By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
This is the first time in many years that the first edition of Athens Now for the month of July falls squarely on the 4th. As I was thinking about the topic for this Soldier, I kind of thought that it would be something about the birth of our nation, or perhaps some of the Independence Day celebrations we had in Iraq, but those topics are being covered carefully without. There was a touching story in Military Times about an unidentified former member of the Women’s Army Corps who had disappeared and died a decade ago, and through improved DNA testing had finally been identified. She was buried with military honors, and members of her family who had never met her came for the ceremony. All of her siblings had passed away, and it was the current generation that came to remember her.
As interesting as was the story of Miss Reba, who, by the way had been reduced to being known only as “Number 7,” it was not the story that needed to be told. No, it was about something so simple, so fundamental to the safety of soldiers, and perhaps something no one had considered, and that was boots. What has happened over the years is that boots have been made overseas in places like China, and while they look good on the outside, they do not hold up.
I know that the term “a matter of national security” gets bandied around way too much, but when it comes to equipment, even something as simple as the quality of boots laced to the feet of those who are protecting the U.S. Constitution (and therefore, by extension, Americans) from all enemies, both foreign and domestic, boots need to be the best, for the best.
Interestingly, there is bi-partisan legislation being sponsored at the federal level that would see to it that all boots for our service personnel would be made from start to finish in America, using only materials that come from the good ol’ U.S. of A. Senator Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill is an Army combat veteran. Senator Duckworth said, “Ensuring our military’s readiness means every part of our service members’ uniforms must be functional, reliable, and safe — and that we can surge supplies in crisis or conflict.” Certainly not being unnecessarily dependent upon an unpredictable supply chain in the “Time of Tariffs” makes good sense, and it is heartening to know that Republicans have joined the move to get footwear made here and here alone. “This bipartisan bill would help avoid supply disruptions in times of crisis, create more jobs and investment domestically, and better outfit our nation’s troops,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. The legislation is called the BOOTS Act, which stands for The Better Outfitting Our Troops, or BOOTS. The act mandates that all boots worn by troops, including optional boots that serve as alternatives to the military’s standard-issue boots, are 100% made and sourced in the United States or are compliant with the Berry Amendment. The Berry Amendment was passed in 1941 in order to insure that the above scenarios never occur, and the BOOTS Act would give the Berry Act new teeth.
Perhaps, then, this really is more of a 4th of July story than I had first thought. After all, wasn’t it in the time of our own struggle to become a free nation that George Washington at Valley Forge had to deal with the dismay of having his men face down the cold of winter with their feet tied in bedsheets? May we then, nearly 250 years later, determine that our best get the best in all things, including their boots.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
June 20, 2025
