"Military recruits are still not using American-made sneakers"

2015-07-08T15:36:33-04:00

From: Business Insider
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BOSTON (AP) — New Balance thinks the U.S. military is dragging its feet.

Last April, the Department of Defense announced military recruits would start using athletic shoes 100 percent made and manufactured in America, in recognition of a law Congress passed in 1941 requiring the department give preference to American-made goods.

Over a year after the announcement, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have still not purchased a single sneaker that meets the exacting standards of the 1941 law, known as the Berry Amendment.

Matthew LeBretton, New Balance's vice president of public affairs, is convinced the delays are deliberate "payback" for companies like New Balance that have been vocally lobbying for the change for years.

"We've pushed and pushed to the point where we're at now, and we're still encountering tremendous resistance," he said. "They're not used to being pushed that way and I think that's engendered this animosity."

Mark Wright, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said the department is simply continuing to test Berry-compliant sneakers.

"We've moved right along since the new policy went into effect last year," he said. "I don't think this is being slow-rolled at all. We're trying to respond to the needs of our forces."

To date, one variant of Boston-based New Balance's proposed 950v2 sneaker has passed the military's testing, after a previous version failed last year. Two other styles of the same shoe — covering the different foot and gait types that the military requires shoe companies offer — are still being tested.

No other shoe brand appears to be going through the testing; Saucony, another Massachusetts-based footwear company, said it's developing a sneaker that eventually could be considered for military use.

Matthew Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, doesn't believe there's anything nefarious going on, despite New Balance's concerns.

"The military is a bureaucracy like any other agency in the federal government," he said, stressing that his association is remaining "neutral" in the fight because some of its members benefit from the policy change while others don't. "Things just take time."

Others see the delays as concerning.

Juanita Duggan, president and CEO for the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter that the "sluggish and drawn-out process" is preventing domestic shoemakers from hiring and retaining U.S. workers for their factories.

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, a Massachusetts Democrat whose district includes one of New Balance's five American factories, says the Defense Department needs to step up.

"There have been signs of movement in the approval process, but it is time for (the department) to make more significant progress and reconcile what they perceive as challenges to moving forward," she said.

New Balance and Saucony suggest part of the problem lies in an inefficient testing regimen.

Wright said the process involves an inquiry to assure that all shoe components are sourced, made and assembled in the U.S., followed by a "wear test" that lasts roughly 90 days in which soldiers put them through the paces and then fill out a report on how they felt.

"We know it won't change overnight," said David Costello, a spokesman for Wolverine Worldwide, Saucony's parent company. "The wheels of government tend to move slowly."

Frank Kendall, an Under Secretary of Defense, said in a March letter to Tsongas that the tests are being done one shoe type at a time because of a limited number of testers. He expects evaluations of New Balance's three shoe variants to be done by September.

LeBretton said the testing is the most protracted the company, which is already the sole provider of sneakers for the Navy, has ever been involved in.

The U.S. Coast Guard, he notes, has already moved to comply with the Berry Amendment even though it doesn't fall under the Pentagon's revised policy.

The Coast Guard, which is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, recently tapped New Balance, which it had a previous contract with, to provide thousands of American-made sneakers for its recruits.

"It's mind-boggling," LeBretton said. "It certainly highlights that there is this institutional slowdown" at the Pentagon.

Wright, of the Department of Defense, stresses the military is committed to honoring the "spirit" of the Berry Amendment even as it maintains sneakers are technically not part of a soldier's officially issued uniform and shouldn't be subject to the rule.

Currently, most recruits are given a one-time voucher to purchase sneakers at military supply stores that have met certain standards. Among the brands offered recruits are Asics, Brooks and New Balance.

New Balance and its supporters maintain the Berry Amendment should still apply, whether or not the military "issues" the sneakers or gives recruits a stipend to purchase them. "The bottom line is that the law is the law and the military needs to follow the law," LeBretton said.

At New Balance's factory in Boston, plant manager Tim Luke said the company remains at the ready.

It's already invested in new equipment and training and begun ramping up production of "tens of thousands" of pairs of its Berry-compliant model.

"There's a huge pride factor in this. We recognize where these shoes are going to go," Luke said during a recent factory tour. "By now, we have the process completely defined and refined so when the chance finally comes, we're ready to go."

http://www.businessinsider.com/military-recruits-are-still-not-using-american-made-sneakers-2015-7

Response by CPL(P) Bret Farritor made Jul 8 at 2015 3:38 PM

2015-07-08T15:38:11-04:00

Very upsetting.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 8 at 2015 3:43 PM

2015-07-08T15:43:02-04:00

RallyPoint Shared Content Frustrating to see an American Company who has made the commitment to American workers and materials getting the run around. This is completely under our controls and they are still getting hosed. Makes me mad!

Response by SPC George Adkins made Jul 8 at 2015 6:37 PM

2015-07-08T18:37:19-04:00

Service members need shoes that fit them properly. Having shoes that fit properly must be paramount in any decision over point of origin. I remember being at reception so many years ago. I brought properly fitting and broke in shoes with me. I was told I couldn't wear them. We were taken to the clothing sales store and told to pick out "whatever shoes we liked." Our DS then looked at what the most common (out of maybe 3 or 4 choices available) shoe everyone was buying and told those of us that didn't have the that type to put ours back and get the same as the rest "because we had to be uniform." I ended up with a pair of ill fitting Nikes. They hurt like hell. I complained, but was told to "suck it up." I made it through Basic and AIT in them, and trashed them immediately after getting to permanent party. The damage was already done. The bone scans of my feet and legs looked like road maps of NYC from all of the stress fractures. I did my time and came home with a limp. I now have courtesy of the VA 6 short screws, 2 long ones, and a metal plate in my right foot. All because of ill fitting shoes.
I wear NB almost every day at work. They only have one model (928) that is steel toe. It is also one of the few models NOT made in the US. As such, I can't get them through the VA for alteration. These shoes cost me less than $100 retail. The only thing even close from the VA costs Uncle Sugar $400. Doing away with this requirement would save the VA a ton of cash.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Jul 8 at 2015 6:42 PM

2015-07-08T18:42:27-04:00

I think service members should be able to select what is best for them. See what kind of feet they have and an allowance to get shoes that feel comfortable. If these are the only shoes available because they are made in USA, what incentive does NB have to maintain quality?

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 8 at 2015 7:53 PM

2015-07-08T19:53:06-04:00

Well New Balance...welcome to our (veterans) world. Just be glad you're not filing a claim with the VA.

Response by MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 8 at 2015 9:43 PM

2015-07-08T21:43:28-04:00

This article just makes me want to ask my representatives in Congress to write or sponsor a bill repealing the act. Except for purely nationalistic reasons, I can't see a good reason for mandating where the Army source it's running shoes , boots, or anything else that isn't protected technology. Just my opinion.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jul 8 at 2015 9:44 PM

2015-07-08T21:44:55-04:00

Who cares?