Posted on Apr 26, 2016
Army combat boot is not female friendly, lawmakers say
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As more frontline jobs open to women, lawmakers say the Army needs to consider adopting a combat boot specially designed for female soldiers.
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness inserted a requirement for a survey of at least 2,000 female soldiers in a markup of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The Army is the only service that does not use female-specific lasts — the mold/model around which the boot is built — to design their combat footwear,” said Adam Carbullido, spokesman for the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), via email. “Instead, the Army uses lasts designed for male feet, despite women having served in combat for years.”
The markup requested “a survey of no fewer than 2,000 female Active Duty and Reserve Component soldiers from a variety of relevant military occupational specialties to determine whether or not they are satisfied with the fit, size, and performance of combat footwear issued to them.”
Carbullido said the survey, which lawmakers want done by Sept. 1, was a committee initiative, not necessarily one pushed by a particular member.
On Wednesday, HASC will debate the elements of subcommittee markups as well as the chairman’s version (released today) and incorporate some proposed elements into the NDAA.
The committee attempted to insert the survey last year, too, but it failed to make the Senate bill signed into law last November. Language from that year’s effort noted that the Defense Department policy toward women in some combat roles had shifted in 2013. That markup praised the Pentagon’s Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment for Female Military Members study, but noted that it did not evaluate combat boots.
“With additional MOS’ opening to female soldiers, that the Army has been slow to field equipment adapted to women compounds the issue,” said Carbullido.
The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness inserted a requirement for a survey of at least 2,000 female soldiers in a markup of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The Army is the only service that does not use female-specific lasts — the mold/model around which the boot is built — to design their combat footwear,” said Adam Carbullido, spokesman for the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), via email. “Instead, the Army uses lasts designed for male feet, despite women having served in combat for years.”
The markup requested “a survey of no fewer than 2,000 female Active Duty and Reserve Component soldiers from a variety of relevant military occupational specialties to determine whether or not they are satisfied with the fit, size, and performance of combat footwear issued to them.”
Carbullido said the survey, which lawmakers want done by Sept. 1, was a committee initiative, not necessarily one pushed by a particular member.
On Wednesday, HASC will debate the elements of subcommittee markups as well as the chairman’s version (released today) and incorporate some proposed elements into the NDAA.
The committee attempted to insert the survey last year, too, but it failed to make the Senate bill signed into law last November. Language from that year’s effort noted that the Defense Department policy toward women in some combat roles had shifted in 2013. That markup praised the Pentagon’s Organizational Clothing and Individual Equipment for Female Military Members study, but noted that it did not evaluate combat boots.
“With additional MOS’ opening to female soldiers, that the Army has been slow to field equipment adapted to women compounds the issue,” said Carbullido.
Army combat boot is not female friendly, lawmakers say
Posted from armytimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Women in the Military
Women in the Military
Posted >1 y ago
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That is ludicrous that Adam Carbullido, spokesman for the subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam), said "the Army is the only service that does not use female-specific lasts — the mold/model around which the boot is built — to design their combat footwear.”
Army women have been in combat zones since they were deployed during the Vietnam war. Army women have used the green jungle boots, the black combat boots and the more modern versions. I expect the researchers and designers at Natick labs and in DLA would be highly offended at this comment based on the decades of experience they have in helping design suitable footwear for women soldiers.
Army women have been in combat zones since they were deployed during the Vietnam war. Army women have used the green jungle boots, the black combat boots and the more modern versions. I expect the researchers and designers at Natick labs and in DLA would be highly offended at this comment based on the decades of experience they have in helping design suitable footwear for women soldiers.
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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
Maybe the ladies need to start wearing civilian boots that are close to being like the combat boots and get their feet use to them. It's a no brainer on their part.
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CSM Charles Hayden
CSM (Join to see) Did you see 60 Minutes, Sunday, April 24, 2016? They reported that congress spends 6 ea. hours a day seeking re-election funding via telephone calls!
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LTC David Brown
SP5 Christine Conley - women in the Army have been wearing combat boots since women have been in the Army. I am 67 years old. My mother served as a Nurse in WWII . Yes my mother wore combat boots WITH NO PROBLEM! She told me how they broke them in, the joy of polishing them etc.. Women war combat boots in Korea, Vietnam Nam, etc etc etc. NOW it's an issue?
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Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS
SP5 Christine Conley - Scale. USMC has only 7% women (less than 200k force structure) and only anticipates .5% will be in CA as a whole. For the USMC this is a "non-issue." Our number of women "doesn't justify concern. (However that doesn't mean we didn't just that scale comes into play)
The Army however (NG/AD/Reserves) however is 3-4x that size with 15% total force women. For the Army, it's a massive problem.
The Army however (NG/AD/Reserves) however is 3-4x that size with 15% total force women. For the Army, it's a massive problem.
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