Marines To Consider Lighter Boots

The Marine Corps plans to test two different sets of combat boots this summer, to determine if their lightweight design would translate into better performance. Seven hundred male and female recruits at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, S.C., will be outfitted with either the Rocky Tropical boot, while another 700 would receive the Reckoning boot in their seabags. The Clothing and Equipment Team at Marine Corps Systems Command will assess and compare the two boots once the recruits complete basic training, to determine if lower-extremity injuries decrease. Whichever new boot is chosen would replace the Marine Corps Combat Boot, which has been in use since 2001.