Earlier this month, the U.S. Army put out a press release that they will begin testing prototypes for the new Army Combat Boots (ACB). The testing will be at three different basic training and active duty installations over the next four months. This will gather feedback for further evaluation and improvement for the new footwear that is planned to be released.

At present, the Army's the has seven different styles of boots that have been designed for different environments and climates. For the testing, the boots issued initially to recruits are the Hot Weather and Temperate Weather Army Combat Boots.

The press release cites surveys that were conducted by the Soldier Center report that Soldier satisfaction with ACBs is lower than that with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) combat footwear. Thus, soldiers tend to to purchase and wear COTS boot than use the issued ones.

"The survey of over 14,000 Soldiers world-wide discovered that almost 50% choose to wear COTS combat boots instead of Army-issued boots," Anita Perkins, RDECOM Soldier Center footwear research engineer and technical lead, said. "Many Soldiers reported choosing combat boots from the commercial market because the COTS boots are lighter, more flexible, require less break-in time, and feel more like athletic shoes than traditional combat boots or work boots. Unfortunately, these characteristics often come at the cost of durability and protection."

The three companies have been awarded the contract to develop prototypes are Altama, Belleville Boot Company and McRae Footwear.  Two companies each submitted one prototype whilst one decided to put forward two prototypes. The Soldier Center's Footwear Performance team believes that new technologies can bridge the gap between the lightweight, comfortable, COTS boots and the durable, protective, Army-issued boots. By working with the industry, they aim for lighter boots as the prototype boots are 1.5lbs lighter than the current ACBs.

The test boots will be issued to 800 basic trainees at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Then another 800 pairs will be going to infantry Soldiers at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Soldier Center team will be hand-fitting each pair of prototype boots throughout the month. They will then return in March and April to collect surveys and conduct focus groups for feedback gathering.

Al Adams, team leader for the Soldier Clothing and Configuration Management Team at the Soldier Center said that, "Soldiers live in their boots and many will tell you that there is no piece of equipment more important to their lethality and readiness. A bad pair of boots will ruin a Soldier's day and possibly result in injuries, so we really believe that each of these prototype boots have the potential to improve the lives of Soldiers".

"The development of new boots take advantage of the latest materials technology, and are functional and comfortable, is critical to ensuring that our Soldiers are ready to fight and win in any environment," said Doug Tamilio, director of the RDECOM Soldier Center. "Soldiers are the Army's greatest asset, and we owe it to them to make them more lethal to win our nation's wars."

Top photo: U.S. Army Soldier from the 1-114th Infantry Regiment stands in the mud holding 7.62mm ammunition (Photo by: Master Sgt. Matt Hecht, U.S. Army)