC, as a small business joint venture, though no separate award activity is detailed for it.