The Air Force issued a contract to Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. to provide black nylon gear for Security Forces airmen's blues uniforms for the next five years.
The contract includes the utility belt, belt keepers, handcuff case, radio case, single magazine M9 ammo pouch, triple magazine M4 ammo pouch, chemical spray holder, baton holder, silent key ring holder and glove pouch. The contract runs from January 2014 to January 2019.
Security Forces airmen rarely, if ever, wore their blues up until the mandate for blues Fridays. Since then, Security Forces are wearing their blues uniforms more often and needed to update their utility belts, ammo pouches and handcuff cases.
Any future purchases of this related gear must be made through Atlantic Diving Supply Inc., according to an Air Force memorandum issued March 6. The company, which is based in Virginia Beach, Va., sounds like it should be supplying flippers and snorkel masks, but it's actually a major equipment provider for the Defense Department.
In 2010, Atlantic Diving Supply did enter a legal battle with a non-profit that supplied boots to through the U.S. State Department to African troops. Those boots never made it to the African troops because the non-profit, Bancroft Global Development, accused the company of supplying 18,000 boots "akin to costume boots never intended for daily use, much less military training," according to court documents.
