British military introduces new range of boots

British troops are to have boots for varying environments.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence has signed a multi-million pound contract for new boots for the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Armed forces personnel will receive a new range of brown combat boots to replace the black and desert combat footwear they currently wear.

As part of a contract worth £80 million, five different types of boot will be available, to suit the environment in which they are being worn and the wearer’s specific role: desert combat, desert driving, temperate combat, temperate driving and cold/wet weather operations.

Each of the five boot types comes in two different styles, so personnel can wear whichever one is more comfortable for them. The improved brown boots, which have been developed to match the ‘Multi Terrain Pattern’ uniform worn by all service personnel, will be made in two different width fittings, taking into account for the first time the different shapes of men’s and women's feet.

One female Warrant Officer, who has served in Iraq during her 17-year Army career, said: “The boots we have now do the job well, but having footwear that is specially designed for female troops means we get an even better result and marks a real development in the kit.”

Another servicewoman was also pleased to hear about the new footwear. “It was really difficult to find boots that would fit,” she remarked. “Your feet would slip around in them and you'd have to pad them out by wearing extra socks. It wasn’t ideal when you were meant to be concentrating on fighting the Taliban. The new boots will be fantastic.”

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 2 of the October 2012 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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