# 2-203 Improving part status.

(a) General. An effective breakout program requires that all reasonable actions be taken to improve the acquisition status of parts. The potential for improvement of the acquisition status will vary with individual circumstances. On one end of the spectrum are those parts with acquisition method suffix codes of a temporary nature requiring vigorous follow-through improvement action (e.g., AMSCs A and H); on the other end are those parts with codes suggesting a relative degree of permanence (e.g., AMSC P). A code assigned to a part should never be considered fixed with respect to either technical circumstance or time; today's technical constraint may be overcome by tomorrow's technology and a contractor's rights to data, so zealously protected today, often become less important with time. The application of breakout improvement effort must always consider individual circumstances and overall benefits expected to be obtained.

(b) Code suspense dates. Every part whose breakout status can be improved shall be suspensed for rescreening as appropriate. In general, the following codes cannot be improved: 1G, 2G, 1K, 2K, 1M, 2M, 1N, 2N, 1T, 2T, 1Z, or 2Z. The period between suspenses is a period for which an assigned AMC/AMSC is considered active, and routine rescreening of parts with “valid” codes is not required. Suspense dates may vary with the circumstance surrounding each part. A code reached as a result of limited screening (3-304) shall not be assigned a suspense date exceeding 12 months; a code reached as a result of full screening (3-303) shall not be assigned a suspense date exceeding 3 years. In exceptional cases, where circumstances indicate that no change can be expected in a code over an extended period, a suspense date not exceeding 5 years may be assigned in accordance with controls established by the breakout activity. Items with a 1G or 2G code do not require a suspense date.