Military Storage Solutions
Arms room racks and cabinets, TA-50 gear lockers, unit supply shelving, high-density mobile storage, motor pool and deployment storage for bases, readiness centers and depots, planned around your unit’s regulations and bought through manufacturer GSA, NSN or state contracts.
AR 190-11
Arms room layouts planned to it
TA-50
OCIE gear lockers
GSA / NSN
Manufacturer contract options
Free
Layout review & quote
Shop Military Storage Online
These are current online prices for the lowest-priced complete unit in each category. Arms room racks, cabinets and mobile systems are quoted per project. Freight is quoted by destination; some common sizes are in stock at select manufacturers, subject to confirmation.
Military Storage Built Around Readiness and Accountability
Military storage fails differently from commercial storage. A warehouse that runs out of room slows down; an arms room that fails an inspection, a supply room that cannot account for issued equipment, or a gear cage that delays a deployment becomes a command problem. That is why military storage solutions are planned around three things at once: the regulation that governs the item, the accountability chain that tracks it, and the speed at which it has to move when the unit does.
Material Handling USA plans and installs storage for installations, National Guard readiness centers, reserve centers, depots and defense contractors. We work from your inventory, your room and your governing regulation, then supply weapon racks and cabinets, TA-50 gear lockers, supply room shelving, high-density mobile storage, motor pool storage and secure cages from manufacturers such as Datum, Dasco, Lyon and Borroughs, with one point of contact from layout through installation.
- Arms rooms: rifle, sidearm and crew-served weapon storage, optics and accessory storage, issue counters
- Individual equipment: TA-50 / OCIE gear lockers, deployment bags, body armor and helmets
- Unit supply: supply room shelving, MRE and bulk storage, CTA and expendables, turn-in staging
- Maintenance and depot: motor pool parts, tool cribs, drawer cabinets, long stock and tire storage
- Aviation and rigging: parachute storage, life support equipment and rigger lofts
- Expeditionary: mobile racks, carts and container fit-outs that load out with the unit
Arms Room and Military Armory Storage
Arms rooms are the least forgiving storage project on an installation. For Army facilities, AR 190-11 governs the physical security of arms, ammunition and explosives, and the other services and agencies follow parallel requirements. The regulation shapes how containers are built, mounted, locked and inventoried, so the storage has to be specified against it, not added later.
The practical problem is almost always capacity. Weapon counts grow, optics, lasers and night vision now take as much space as the weapons themselves, and the room rarely gets bigger. We lay out racks and cabinets on the actual room dimensions and, where the floor allows it, put them on mobile carriages to recover the fixed aisles.
Locking weapon racksHinged or bi-fold door cabinets that enclose rifles, carbines and shotguns behind multi-point locks.
Open weapon racksWall or back-to-back racks for rooms that are already secured and access controlled.
Pistol lockersOne sidearm per keyed compartment, wall or cabinet mounted, for individual issue.
Multi-lockersCombined sidearm and long gun compartments, each individually lockable.- Weapon racks configured for rifles, carbines, sidearms and crew-served weapons, with saddles and shelves on adjustable centers
- Optics, laser, NVG and accessory storage planned into the same footprint instead of a separate cabinet run
- Multi-point locking cabinets with hasps for unit-supplied padlocks where the regulation calls for them
- Mobile carriages under racks and cabinets to raise density without adding a room
- Issue counters, armorer benches and turn-in staging so checkout does not happen in the aisle
- Optional RFID weapons tracking to speed inventories and sign-outs
We plan storage, we do not certify the room
Room construction, intrusion detection, key control and final container approval belong to your physical security officer and the governing regulation. We specify storage that supports those requirements and document it for review. Our weapon storage compliance guide summarizes the standards buyers usually ask about. Police and agency armories are covered on our police weapons storage page.
TA-50 and OCIE Gear Lockers
TA-50 (organizational clothing and individual equipment) is issued to a soldier and has to be stored ready to go, which means vented, organized and secured to the person it belongs to. Most readiness centers outgrow open shelving and cages for this gear quickly: items migrate, accountability suffers and the cost shows up as lost-property paperwork.
A TA-50 locker gives each soldier one assigned unit with a hanging rod, shelf, hooks and room for a ruck, helmet and body armor. Wire mesh and perforated doors let air move and let an inspector see contents without opening every locker. Units can stand in rows, back to back or on mobile carriages in tighter rooms.
| Gear locker type | Best fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Welded TA-50 locker (e.g. Lyon DD1100TA50) | Individual soldier gear in readiness and reserve centers | Coat rod, hooks, shelf and three-point latch; buy online or quote in quantity |
| Wire mesh gear locker | Large drill halls, ventilation-critical gear | Highest airflow and visibility; pairs with mesh partitions |
| Military gear locker with universal back panel | Units that reconfigure for changing issue lists | Back panel and accessories can be moved rather than replaced |
| Gear lockers on mobile carriages | Rooms that must hold more soldiers than fixed rows allow | Recovers aisle space; needs floor and rail review |
Compare manufacturers on our military TA-50 gear locker page, or see how lockers, weapon storage and supply shelving fit together in a full readiness center storage design.
