The DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles supply chain issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to buy between 231,250 to 462,500 Bed Blankets for use in Disaster Relief operations. If they purchase the maximum amount it could be worth up to $3.7 Million Dollars.
This Disaster Relief Blanket/ Homeless Blanket is to be manufactured to the specifications listed below: Technical data IS Available during this open solicitation.
Basic Specs:
The blanket can be any color Does not show dirt or stains well Shall be made from 100% acrylic or 30% (plus or minus 5%) wool and the remainder 70% (plus or minus 5%) man-made fiber, acetate fiber, The blanket shall measure not less than 66 inches wide and 90 inches long Weigh Not Less Than 2.5 Pounds (Total Weight Per Blanket).
The NSN is 7210-00-119-5335 Blanket, Bed or labeled “DISASTER BLANKET”
U.S. Air Force delivers pallets of blankets to FEMA for Hurricane Sandy relief effort
This article will answer this question as well as provide some insight on Defense Department buying as it relates to “Customers” and the Buyers”.
Government contractors selling products to the military or federal agencies might ask this question in part to help find new procurement opportunities. Some may confuse the buyer and the customer leading the search for open solicitations to the wrong place. Many may think that the user “the customer” is the buyer, well in many cases the Department of Defense DoD buys products for other agencies. If for example you sell Blankets that are used by FEMA, you might think to look at FEMA for procurement opportunities, not in this case it’s the DoD Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) that buys them.
Let’s define the difference between the “buyer” and “the Customer” at least within the DoD world.
The U.S. DoD Government Buyer:
The “Buyer”, is the person listed in the solicitation and in most cases they are requesting for quotes for the item, and are not usually the customer. The DLA Buyer receives requests from customers to purchase specific items. Buyers may also receive multiple Purchase Requests (PRs) from various departments/agencies such FEMA or the Army, then consolidate those requests into one open solicitation.
The U.S. DoD Government Customer:
The “Customer” or end user is typically a single person/team needing a specific item. The Customer could be a Supply Specialist/Logistics Specialist part of a larger unit or group or an individual person. For example if a Supply Specialist serving at a division of the Army National Guard needed an item, they would create a Purchase Requests to be sent to a buyer.
The DoD Government Solicitation:
Once the Purchase Request reaches the buying office(s) solicitations are created.
New companies wishing to sell to the Department of Defense may not be familiar on how the DoD works regarding its US partner agencies. We’ve helped new companies over the past 25 years at BidLink increase their sales by providing a better understanding of this DoD partner agency relationship. The better you understand “Who buys” what for “Somone who needs”, the better chance you have of finding that open government solicitation you wish to bid on, because you know where to look.
The Defense Logistics Agency has hundreds of contracting offices with Purchase Requests coming from thousands of locations. Within the solicitation is another key point, the “Ship to:” location. It can tell you if an item is going direct a customer or to a DoD stocking location worldwide.
Do customers needs always end up in the creation of a Solicitation or is it pulled from stock?
DoD Logistics systems make determinations if a request from a customer goes to become a solicitation or is pulled from stock. Things such as status of stock and annual demand of a NSN come into play making this determination.
If a specific National Stock Number (NSN) was requested from an agency, let’s say FEMA needs 125,000 Disaster Blankets NSN 7210-00-119-5335 two things might happen.
Pull the 125,000 Disaster Relief Blankets from stock stored in the worldwide DLA Distribution Locations or from one of the commercial third-party logistics (3PL) services contracted by DLA. Then the item would be delivered to the customer.
Create a Purchase Request, send that PR to the appropriate DLA office, then a government solicitation would be created and posted requesting the items. If it was determined that stock of a specific item was not available then a solicitation would be created.
The Department of Defense and its hundreds of Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) buying offices each specialize in specific “commodity types” or types of products. For example if the Army, National Guard or Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA has a need for 125,000 Blankets to support hurricane victims the purchase request for blankets would eventually go to the DLA Clothing and Textiles office, Heraldic’s Group.
To answer the question who’s buying the Blankets would be The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Clothing and Textiles supply chain office. And in most cases this specific NSN 7210-00-119-5335 called “Blanket, Bed” based on the past procurement history we looked at, it gets shipped and stocked at the Travis Association for the Blind a third-party logistics (3PL) location who is a DLA 3PL contracted supplier.
This Knowledge can help you fine tune how you look for open government solicitations as well as learning more about the customers needs.
