Tan Boots

[mikeylikey]

Has anyone sent a uniform change request up their chain of command to allow the wearing of the tan boots with the bdu's yet?  In about 3 months AAFES will begin to stop carrying black boots altogether.  Just saw the notice posted at the MCSS. 
If not the tan.....perhaps the new green ones the AF is pushing with the ABU. 

I know DRMO will have black boots in large amounts....but do we really want to wear someone else's boots?  There will always be black boots available commercially.....but lets open up more options for the members!

[LtCol White]

I would guess that USAF will say Green since the have control over the BDU's. They already have a policy of no tan boots for USAF personnel.

[capchiro]

Having spoken to an Air Force active duty major yesterday, the woodland camo is still utilized as well as the black boots for active duty, so I don't think we will be needing the tan boots anytime soon.  And wouldn't they look lovely with the BBDU's??

[LtCol White]

Not to mentiong that there is no shortage of suppliers for the black boots as well. AAFES isn't the only retailer

[Eclipse]

Yes, I was in Atlanta this week and saw a LOT of Army personnel in the area, especially the airport, including people in woodland camo, same with up at Great Lakes.

I know I have never purchased a pair of boots through MCSS or been issued a pair, and neither have most of the people my way.

Since most of the world, police, fire and similar agencies still wear boots that need polish, I don't think we need to worry about availability.

[MIKE]

Cop boots aren't the same though...  It's getting harder to find the cheaper black ICBs.

[Eclipse]

Agreed, but a lot of swat teams etc., wear the military boots, and so do lots of countries, still...

[Pumbaa]

Just got me some black combats from sportsmansguide for $17...  I also like the rockey tacticals...

Once you go black you never turn back!  Plenty of good sources for ages to come...

[tribalelder]

...  And wouldn't they look lovely with the BBDU's??

The reason I wear BBDU is so I don't have to wear boots.
I can even wear my  velcro-closure sneakers.

[LtCol White]

There are lots of LE boots that look exactly like infantry boots.

[Hawk200]

In about 3 months AAFES will begin to stop carrying black boots altogether.  Just saw the notice posted at the MCSS. 

All MCSS or just the Army ones? The Air Force is still going to be wearing BDU's for a little while, it's awful soon to remove availability for some of the components.

[LtCol White]

I spoke to the manager at MCCS at Barskdale said they will continue to carry all items until they are no longer available in the AAFES supply chain system. There is also talk about keeping the black boots around for aircraft maintenance folks because the new green boots are suede and the black grease ruins them with permanent stains and makes them unwearable in uniform. At $114.00 a pair, airman can't afford to replace boots weekly. There has also not been a decision on the new boots with flight suits for USAF. Not all a/c's wear steel toe flight boots. Many wear standard ICB's.

So, black boots may not disappear completely from the USAF inventory.

[Stonewall]

OD Green Jungle boots were supposed to go away a long time ago, like early to mid-09s, but I still see Navy and Air Force personnel wearing them daily.  Of course, they got them from a commercial distributor, but they're being worn nonetheless.  There are some CAP supply sheds and closets that still have old fatigues in them from the late '80s.  Something tells me we ain't gonna run out of a source for black combat boots anytime soon. 

Mandatory wear date for ABUs is 2011.  That's 3 1/2 years from now.  The Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard still issue black combat boots at this time.  As long as there is a mass need for combat boots, we'll be able to find them fairly easily. 

In CAP, it'll be the one over zealous member who would rather strap on some sort of tan boots vs black combat boots to be different and look (in his mind) high speed  rather than spend an extra minute tracking down some boots that meet CAP regs.

[LtCol White]

Have to agree there

[IceNine]

again there are going to be suppliers for the "military boots".  But where does it prescribe how the boot will look other than black and serviceable?  I haven't seen a dictate saying we can't wear Bates for example.

[Eclipse]

There aren't any - anything black and high, including jungle boots, are acceptable.

I have a pair of very comfortable bates that I wear on occasion in addition to my shiny jump boots, in fact a lot of members wear bates because they are cheap, easy to find and comfortable.

[LtCol White]

They're available almost anywhere. Most sporting goods stores carry the boots as well as police supply and of course, army surplus.

[afgeo4]

I would guess that USAF will say Green since the have control over the BDU's. They already have a policy of no tan boots for USAF personnel.

Sir, I believe the current uniform reg regarding the ABU states that wear of desert tan boots is authorized with the ABU uniform until the green boots are distributed for purchase. It also allows airmen to wear the same boots with the ABU and DCU while deployed (current non-combat airmen receive 2 sets of each for deployment.)

