U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

Office of Facilities and Asset Management 

Asset and Administrative Management Division

Uniforms Management Center

DHS Uniforms Program Overview 

Joint Advanced Planning Brief for Industry (JAPBI)

Mike Britt

Director, Uniforms Management Center

Customs and Border Protection

29 November 2018
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Mission

The Department of Homeland Security has a vital mission to secure the nation from the many

threats we face. This requires the dedication of more than 240,000 employees in jobs that range

from aviation and border security to emergency response, from cybersecurity analyst to chemical

facility inspector. Our duties are wide-ranging, and our goal is clear - keeping America safe.

The Department of Homeland Security’s uniform program consists of eight different uniformed

components performing law enforcement and security roles in support of the overall DHS mission

as well as a DHS Uniforms Commodity Council. The components include:

• United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

• United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC)

• National Protections and Programs Directorate (NPPD)

• United States Secret Service (USSS)

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• United States Coast Guard (USCG)
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DHS Organization Chart

Executive Secretary

SECRETARY

Chief of Staff

DEPUTY SECRETARY

Military Advisor

SCIENCE&

TECHNOLOGY 

DIRECTORATE

MANAGEMENT

DIRECTORATE

NATIONAL PROTECTION

& PROGRAMS

DIRECTORATE

OFFICEOFPOLICY

OFFICEOFTHE

GENERAL COUNSEL

OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE

AFFAIRS

OFFICEOF PUBLIC

AFFAIRS

OFFICEOFTHE

INSPECTOR GENERAL

CHIEF INFORMATION

OFFICER

CHIEF FINANCIAL

OFFICER

FEDERAL LAW

ENFORCEMENT

TRAINING CENTERS

COUNTERING

WEAPONSOFMASS

DESTRUCTION OFFICE

OFFICEOF

PARTNERSHIP &

ENGAGEMENT

OFFICEOF

INTELLIGENCE &

ANALYSIS

OFFICEOFOPERATIONS

COORDINATION

PRIVACY OFFICE

OFFICEFORCIVIL

RIGHTS & CIVIL

LIBERTIES

U.S. CUSTOMS &

BORDER PROTECTION

U.S. CITIZENSHIP &

IMMIGRATION

SERVICES

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT

AGENCY

U.S.COASTGUARD

U.S.IMMIGRATION&

CUSTOMS

ENFORCEMENT

U.S. SECRET SERVICE

TRANSPORTATION

SECURITY

ADMINISTRATION

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

Types of DHS Uniforms

Uniform Items: DHS uniformed components wear a variety of uniforms and uniform gear, each with 

their own wear-policies. Below are some examples of the different types of uniforms and uniform 

gear on the DHS uniform contract:

• Law Enforcement Duty Uniforms 

• Dress Uniforms 

• Ceremonial Uniforms

• Fire Retardant (FR) rated uniforms to include flight suits

• Duty Gear (duty belt, holster, cases, pouches, etc.)

• Footwear, headwear, and handwear

• Base Layers/Levels

• Extreme Weather Gear

• Outerwear

• Administrative Uniforms

• Badges, Patches, and Insignia

• Special Operations
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

CBP Uniforms
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

CBP Uniforms and Class Distinctions (example Office of Field Operations)

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Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

GS Series Description Class(es) 

Authorized

GS-1895 Officer/Agricultural Specialist 1,2,3,4,7

GS-0401

Special Response Team 

Officer/Joint Military 

Operations Overseas 

1,2,3,4,7,8

GS-1801 Seized Property Specialist 1,2,3,4,7

GS-340, 1801, 

0343, 0301, 

1895 & 0401

Senior Management Staff 1,2,3,4,7

Varies Other Approved Position 5,7

Varies Co-op/Intern Students 5,7

OFFICE OF FIELD OPERATIONS

Class 

Distinctions

Uniform 

Class 1 Ceremonial Uniform

Class 2 Dress Uniform

Class 3 Work Uniform

Class 4 Battle Dress Uniform (BDU)

Class 5 Administrative Support Uniform

Class 7 Maternity Uniform

Class 8 Special Response Team/Joint 

Military Operations Overseas

OFO Class 1 Required Items

• Ike Jacket (Nameplate, Large 

Rank Insignia, Badge, Longevity 

Stars)

• Felt Campaign Hat (CBP Hat 

Insignia, Leather Hat Band, Chin 

Strap)

• Class 2 Long Sleeve Shirt (Black 

Tie w/Tie Tack, Rank Shoulder 

Boards)

• Class 2 Dress Trouser/black 

stripe (Trouser belt)

• Gun Belt/armed officers (Gun 

w/Holster, Handcuff Case, 

Magazine Case, Intermediate 

Force Device(s))

