A new report revealing quality-control issues with Marine Corps-issued cold-weather boots highlights the potential consequences of limiting the number of suppliers for essential gear.
According to a new report by Newsweek, an unspecified number of Marines had to have their brand-new boots replaced during cold-weather training ahead of a Norwegian-led NATO exercise earlier this year.
Marines reportedly wore holes through the boots’ leather and saw the soles separate from the fabric, allowing freezing water to seep into the boots as they hiked and skied.
The issue, according to the report, stems from a legal requirement that the Pentagon use its funds to buy American-made boots.
Although the intent behind the federal law is to support U.S. companies, the domestic industry is too small to meet demand, which can create problems with product quality and price.
Troops can currently wear non-American-made boots if they purchase them on their own. That standard could change, however, as federal lawmakers consider the Better Outfitting Our Troops, or BOOTS, Act.
The measure would prohibit service members from wearing optional combat boots in uniform unless they were manufactured entirely in the U.S.
Critics of the measure, like the Cato Institute, say the BOOTS Act “would deny service members the ability to find boots that best fit their feet so U.S. manufacturers can make a few extra bucks.”
The libertarian think tank argued that the primary force behind the measure is an “aggressive lobby” working on behalf of an industry rather than “the warfighter.”
Cato listed the United States Footwear Manufacturers Association, or USFMA, as the leading lobbyist group behind the BOOT Act. The organization represents a variety of footwear companies, including Belleville Boot Company, which manufactured the boot in question.
A Pentagon official told Newsweek that expanding the domestic boot industry would not necessarily be a bad thing. But scaling up production while maintaining existing quality standards could prove difficult for manufacturers.
Daniel Terrill is a contributor to Military Times. He’s been reporting on military issues, the gun industry, and the outdoors for nearly two decades. Although writing is his passion, he’s been a Marine, police officer, and, perhaps the most dangerous job of his career, a substitute teacher.