Jungle Rucking Boot

The goal was pretty simple: take the most beloved boots in the history of Special Forces, the Vietnam era jungle boots, and modernize ‘em for today’s use. Make ‘em lighter, tougher, with more support -- create the boot at the tip of the spear in places like Syria, Afghanistan, Africa, and in all Special Forces training -- today.

Our team was small, and comfortable breaking all the rules. Rich is a MACV-SOG Vietnam era Special Forces guy who went on to serve in every major conflict and mission of his generation, Paul invented the Pump and a few thousand other things, and I’m a post 9/11 Special Forces guy who founded GORUCK with a desire to bridge the military and civilian worlds. Put us three together and you have four years of failure, four years of sweating every detail and the details to the details, four years of testing in some of the most difficult terrain on the planet, four years of never quitting until the job was done.

And yet, at some point this became about something even more. We went back to Vietnam to test the boots in those same jungles, those same mountains where Rich served some 45 years ago. We heard his stories, we cried his tears, we toasted his toasts. It was one of the greatest honors of my life - up there with marrying the love of my life and the birth of my children - to share that journey with Rich.

MACV-1™, at some point, became the best story in the history of footwear because it’s not just about the boots. It’s about how we took Rich’s story, Rich’s 30 years of service in Special Forces that began in the jungles of Vietnam, and brought it to life, today.

Richard Rice

5th Special Forces Group

US Army 1966-94

Senior Advisor, GORUCK Paul Litchfield

30 Year Shoe Dog

Senior Director, GORUCK Footwear Jason McCarthy

10th Special Forces Group, 2006-08

Founder, GORUCK

MEET THE TEAM Rich Special Forces, 30 year career including MACV-SOG Litch Shoe Dog, inventor of the Reebok Pump (and 160+ other patents) Jason Special Forces, GORUCK Founder