Neat article on Time magazine's Battleland Blog about a contract being let for PSKs for the Naval Special Warfare Group (SEAL Team Six). Having worked on the specifications for other military survival kits I found it interesting how this one differs from those.

The specifications shown are much less detailed than the ones used for the folks for whom we worked. Those included material specifications, operational parameters and testing standards.

This solicitation seems like a 'sole-source' contract to replace kits the Navy has previously procured. There's a link in the story to the commercial vendor who sells the kits to the Navy.

The Battleland Blog has some very good reporting on all manner of things military in nature from procurement decisions to treatments for PTSD and histories of soldiers in combat.


To quote from the solicitation:

Beyond those particulars, the hard case shall be:


– Capable of limited cooking without effecting the container finish (i.e. paint bubbling)
– Capable of being used as a limited digging implement without affecting its ability to house contents (simultaneous function of digging and housing not required).
– Shall have a weather resistant gasket able to keep out water during minor water immersion (i.e. river crossings, swimming)
– Shall have a fastening system that is reuseable and secure to prevent accidental openings
– Top surface of kit must have permanently affixed a 2” x 3” piece of loop fastener (i.e. soft side of velcro)
– Ruggedized to take heavy abuse while carried without damage to inner contents
– Case shall securely hold all items below without rattling or other noises.

Government procurement is it's own wacky universe.

Edit: A quick search of the government's online contracting site found this solicitation for SERE kits.

Even the soft case has been specified to take a Velcro flag patch..

What ever happened to giving a squaddie fifty quid to go shopping at Blacks, Tiso and Boots?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU1VDzqo8T0

One thing that caught my eye from the content list for the hard case version:

1- 32oz foil pack of broad spectrum antibiotic

Is that a typo? I'm assuming that this is referring to an ointment, but maybe it's referring to medication? In either case, 32oz of anything is a lot in such a tiny kit! For comparison, your typical tube of sunscreen comes in around 5-7oz of product.

And only 300 units? You'd think these guys could put together their own kits more economically for such a small order.

I suppose that the SEAL operator could add the following;

Steristrips.

Lifeboat matches and striker pad.

Lip Salve.

Alcohol wipes.

Potassium Permanganate.

Compeed blister plasters.

Medium Tegaderm dressing patch.

Sewing Kit.

Condom.

Tampon.

Ibuprofen/DF118s etc.

Multivitamins.

Fish hooks/leaders/swivels/weights.

Thanks for posting Andy, very interesting. The lack of detail you mentioned is not up to level of professionalism I would expect from such a process. The link you added for the Air force procurement was equally disturbing looked like a cut and paste job from vendors sites, instead of actual requirements specifications.

Most operators add/subtract from their kits depending on terrain/season/location. Fishing gear in deserts - not so useful.

They probably won't add much first aid stuff, that's another kit that is carried. It too is added with personal stuff.

Knives/compasses are always carried, as are lighters/matches. Most of the time, the compass is dummycorded to you, as is a smaller SAK/multitool.

Considering what I used to carry in my pockets and/or in my web gear, which I pretty much wore 24/7, I didn't carry a seperate kit.

Oh, good OP-SEC there procurement people. Want to guess how many operators are in NAVSPECWAR?

The lack of detail points me in the direction of a sole-source contract rather than a full and open competition. This is common for buying small quantities of items that are commericially available. Or restocking previous buys. Running a wide open solicitation effort is very expensive and time consuming.

The SERE kit specs we worked on already existed, we were just helping the govt. to bring them up to date and add real world testing criteria. Yet that took hours of teleconferences, document reviews, etc. The specs for a few items ran into the dozens of pages. These kits will go to a very specific set of warfighters and are specially tailored to their work environment.

I agree that the AF specs were someone's lazy effort. But not all procurements are that way.

This is probably a re-supply procurement so the number is not likely to be indicative of unit size.

Er...About the same number of Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. The rest probably know how to make their own PSKs..

partial contents

http://nation.time.com/2013/02/21/youre-...-kit/?hpt=hp_t3