The Army authorizes COTS boots as long as they are between 8 to 10 inches in height and made of tan rough side

out of cattle hide leather, with a plain toe, and with a soling system similar in color to the tan upper materials. The

soling materials cannot exceed two inches in height, when measured from the bottom of the outsole, and cannot

extend up the back of the heel of the



Boot or over the top of the toe (See attached pictures), The exterior of the upper boot cannot contain mesh but

must be constructed of all leather or a combination of Leather and non-mesh fabric. Boots with metal or plastic

cleats in the bottom of the soles and sewn-in or laced-in zippers or velcro inserts are not authorized (See attached

pictures). There are other leathers, such as pigskin, that do not meet the performance criteria of cattle hide. Cattle

hide leather is more durable, and provides better performance in combat over pigskin.



Soldiers should be aware that some companies sell 'Warrior Leather" which is a common-use name for pigskin

leather. Rubber and polyether polyurethane are the only outsole materials authorized. Rubber and polyether

polyurethane are the only outsole materials that currently meet the need for durability and traction on surfaces in

multiple environments and temperature ranges, Other materials, which may be of a lighter weight, do not meet

Soldiers performance standards.



There are many COTS items available that meet the aesthetic guidelines. Some examples of these items include,

but are not limited to, the Belleville Model 390, the 8-inch Danner Desert TFX, the 8-inch Oakley S.I. Assault Boot

as well as many other more traditional Army tan combat boot styles (See attached pictures). The purpose of listing

these items here is to give examples of styles that fall within the guidelines and authorization as optional to wear.



PEO Soldier and NSRDEC establish high quality standards for both the end items and component materials going

into our combat boots. Current Army footwear is designed to be durable and provide the functionality needed by

Soldiers in current and potential future operational environments. This process ensures that Soldiers have

functional boots (the NSN ones) to accomplish their mission.



PEO Soldier and NSRDEC maintain a close relationship with the footwear buyers at AAFES to ensure they are not

buying anything for MCSS that does not meet the Army Uniform requirements. If AAFES has an interest in selling a

specific COTS boot in MCSS, they forward PEO Soldier and NSRDEC a pair of the specified boots. PEO Soldier

and NSRDEC provide the AAFES footwear buyers feedback if the boots do or do not meet Army requirements. Our

Military Clothing Sales Stores stock items that are authorized for wear by other services, whose mission

requirements are different than ours Because of these different mission requirements not all boots carried in our

MCSSs are authorized for wear by our Soldiers.



The individual Soldier is responsible for buying authorized boots that meet Army requirements, Leaders have the

responsibility of ensuring optional footwear meets Army requirements. AR 670-I, Appendix E requires all Soldiers to

have one pair of each of the Clothing Initial Issue (CII) Bag item boots. This requirement includes both the Army

Combat Boot (Hot Weather) and the Army Combat Boot (Temperate Weather) Any optional footwear discussed

above that unit commanders authorize does not relieve Soldiers of their requirement to possess one pair of each of

CII boots.



The Army develops and issues Soldiers the best equipment available for accomplishment of their mission COTS

items provide a different aesthetic look compared to the NSN footwear and or contain material components that

were selected for business reasons and not always aimed at improved performance.



The attached slides provide examples of authorized and unauthorized boots. These slides do not endorse these

individual companies but provide leaders a method of verifying authorized boots for wear. Currently there are

hundreds of companies producing desert tan bootsl



Leaders, let's make sure our Soldiers are wearing the proper boots.



Army Strong! HOOAH!



SMA



See