In fact you might not be aware that the fresh fruit and vegetables your kids eat at the public schools in 47 states are provided by the Department of Defense through government contracts awarded by the DLA Troop Support Subsistence division in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
So next time you are looking and want to sell your product to a specific agency whether it be DoD or not, be sure to look at DLA.
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The DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles- Heraldics Buying Office (FQDD) is an office within the Dress Clothing Division. They manage close to 8,000 unique NSNs. Items such as medals and insignias, embroidered ranks, patches, hand embroidered flags name/service tapes, U.S. and Military flags, Presidential hand sewn flags, Military blankets, bedding items, Mattresses, Sword and Scabbards.
The Heraldics team provides direct support to the US Army Heraldry and Veterans Medals Unit. They also support the Congressional Homeless Blanket Program. While not heraldry items, mattresses, sheets, and blankets are also procured by this team.
When searching for open government solicitations on Blankets or other related Heraldry items use either the name of the item in your search (best accurate results) or the Federal Supply Class (FSC). Consult your bid search consultant for guidance.
DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles 700 Robbins Ave Philadelphia, PA 19111 email: dscpctfeedback@dla.mil Contact: 215-737-3257
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DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles – Dress Clothing Division
The DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles (DLA Troop Support C&T) Dress Clothing Division manages most of the dress clothing items provided to new recruits including shoes. In addition, the division handles, flags, heraldic items, insignia, and ecclesiastical supplies. Items such as Navy Service Dress White Jumper, the Marine Corps Dress Blue Uniform and the Army Service Uniform (ASU).
Manufacturers wishing to do business with DLA Clothing and Textiles can:
Provide Dress Clothing samples for evaluation by DLA
Request specification for items
Request patterns
Have technical questions addressed by DLA
Note: Clothing evaluations need to be requested well in advance of solicitation issuance.
Main Buying Teams within the Dress Clothing Division are:
Dress Uniforms
Heraldics
Outerwear, Shirts, Headwear (OSH)
Ecclesiastical Supplies
Tents and Shelters
Flag Room
Contact Information DLA Troop Support Clothing and Textiles – Dress Clothing Division 700 Robbins Ave Philadelphia, PA 19111 Phone: 215-737-3257 Clothing and Textile Email: dscpctfeedback@dla.mil
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Today we looked at one of the Diving Knives that Defense Logistics Agency buys on a regular basis. A popular model they purchase is made by Benchmade Knife company, it’s a 3 – 1/2 inch blade, black handle made from BOHLER N680 Stainless Steel. The SKU is: 112SBK-BLK, H2O Fixed Dive Knife. This underwater utility blade has a Serrated edge, rescue hook, and prying tip with a handle made of Santoprene.
After reviewing at the past government solicitations and contract procurement history is it appears they are buying many more this time than ever before. In addition, only two of the past contract awardees have supplied this to the military, and one of them is a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOSB), the other is not.
To see this solicitation and other open government solicitations for Knives, simply search on the word “Knife”, it’s the one listed as Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business set-aside.
This current open government solicitation is for an Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) with an estimated annual quantity of 1,864 each. If they end of purchasing all 1,864 Diving Knives, the total contract value will be around $150,000 for the year.
DLA Weapons Support Land – Strategic Acquisition is the buying office.
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Todays’ announcement to triple production of Patriot (PAC-3) missile system components using framework agreements is a good sign that it is.
Back in November 2025 a new Acquisition Method system had begun. The Acquisition Transformation Strategy (ATS) was born as a result of Executive Order 14265. Its goal was to “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and grow the Defense Industrial Base”. The Acquisition Transformation Strategy focuses on speed of acquisition and uses methods to increase production capacities by rebuilding Defense Industrial Base (DIB).
The Department of War (DOW) announcement today to triple production of components for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE). The PAC-3 MSE framework agreement establishes a second source for Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs). By providing a steady demand signal for a second source, the Department of War is driving stability and competition into the supply chain, creating a more resilient industrial base. Additionally, the agreement ramps up production of ignition safety devices for PAC-3.
This use of Department’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy focuses on directly engaging with key suppliers at all levels of the industrial base. It provides the entire supply chain with “long-term demand signals necessary to invest in advanced tooling, facility modernization, and workforce development to scale production.”
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An open government solicitation was posted yesterday for the specific model of Welders Helmet NSN 4240-01-645-9397, part number 805438-08, 3M Scott Weld-O-Vista Facepiece.
This specific welding helmet includes a full facepiece that can be used with either Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) respirators, Supplied Air or Air-Purifying Respirators (APRs).
This helmet is part of the Portable Exothermic Cutting Unit (PECU) Kit NSN 4240-01-272-3841.
