Military agrees to fund boots for soldiers Some were left out of pocket due to glitches

Some Canadian soldiers will no longer have to buy their own boots as the military agreed Friday to give them cash for combat footwear.

The Canadian military provides boots to its personnel but for at least the last decade there has been a problem with supply and some soldiers have been using their own money to buy combat boots, said Lt. Col. Robin Chenard, a staff officer working on logistics operations for the Canadian Army.

“Some soldiers are buying boots but they are not being reimbursed,” said Chenard. “This is an acknowledgment that the problem needs to be fixed.”

The military will provide up to $340 a year to soldiers in the army or the special forces to purchase boots.

The entitlement depends on the soldier’s job. Troops assigned to what Chenard called “fighting formations” as well as those involved in high-intensity training could qualify for an annual boot allowance.

Other personnel, involved in headquarters or support work, would qualify for the allowance either every two or three years, depending on their jobs.

Chenard said around 50,000 military personnel could end up using the new funding.

It will take about a year before the army comes up with a list of companies that produce acceptable boots, Chenard said.

In the meantime, the military is recommending that soldiers purchase a brown

A CLERK MAY NOT NEED THE SAME BOOT AS A MECHANIC.

or tan-coloured boot that is comfortable in temperatures ranging from 4 to 35 C. The boot must also have a rigid or durable sole.

“We’ve deliberately made the selection criteria as simple as possible in order to cover the full range of what soldiers want,” Chenard added.

He said soldiers won’t have to turn in their worn boots to qualify for new footwear but they will have to show they have a genuine need for combat boots. “We’re allowing the local chain of command on how they want to deal with that specifically,” Chenard said.

The allowance allowing for up to $340 excludes taxes in determining the cost.

The new policy, Chenard explained, is an acknowledgment that buying 100,000 boots at a time can be a problem because military personnel have different requirements.

“A clerk may not need the same boot as a mechanic who might not need the same boot as an infantry soldier,” Chenard said.

He said the military is still buying and providing boots for recruits.

A new order for boots is expected to be soon issued to companies.

The new policy comes shortly after the Canadian Forces issued a notice to personnel asking for those with sleeping bags and extra rucksacks to turn in the equipment so new recruits could be outfitted.

Although it said it currently has enough stock, the Forces was worried about shortages in the future as more recruits enter the military.

Some military personnel are holding two or more rucksacks and are believed to be scattered across the country. Chenard said the Canadian Forces has also ordered more sleeping bags and rucksacks.

“There are procurements that are ongoing,” he said. “We don’t see those delivering until 2019.

“We see this a due diligence to rebuild our inventory to allow the procurement process to deliver in the next couple of years.”

MASTER CORPORAL JENNIFER KUSCHE / DND The Canadian military provides boots to its personnel but some soldiers have been buying their own because of supply problems.