America has a combat boot problem. We have the world’s mightiest military force, yet most of the boots soldiers wear aren’t made in America. How to solve that problem is a raging battle.
In one corner are American bootmakers who say that all combat boots should be made in America, even though they can’t keep up with demand. In the other corner are Pentagon officials who say that American companies aren’t up to the job.
The battle is now being fought in Congress, where an amendment to next year’s defense spending bill would require all combat boots worn by military members to be made entirely in the U.S.—and from materials sourced entirely in the U.S. The amendment was included in the version of the spending bill passed by the House earlier this month, and the Senate will soon consider it.
It is hard to think of a more patriotic business than outfitting the military. The Pentagon bought over 1.2 million pairs of combat boots in 2023. But the battle over combat boots also is an extraordinary example of the difficulty in making President Donald Trump’s dream of reshoring manufacturing jobs a reality.