The Portable Exothermic Cutting Unit (PECU) Kit is used on many U.S. Naval ships to perform maintenance operations. It’s an exothermic torch, a cutting torch, used to cut through thick metals on ships. The PECU is ignited when oxygen passes through an expendable cutting rod, a spark is generated from a battery powered igniter. One of the NSNs for Portable Exothermic Cutting Units is 4240-01-272-3841.
Each Portable Exothermic Cutting Unit kit comes with a variety of complimentary items such as Cutting Electrodes NSN 3439-01-325-7641, Welders Gloves NSN 8415-00-268-7860, Welders Helmets NSN 4240-01-645-9397.
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The U.S. Military buys a variety of Flashlights, Headlamps and Helmet Lights for all sorts of purposes and lots of them.
When searching for open government solicitations, knowing (or figuring out) the specific name of “what the military calls it” can sometimes be tricky. In this specific solicitation they reference the item as a “Flashlight” with NSN being 6230-01-603-7205.
This solicitation specifically asks for ones manufactured by two well-known companies Streamlight or Princeton Tec. They will accept products manufactured by either company.
Depending on the person or company selling these items may refer to it by either name Flashlight, Headlamp or Helmet Light, well the Military calls it a “Flashlight”. When searching for open government solicitations this is important because if you search on the wrong word Headlamp or Helmet Light you’d miss this $200,000 solicitation for Headlamps or Helmet Lights. They plan on buying a quantity of 2,595 ea.
Streamlights CAGE code is 56654 and Princeton Tec. CAGE is 9X319. The referenced part numbers, UPCs are 080926-14510-8, item # 14510 or Princeton Tec. GHOST-MPLS-MC. With the manufacturers calling them Streamlight Sidewinder Compact II Military light, or Princeton Tec. Ghost X MPLS tactical headlamp.
The Lighting division of DLA Troop Support is the buying office.
When searching for open government solicitations capturing everything you wish to see, be sure to set up your searches using every combination of potential words and or FSC’s or talk to your procurement search expert. To see this specific solicitation, search on the NSN 6230-01-603-7205.
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The Navy Marine Corps team celebrates a 2.6 Billion Dollar government contract awarded to build new Medium Landing Ships for the Marine Expeditionary Forces.
The Navy Portfolio Acquisition Executive Maritime (PAE Maritime) team used a non-traditional contracting method by creating a Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) Request for Proposal (RFP) to oversee the acquisition of the new Medium Landing Ship (LSM). Typically government contracts of this size take around 8 months to go from RFP to contract award, this one took 5 months.
Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded the prime contract for the Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Vessel Construction to TOTE Services LLC of Jacksonville, Florida CAGE code 0B1X4. The contract award is N00024-26-C-2421, it was solicited under the solicitation N00024-26-R-2421
The initial production will include building up to eight LSMs. This VCM contract will be directed by the Navy giving TOTE Services the ability to execute and manage subcontracts with Bollinger Shipyards CAGE code 64513 for construction of one LSM and Fincantieri Marinette Marine CAGE code 0VP52 construction of four LSMs. TOTE Services LLC the Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) has the flexibility to determine the best award strategy for up to three additional vessels.
Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Program
The Medium Landing Ship (LSM) Program was previously known as the Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program and is to include procuring between 18 to 35 ships.
These new amphibious ships are to support the Marine Corps. The Medium Landing Ship to be used by Marine Expeditionary Forces I MEF and III MEF. It will provide Marine forces the critical intra-theater littoral mobility required in contested environments such as the First Island Chains forward-stationed in Japan.
First and Second Island Chains
The first LSM ship is anticipated for delivery fall of 2029.
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The Military buys these commercial style Aircraft Life Preservers all the time.
DLA Troop Support Construction and Equipment division regularly posts a new open government solicitation every few months. DLA Troop Support C&E has been buying on-average a quantity of 2,400 each time, prices ranging from $125-$150.00 each.
This commercial style Airline Life Preserver, Vest NSN 4220-01-113-8665 is again open for bid. The estimated contract value is around this time is $333,500.00 for this order alone.
This Life Preserver, Vest NSN 4220-01-113-8665 is built to the Commercial Specification A-A-50652. Only one company has won all of the past awards for many years and they are NOT a manufacturer. Since the commercial government specification is available it’s open to any manufacturer or new awardee that’s a small business.
As a note for New Companies looking to sell to the Defense Department, keep in mind that DoD never wants only one source, they are always looking for new suppliers.
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