USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyer
The USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) an Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) class destroyer pulled into port this week at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. According to BidLinks open solicitations seems they are stocking up on some Power-Sonic batteries NSN 6140-01-294-6528.
Naval Station Norfolk (NAVSTA Norfolk) is located in the Southeastern corner of Virginia in an area known as Hampton Roads. Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia is the largest naval complex in the world. They support the operational readiness of the US Atlantic Fleet.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) is also buying NLX 2500 700 DMG MORI Universal CNC Turning Center, see solicitation SPMYM1-26-Q-4145 for details.
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U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMC-E) Headquarters
In this BidLink Article series we will look at specific departments within the Defense Department and what they buy. There are thousands of Departments, Divisions and Contracting offices that buy products to be used by the U.S Military. Today we’ll take a quick look at a few orders the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center in Europe has placed this week.
Who is the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe?
The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMC-E) is essentially a middleman between the “Customer” and the supplier. The Customer being individual military bases or units with the final end user the warfighting troops. Individual bases or units typically make requests for specific items, then the request would go through several channels eventually landing at the Army Medical Materiel Centers offices. Then as stocks of inventories diminish USAMMC-E would create requisitions for those items which would end up going to a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Procurement Specialist at specific DLA buying locations who specialize in certain commodity classes and product types.
The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMC-E) is the largest Medical Logistics Center in the U.S. Army. Currently located at Kaiserslautern Army Depot (KAD) in Germany. Its south of Frankfurt and near Ramstein Airbase.
USAMMC-E consists of a team of Medical Logistics experts to oversee demand support of medical inventories and to enable operational healthcare across multiple theaters. USAMMC-E supports over 700 Army, Navy, Air Force and Department of State Hospitals, Clinics, Embassies and Field Units.
USAMMC-E is designated as the Theater Lead Agent for Medical Materiel (TLAMM) for U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
USAMMC-E also provides medical materiel support for U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which covers operations from northeastern Africa to south-western and southcentral Asia.
What does U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe buy?
Since the BidLink search engine posts 1000’s of open Defense Department bids every day we decided to look at one (1) day of posted solicitations coming from requests generated out of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center in Europe this week to get a picture of what they buy.
In total there were 22 individual requests for 22 different NSNs (separate items) spanning 10 different Federal Supply Classes (FSC)s. Products such as Emergency Litter Kits, Vaccines, and various Surgical items on a single day from USAMMC-E.
Each of these requestions which originated out of USAMMC-E were sent to the DLA Troop Support Medical Division to have solicitations created so that they can buy them.
Those 22 requisitions ended up being divided to three (3) individual DLA procurement divisions which specialize in these types of items (Class VIII Medical materiel) are:
DLA Troop Support Hospital Division (SPE2DH)
DLA Troop Support Pharmaceuticals Division (SPE2DP)
DLA Troop Support Surgical Division (SPE2DS)
These 22 solicitations can easily be found by searching using a variety of techniques such as FSCs.
FSRT team loads a 200 pound mannequin onto a litter. (Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sara M. Robinson)
The 10 different Federal Supply Classes representing the items the Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe are purchasing on this single day are:
6505 Drugs
6509 Veterinary Drugs
6510 Surgical Dressing Materials
6515 Medical and Surgical Instruments & Equipment
6520 Dental Instruments, Equipment
6525 X-Ray Equipment
6530 Hospital Furniture, Equipment
6630 Chemical Analysis Instruments
6640 Laboratory Equipment and Supplies
8520 Soaps
In summation The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe (USAMMC-E) is one of thousands of U.S. Military organizations buying products. Keep in mind in most cases the end user or Customer is NOT the agency or department posting the solicitation, it’s the consolidators that bring together the 1000’s of requests every day from thousands of military bases around the world, and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is the biggest. So if your product is used by the U.S. Army, DLA is probably buying it for them. Search smart
For those that are new here we will soon be adding a quick primer on how the U.S. Military buys, check back soon.
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Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Survival Radio AN/PRQ-7-7A Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery NSN 6140-01-534-3856, Part Number: 4866112-007 or BB-2001A/U
Today Bren-Tronics an EnerSys company won a DLA contract to manufacture up to 22,000 Rechargeable Batteries for the Army AN/PRQ-7-7A survival radio.
This is a four (4) year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to manufacture Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries for the Army version of the Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Survival Radio.
EnerSys (NYSE: ENS) completed its acquisition of Bren-Tronics on July 26, 2024. Prior to that Bren-Tronics (CAGE Code 51828) operated as private company that specialized in manufacturing Military batteries. Bren-Tronics has won government contracts for this specific NSN several times in the past. Today EnerSys the current owner of Bren-Tronics can say they now provide military CSEL Batteries.
Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) Survival Radio AN/PRQ-7-7A
The Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) AN/PRQ-7 is a Survival Radio system. It’s the replacement for all Joint Combat Search and Rescue radios, such as the PRC-90 and PRC-112. Aircrew and special forces use this radio to support survival, evasion, and personnel recovery operations.
The Combat Survivor Evader Locator (CSEL) joint program, led by the Air Force and Air Combat Command (ACC) is the Lead Command for CSEL. It’s classified as Air Force Acquisition Category III.
Contract Award Number: SPRBL1-26-D-0014
Contracting Office: DLA Weapons Support Land at Aberdeen
F-15 Eagle firing an AIM-7 Sparrow medium range air-to-air missile
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Mission Execution Directorate, Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate, F-15 Division (WAQ) awarded a 131.2 Billion Dollar contract to build and modernize the F-15 Eagle Aircraft for U.S. Airforce and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.
This Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract FA8634-26-D-B001 awarded to Boeing (NYSE: BA) today was originally posted to SAM.gov in November 2025 under the solicitation number FA8634-26-D-XTBD, it was a “Notice of Intent for Sole Source Award”. The program is known as F-15 Eagle Crest (F-15 Eagle Weapon System).
Wright Field in 1930 – Home of Wright Patterson Air Force Base
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) F-15 Division (WAQ) is in charge of development, production, sustainment, and modernization of U.S. Air Force and Foreign Military Sales Fighter Aircraft such as the F-15. The Primary operation locations are at Wright-Patterson AFB, Hill AFB, Tinker AFB, Robins AFB.
Today is the second day Defense Logistics Agency DLAs Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) web servers have been unresponsive. Seasoned Government contractors selling to DoD for many years see this as a normal occurrence. Government contractors typically rely on alternative or supplementary sources like BidLink to provide additional information such as NSN, bid and award data. Although to submit your bid to an open solicitation you do need access to DIBBS.
What is DIBBS and can’t I just use SAM.gov?
DIBBS vs. System for Award Management (SAM.gov)
DIBBS is the Defense Departments portal for Government contractors to search for and submit bids to open solicitations posted by the Defense Logistic Agency (DLA). DIBBS is also where you might go to get a PDF copy of a current open contract, however once those contracts are closed they are removed from the DIBBS system and you must look at supplemental sources or use Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests to obtain original PDFs of old contracts.
SAM.gov
The System for Award Management or SAM is the U.S. Governments website where both solicitations and awards are posted. SAM solicitations relating to Defense Logistics Agency DLA will be posted to SAM.gov with links to the DIBBS site to get the actual PDF solicitation details. Typically DLA related PDFs are not hosted on the SAM.gov. website, you either need go to DIBBS (when the contracts are active) or use an alternate sources or FOIA requests.
Where were the bids posted before DIBBS?
Answer: The Procurement Gateway
The Procurement Gateway (http://progate.daps.dla.mil/) was a legacy DLA application replaced by DLA in the early 2000s under DLAs Logistics Modernization efforts through the Enterprise Business Systems (EBS). For those who remember it was very similar, see below:
Department of Defense Procurement Gateway
Department of Defense RFQ search on the Procurement Gateway
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Today the Army announced a new project under the Army Enterprise Strategic Capital Initiative (SCI) to partner with FedEx to speed up logistics. The domestic non-tactical Depots will be modernized.
What is the Army Enterprise Strategic Capital Initiative (SCI)?
The Army posted a Request for Information (RFI) (solicitation) on February 27, 2026 asking U.S. Industry to help with the modernization of the U.S. Army. Using Strategic Partnerships and Private Capital investments these types of agreements can exist without the use of congressional appropriations to solve critical modernization requirements the Army currently has.
Agreements of this type already exist within the U.S Government known as Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) facilities. This specific project hits one of the bullet points in the Strategic Capital Initiative RFI to Strengthening Logistics and Supply Chains. Domestic non-tactical Depots and Organic Industrial Base (OIB) sites will be modernized.
The Army’s Strategic Capital Initiative will pair Army depots and demand requirements with FedEx Dataworks logistics expertise and Google’s secure cloud to help meet supply chain demands. The Army hopes to have a finalized implementation plan by November 2026.
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The Defense Logistics Agency (DLAs) Internet Bid Board System (DIBBS) is not Not Working Today.
It went down sometime yesterday, you might see something like this “DIBBS is presently under going maintenance” or probably nothing at all.
DIBBS is the website where the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) posts thousands of open solicitations and awards for item the DoD is buying.
Hopefully the’ll fix it soon.
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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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