Unit Supply Rooms and Installation Warehouses
Supply rooms carry the widest mix of anything on a base: CTA items, expendables, MREs, cleaning supplies, turn-in property and hand-receipt items that must stay segregated by unit or sub-hand-receipt holder. Good supply storage makes each holder’s property visible and countable at a glance.
We combine closed steel shelving for small parts and hand-receipt items, rivet and bulk rack for cases and bulk issue, pallet rack for warehouse quantities, and labeled bins so a cyclic inventory does not mean digging. Cage partitions separate unit property inside a shared warehouse.
See military storage shelving for shelving specifications, and a real example in our Utah National Guard Camp Williams clip shelving project.
High-Density Mobile Storage for Military Facilities
Most military buildings were sized for a different mission. When a supply room, arms room or records room is full, high-density mobile storage is usually the fastest fix: shelving or cabinets ride on carriages over floor rails, so the fixed aisles disappear and one moving aisle serves the whole run.
Mechanical-assist systems move with a handwheel; electric systems add powered movement, aisle safety sensors and access control options. Cantilever arms, weapon racks, gear lockers and drawer cabinets can all be mounted on carriages.
- Typically fits far more storage in the same footprint than static shelving, depending on aisle count and room shape
- Locking carriages and keyed or badge access to keep a mobile run secure when the room is shared
- Rail options for slab-on-grade, raised ramps or surface rails where cutting the floor is not allowed
- Floor loading checked early: loaded carriages concentrate weight, so older buildings get a structural review first
Learn how systems are sized on our mobile shelving hub, and see the vertical storage options for military and government when floor area is the constraint and ceiling height is not.
Motor Pool, Maintenance and Depot Storage
Motor pools and maintenance shops store heavy, awkward and high-value parts: wheels and tires, track components, filters, batteries, tool sets and long stock. The goal is short walks for mechanics and a clean count for the shop office.
We pair heavy-duty shelving and modular drawer cabinets for small parts and tool kits, cantilever rack for long stock and pipe, tire racks and pallet rack for bulk, and tool crib cages for controlled tools and special equipment.
- Modular drawer cabinets sized to tool sets and small parts, with labeled dividers
- Cantilever rack for pipe, bar stock and long components that will not sit on a standard beam
- Tool crib cages with pass-through windows for controlled tool issue
- Battery, tire and fluid storage kept separate from general parts
Parachute, Aviation and Life Support Storage
Rigger lofts and aviation life support shops store equipment that has to stay clean, dry, inspected and traceable to a pack or inspection record. Parachutes, harnesses, helmets and survival gear each need a defined position.
Cantilever arms and garment rods on mobile carriages hang canopies and harnesses without crushing them, while shelving and drawers hold packed assemblies and small components. See our dedicated parachute storage page for layouts.
Deployment and Expeditionary Storage
When the unit moves, the storage has to either move with it or let the gear leave fast. Deployment storage covers staging areas, rapid-issue setups and container fit-outs: shelving and racks inside shipping containers, mobile weapon carts, rolling gear racks and tie-down points.
We plan load-out sequences with the S4 so gear leaves in the order it is needed, and specify equipment that can be secured for transport.
- Container shelving and racking with tie-down and anti-tip provisions
- Mobile weapon carts and rolling racks for issue points and ranges
- Labeled deployment bag storage that matches the load plan
- Modular buildings for temporary supply points, arms rooms and offices
Rapid-Deployment Container Storage: ISU-90, TRICON, QUADCON, PALCON and 463L
Deployment kits often live in the containers they ship in. When those containers sit outside between missions, the containers and their contents take weather damage, and the one you need is usually at the back of the row. Equipto, one of the manufacturers we supply, builds a Rapid Deployment Storage Platform for exactly this problem, and we plan and quote it alongside the rest of your facility storage.