• Black Shoes (Black Socks, 

Leather or Clarino low quarter 

shoe, Roper or Western boot)
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Uniform Program by Component

DHS Uniform Program By Component

DHS Component

# of Items on 

Contract

Annual Spend in 

Millions

CBP 593 $40.0

TSA 157 $25.0

USCG 8 $0.3

ICE 186 $1.5

FLETC 82 $0.8

USSS 110 $1.5

FEMA 132 $0.3

NPPD 231 $1.1

Total 1,499 $70.5

* CBP purchases over 900,000 items a year

Purchasing Power: The chart below depicts the number of items on the contract by component, as 

well as the annual spend per contract (in Millions) 
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Low Ordering Volume

DHS Low Ordering Volume (FY 2018)

Annual Volume # Items % of Items

0 346 23%

1-100 501 33%

101-1,000 384 26%

> 1,000 268 18%

Total 1499 100%

Order Volume: The chart below breaks out the annual volume of orders for DHS. Annual volume is 

the amount of units purchased of a particular item. For example, there are 346 items on the DHS 

uniform contract in which DHS did not purchase any items in FY 2018.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

The Kissell Amendment and Associated Impacts to DHS Uniforms Acquisitions

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Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

Under the Kissell Amendment, all COVERED textile and apparel products purchased by 

the U.S. Department of Homeland Security* must be either (a) grown, reprocessed, reused or 

produced in the United States or (b) from designated countries (listed below)

WTO GPA Countries

• Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, 

Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, (Republic of) Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, 

Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, 

Switzerland, Taiwan (known in the World Trade Organization as “the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and 

Matsu”(Chinese Taipei)) or United Kingdom

Free Trade Agreement countries

• US-Chile, US-Israel

• NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico)

• Other countries: Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 

Korea (Republic of), Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Peru, or Singapore

Non-Treaty Countries

• Caribbean Basin Initiative Countries-Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, 

Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saba, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the 

Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, or Trinidad and Tobago

Least Developed Countries 

• Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, 

Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, 

Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao 

Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zambia

*Additional requirements apply to TSA - Designated Countries are limited to 

Mexico, Canada and Chile
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Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Uniform Contract Information – Products and Services

DHS Strategic Sourcing Uniform Contract: The current DHS uniform contract is a single award IDIQ 

contract in which one vendor provides all of the following services:

• Uniforms per specifications

• Uniform Ordering Website

• Quartermaster Services

• Measuring and outfitting new students

• Returns and exchanges on-site

• Allowance Account Management

• Inventory Management

• Uniform distribution per performance requirements

• On-time shipments – 90% within 7 calendar days

• Backorders less than 10%

• Returns and Exchanges
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Uniform Contract Information – Ordering Process

Ordering Types: Ordering from the contract differs by component.

• CBP, TSA, ICE HSI, and NPPD use primarily an allowance account based ordering system. Each 

uniformed employee is given an annual allowance amount. They can then log into the ordering website 

and place orders against their allowance. Items are shipped to individual duty stations.

• CBP Specific:

• The number of allowance accounts and amounts are established at the beginning of the year 

via a contract modification/delivery order.

• In addition, CBP and the vendor track each employees’ allowance account, which contains 

specific information about the employee including duty location and what items the employee 

can or cannot order.

• There are approximately 40,000 allowance accounts and CBP processes about 10,000 

changes per year.

• Other components place bulk orders via a delivery order to the contract.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

DHS Uniform Contract Information - Opportunities

Opportunities:

• The current DHS uniform contract expires in September 2019.

• DHS anticipates a new solicitation to be published the end of November, first part of December.

• The new contract will be an IDIQ with a 5-year base and two 1-year options.

• Due to the specific requirements of DHS, it will again be a single award contract. There will not be 

opportunities to bid on pieces of the contract.

• Opportunities would come from the prime vendor, or being the prime vendor.

• The current vendor contracts with 75 to 150 sub-contractors to supply the roughly 1,500 items on 

the contract.

• The majority of items are Commercial Off the Shelf (COT) or modified COT items (requiring 

customization for branding, badges, patches, etc).

Challenges:

• Changing legislation/trade agreements.

• DHS is currently subject to the Kissell amendment, which differs from the Berry/DLA requirement.

• DHS has a large variety of items, most of which have very low ordering volumes.

• The majority of purchases are made in November-December and August for CBP; and February for TSA.
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Department of Homeland Security Uniform Program Overview

Contact Info

Mike Britt

Director, Uniforms Management Center

Customs and Border Protection

150 Westpark Way

Euless, TX 76040

O: 817-868-8930 C: 214-893-4710

Mike.Britt@cbp.dhs.gov