Submitted by Eric Daniel
A couple of things here. When the Army up and decided to convert to the ACU and tan boots, I was suddenly left with 11 pair of various styles of black boots that the Army issued me that are now obsolete and I can't wear in the field. I now have three pairs of Army issue tan boots and one pair of Marine Corps coyote brown boots that I picked up in Kuwait to replace a pair of unserviceable pair of Army boots (neither supply nor AAFES had Army boots in my size and I needed new boots, so I adapted and overcame, but it's amazing how many Sr. NCOs would rather I wore unserviceable boots or running shoes rather than combat boots from a different service.)
Well, with the conversion to tan, no-shine boots, there seems to have been a proliferation of new styles, which I would generously consider "non-traditional" appearing more along the lines of combat hi-tops rather than combat boots. Moreover, I know the regulations regarding footwear have gotten a lot more complicated, so much so that between AR 670-1 and 670-CSM I haven't got a clue what's authorized to wear and what's not.
Another thing that concerns me, and this is where the second thing comes in, is the durability and reparability of these newer boots. Now, I assume that my issue tan boots (and the MC ones as well) can be resoled since they have traditional Vibram lug soles. Just like my old black speed lace