How the platform works
Containers ride on a floor or platform conveyor system with ball transfer tables, so personnel can move a container forward, back, left or right to reach any container or pallet at any time. Gates are placed so a forklift can retrieve the container you need. Equipto states the system brings containers indoors out of the weather, can double storage capacity in the same footprint, needs no dunnage blocks on the conveyors, requires no modification to the building and can be relocated.
| Container or load listed by Equipto | What to confirm before layout |
|---|---|
| ISU-90 storage containers | Equipto’s ISU90/TRICON sheet lists an ISU-90 at about 108"W x 88"L x 91.35"H, roughly 1,720 lb empty and 10,000 lb capacity, typically with doors on the 108" sides. Confirm your units’ actual loaded weights and door sides. |
| TRICON containers on 463L pallets | Pallet-and-container combination, loaded weights and which face must stay accessible |
| QUADCON containers on 463L pallets | Same as TRICON, plus how many units are stacked or coupled |
| Standard 463L master pallets | Pallet count, build-up height and staging sequence |
| PALCON containers and other bulk cargo containers | Exact model, footprint and weight; we only lay out containers Equipto confirms for the platform |
Planning inputs we ask for: the container inventory by type, loaded weights, building clear height, door and forklift paths, floor condition and the load-out order your unit uses. Equipto engineers the platform to the actual list; nothing here should be read as approval of a container type that has not been reviewed.
CONNEX Modules and Portable Workcenters
A CONNEX or conex box packed with loose wood shelving wastes space and loses parts. Equipto’s CONNEX Module is a steel shelving, workbench and drawer system built to organize a storage container. Equipto describes it as fully deployable and mission ready: store gear and supplies, or set it up as a portable workcenter wherever the unit needs one, then disassemble and reassemble it as needs change.
Modules are offered for both stationary and deployable containers, so the same system can serve a motor pool container at home station and a forward maintenance point.
The module can also grow with the mission. Equipto notes a CONNEX Module can evolve into a deck-over mezzanine structure or a high-density mobile aisle system. For those next steps see Equipto workcenters, Equipto modular drawer cabinets, Equipto mobile aisle shelving and Equipto mezzanines and stairways. For non-military container fit-outs, our shipping container shelving guide covers commercial conex shelving options.
Before we quote, we measure the container interior, door openings and floor, and confirm how equipment is secured for transport. We do not assume a module fits a container until the interior dimensions are verified.
Security Cages and Controlled Areas
Most installations need a controlled space inside a larger one: a cage for sensitive items in a warehouse, a tool crib in a motor pool, a gear cage in a drill hall or a holding area for turn-in property. Welded wire mesh partitions do this without construction and can be relocated when the mission changes.
Options include ceilings, sliding or hinged doors, pass-through windows and access control. See a completed security cage at Robins Air Force Base and our Hill Air Force Base cages.
For classified-material rooms and secure rooms built inside an existing structure, see modular vaults. Accreditation of those spaces stays with your security office.
Military Procurement, Contracts and Documentation
Good equipment loses military projects on paperwork. We treat procurement as part of the job: identifying which manufacturer GSA Multiple Award Schedule, NSN or state contract covers the product, writing line-item quotes that match your requirement language, and supporting sole-source justification only when a specific system really is required.
For mobile shelving, see buying mobile shelving on GSA and cooperative contracts.
| What the contracting office needs | What we provide |
|---|---|
| A compliant purchase vehicle | Manufacturer GSA schedule, NSN or state contract options where the product is listed |
| Domestic sourcing | TAA-compliant and U.S.-made product options, confirmed per product |
| Competitive documentation | Line-item quotes matched to your requirement language |
| Sole-source support | Technical narrative when one system is genuinely required |
| Submittals | Cut sheets, drawings, finishes and installation scope |
| Multi-site or multi-year work | Phased quotes and one coordinator across buildings or fiscal years |
| Site access | Crews experienced with base access, escorts and badging |
Federal project example
On a Times-2 rotary file cabinet project at a U.S. Navy facility in Kittery, Maine, we matched the specification to the solicitation and carried it through prevailing-wage closeout.
How a Military Storage Project Runs
Define the requirement
Inventory counts, governing regulation, security office input and growth plans.
Measure and model
Room dimensions, door swings, floor loading, power and fire protection clearances.
Lay out options
Fixed versus mobile, racks versus cabinets, with capacity for each option.
Document and procure
Line-item quote, contract vehicle, submittals and lead times in writing.
Install and turn over
Scheduled around training, escorted crews, final walkthrough and keys.
Delivery and Installation on Military Installations
Our installation crews plan for gate access, escorts, badging and restricted work hours, and they install in occupied buildings without shutting down the unit. Deliveries are scheduled around drill weekends and training calendars, and we leave the room with keys inventoried, as-built drawings and a punch list closed before sign-off.
Military and Defense Storage Projects
A few examples of military, defense and federal storage work. Project details are limited to what each organization allows us to publish.
Related pages
Military Storage FAQs
What storage does a military arms room need?
What is a TA-50 locker?
Can weapon racks and gear lockers go on mobile shelving carriages?
Can you sell through GSA or other government contracts?
Are your products TAA compliant or made in the U.S.?
Can you install on an active base?
Can mobile storage work in older military buildings?
Do you handle police and agency armories too?
Plan Your Military Storage Project
Send your inventory counts, room dimensions and governing regulation. We will return a layout and line-item quote.