[RiverAux]

Why in the world would anyone want to wear tan boots with a green uniform?  Ridiculous.

There isn't a boot requirement for the BBDU?  That seems a bit odd.

[Eclipse]

There isn't a boot requirement for the BBDU?  That seems a bit odd.

Nope, as ridiculous as it seems, you can wear street shoes and non blousing...

[LtCol White]

I would guess that USAF will say Green since the have control over the BDU's. They already have a policy of no tan boots for USAF personnel.

Sir, I believe the current uniform reg regarding the ABU states that wear of desert tan boots is authorized with the ABU uniform until the green boots are distributed for purchase. It also allows airmen to wear the same boots with the ABU and DCU while deployed (current non-combat airmen receive 2 sets of each for deployment.)

The green boots are already for sale in AAFES locations. Just saw an entire wall of them so they're all ready to go. ABU's have been deployed with units and general issue to recruits starts this fall and AAFES anticipates having them for general sale by october.

[Eagle400]

Nope, as ridiculous as it seems, you can wear street shoes and non blousing...

Just another CAP oddity that makes my bizarre-o-meter want to burst. 

[Stonewall]

Regarding tan boots with the ABU, here is FAQ #46 from the AF Portal:

A46: Yes, we plan to bring out the green boots in a safety toe option. The green safety toe boots will most likely be available around mid-2008. With ABUs being available for purchase through AAFES in late fall 2007, we have allowed desert tan boots to be worn with the ABU. This will ensure that personnel who have been issued the ABU for deployment will have boots to wear with the ABU. If this fall, when airmen may begin to buy ABUs (through AAFES), unit resource advisors will have the option of procuring desert tan safety toe boots.

[Stonewall]

And if you haven't heard or seen of this, the Navy is looking at new BDUs too...

[mikeylikey]

^^  Just making it easier to pick off the Officers from a distance!

[SarDragon]

And if you haven't heard or seen of this, the Navy is looking at new BDUs too...

That's a two and a half year olde article. I don't think the current version looks quite like that. The latest uni reg still shows the old utility uniforms, so any new stuff is still a way off.

[Stonewall]

Yeah, I got it off an old thread from another forum.  But since I hadn't seen too much more about it I thought maybe it was still in the works.

[SARMedTech]

There aren't any - anything black and high, including jungle boots, are acceptable.

I have a pair of very comfortable bates that I wear on occasion in addition to my shiny jump boots, in fact a lot of members wear bates because they are cheap, easy to find and comfortable.

I just bought a pair of Bates EMT boots and spend $132. I dont know that cheap is the adjective I would use to describe them. Of course there are less expensive "models" but I have yet to see a pair of Bates for less than around $80. Certainly not the $17.50 you can shell out for a pair of Indonesian imitation jungle boots (which by the way will fall apart after getting wet about twice). And didnt the USAF already have a run at the totally useless Blue/grey woodland scheme. Looks like the Navy is taking some cues from the USCG by slapping logos in strange places.

And what exactly is the point of Blue/Grey woodland pattern BDUs and how much time does your average Navy BM spend in the woods?

[ddelaney103]

Why in the world would anyone want to wear tan boots with a green uniform?  Ridiculous.

There isn't a boot requirement for the BBDU?  That seems a bit odd.

Well, you certainly don't want to wear black boots in the desert.

[Eclipse]

And what exactly is the point of Blue/Grey woodland pattern BDUs and how much time does your average Navy BM spend in the woods?

That's why they are blue / gray, versus woodland, blends better with the ships or an urban envirnment.

I was very skeptical about the army's digipat colors, too, but have heard a few stories about guys losing their
hats in the sandbox and never finding them because they blend so well....

[afgeo4]

The Navy went with a utility uniform that utilizes the digital style pattern identical to the MARPAT uniform, but in black/slate gray coloring scheme.

[SarDragon]

And what exactly is the point of Blue/Grey woodland pattern BDUs and how much time does your average Navy BM spend in the woods?

The alleged rationale for the color scheme is to hide stains, and make fading less obvious. Ships can be very dirty working areas. The quality of the ship's laundry service isn't all that great, and the uniforms get beat up quickly. The old dungarees used to show stains easily, and tended to fade non-uniformly, depending on what was carried in the pockets, and where the other high wear areas were.

As for the strange logo, I have no idea what that is. I'm still looking for a usable reference.

