Army Prepares to Introduce New Jungle Boots

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Jungle BootThe U.S. Army unloaded a trove of uniform news on the last day of March when it announced it was restarting camouflage testing and introducing a new jungle boot for soldiers.

The Army will test the new jungle boots to replace the Vietnam War-style jungle boots. But of course soldiers have been wearing the desert-style combat boots over the past 12 years as the U.S. has fought in arid climates in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Officials didn't list which brands the Army would test, and only offered a picture of one of the models under consideration.

Col. Robert F. Mortlock, project manager for Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment, did trumpet the recent upgrades the Army has made to boots and said these improvements would be included in the boot the Army is considering.

One of the biggest design upgrades is "direct-attach outsoles," Mortlock said, explaining that these soles that are glued, not stitched, to the bottoms of boots, make some pairs of Army Combat Boots up to 1 pound lighter. The direct-attach outsoles are also less apt to separate after long, rough usage, Matthew Cox wrote in a longer story on the boot for Military.com.

Mortlock also said the Army will harp on the boot's ability to dry quickly in testing. It needs to be lightweight and breathable to keep feet comfortable in hot and humid conditions.

The Army didn't offer a timetable of when testing would be completed, or when they plan to field the new jungle boot.

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