The U.S. Army is exploring how to get better boots that are made in America.
The goal is twofold: improve the quality of military footwear and revitalize American footwear manufacturing that has largely been outsourced overseas.
“The intent for this project and funding is to support re-shoring of the domestic footwear industry, improve capabilities for the domestic military footwear industrial base, and ultimately provide the best performing footwear technology to the warfighter,” explained a new Request for Information from the Army.
Finding American-made footwear can present a challenge. In 2020, imported footwear accounted for 99% of the U.S. market, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
The RFI wants companies to describe their ideas in four areas, with one being how to “increase domestic production capacity and adopt advanced manufacturing technologies to enhance productivity.” Another is how to reshore manufacturing from overseas.
The Army also wants to know how companies can implement “flexible, automated, or digital manufacturing approaches adaptable to multiple footwear types.” And, lastly, how American manufacturers can “improve the cost-effectiveness, quality, or performance of military footwear.”
Respondents must have U.S.-based manufacturing facilities. They also must meet the Berry Amendment, which restricts the Defense Department from using funds for the procurement of food, clothing, fabrics, fibers, yarns and other textiles that are not reprocessed, reused or produced in the U.S.
Companies responding to the RIF are asked to include data on how they will increase annual production, reduce defects, shorten production time, reduce manufacturing costs and improve footwear performance, such as water resistance.
“Projects that include footwear prototypes demonstrating the manufacturing improvement are preferred,” the Army said.
The Army’s RFI is part of the Supporting Warfighters through Innovative Footwear Technologies, or SWIFT, program funded by Congress in 2024. SWIFT aims to foster cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers and universities to improve the quality of military footwear.
The Army’s push for domestically produced footwear also parallels an effort by Congress. In 2025, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill, sponsored the Better Outfitting Our Troops, or BOOTS, Act.
RELATED
While the Defense Department is mandated by the 1941 Berry Amendment to buy footwear issued to troops from U.S. manufacturers, service members are often allowed to spend their clothing allowance on imported items, such as boots, many of which come from China.
The BOOTS Act would mandate that combat boots, whether issued or optional, must be made in America.
“Foreign-made boots manufactured in China and other Asian factories are openly sold through official military exchanges, online storefronts, and retail channels targeting military personnel, sending taxpayer dollars to support foreign manufacturers,” William McCann, executive director of the United States Footwear Manufacturers Association, wrote in a recent essay for RealClearDefense.
“This optional boot market represents up to $250 million in annual commercial sales that currently flow mostly to foreign manufacturers,” McCann wrote.
Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him on X at @Mipeck1. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.