[SarDragon]

The Navy went with a utility uniform that utilizes the digital style pattern identical to the MARPAT uniform, but in black/slate gray coloring scheme.

Well, that's an 18 month old photo that seems to be orphaned from its article. MY AD sources tell me that the Uniform Board still hasn't totally made up its mind on what will finally be adopted.

[RiverAux]

Why in the world would anyone want to wear tan boots with a green uniform?  Ridiculous.

There isn't a boot requirement for the BBDU?  That seems a bit odd.

Well, you certainly don't want to wear black boots in the desert.

Well, yeah, but you wouldn't be wearing the green uniform in the desert either and if you wear, wearing tan boots with it wouldn't help your overall level of camoflage...

[SARMedTech]

Why in the world would anyone want to wear tan boots with a green uniform?  Ridiculous.

There isn't a boot requirement for the BBDU?  That seems a bit odd.

Well, you certainly don't want to wear black boots in the desert.

Well, yeah, but you wouldn't be wearing the green uniform in the desert either and if you wear, wearing tan boots with it wouldn't help your overall level of camoflage...

Except if you spend much time watching the news, you will see our troops wearing green woodland ballistic vests the new digitals.

From what I understand the new "digital" camo patterns are a result of 1) the types of imaging equipment they are meant to fool and 2) the overall more "square and jagged" terrain of the 21st century urban battlefield. It would seem that the days of our troops needing to blend in with oakleaves and ground clutter is by an large a thing of the past. Now we need to be able to disappear in piles of rubble and bombed out buildings.

[Hawk200]

From what I understand the new "digital" camo patterns are a result of 1) the types of imaging equipment they are meant to fool and 2) the overall more "square and jagged" terrain of the 21st century urban battlefield. It would seem that the days of our troops needing to blend in with oakleaves and ground clutter is by an large a thing of the past. Now we need to be able to disappear in piles of rubble and bombed out buildings.

Strangely, the new ACU camo pattern would be pretty useful in a large number of the airports I've been in the last few years. Gives some credance to the effectiveness in urban environments.

[JCJ]

And what exactly is the point of Blue/Grey woodland pattern BDUs and how much time does your average Navy BM spend in the woods?

The alleged rationale for the color scheme is to hide stains, and make fading less obvious. Ships can be very dirty working areas. The quality of the ship's laundry service isn't all that great, and the uniforms get beat up quickly. The old dungarees used to show stains easily, and tended to fade non-uniformly, depending on what was carried in the pockets, and where the other high wear areas were.

As for the strange logo, I have no idea what that is. I'm still looking for a usable reference.

I have also read this, although I don't know if it's a final decision.  I was impressed at what a common-sense approach this is (lots of small oil stains, etc. on a ship that apparently blend in well with this pattern).

Navy personnel assigned to USMC units wear MARPATS.  There are other USN "ground combat" units (SEAL's, Seabees, Security/Shore Patrol) that currently wear BDU's.  Wonder what new field uniform they'll end up in post BDU's (the shipboard BDU's are obviously not appropriate for wear by serious ground troops).

The logo on the left breast pocket has been a tradition for USMC and USN ground combat uniforms for years.  I don't know what that logo is for navy, though.  Of course, it's the EGA for Marines.

[SarDragon]

The "strange" logo appears to be located on the sleeve, which is not a usual location for non-rank insignia.

[JCJ]

And if you haven't heard or seen of this, the Navy is looking at new BDUs too...

Looks to me like it's on the left front breast pocket on these.  Of course these were early versions that apparently aren't being adopted.

I can't tell where the logo is on the other photo.

[SarDragon]

OK, I got a look at a different pic, with the digital pattern, and the line from the text to the logo, on the pocket, is more obvious. Also, it's a much larger pic, with better detail of the logo. Ship, eagle, and anchor, from the center of the Navy Department seal.

[afgeo4]

This is the uniform I see seamen wearing around here. Apparently some are being issued it for wear tests.

As far as ABU's and Sage Green boots being sold at AAFES locations... Seems that they're being distributed throuch MCSS locations at bases with units deploying May-August as part of AEF rotations. Other bases aren't getting them yet.

McGuire/Ft.Dix/Lakehurst MCSS does not carry them yet (though they are completely out of BDUs)

[JCJ]

OK, I got a look at a different pic, with the digital pattern, and the line from the text to the logo, on the pocket, is more obvious. Also, it's a much larger pic, with better detail of the logo. Ship, eagle, and anchor, from the center of the Navy Department seal.

I like that logo

(Honorably Discharged HM2 (FMF))