Army Uniform 2017 Update: Jungle Combat Boots Offer New Take On Classic Design For US Forces

The U.S. Army could be sporting some new and improved army boots soon.

The branch of the country's armed forces announced that it planned on outfitting select soldier brigades in a new Jungle Combat Boot starting in March. The updated footwear was said to be more comfortable than their predecessors, Military.com reported Wednesday.

The companies behind the new boots are Rocky Boots and Belleville Boot Company, which were tasked with bestowing around 36,700 pairs of the new boots to the Army. The new Jungle Combat Boots were deemed “more comfortable, faster drying and puncture resistant” in comparison to the Army’s now-retired Vietnam jungle boot. The boots were pulled in the mid-2000s when both the Marine Corps and the Army decided to try a desert-style boot for troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Two brigades of soldiers will receive the new pairs, which were designed to better accommodate hot conditions and tropical climates, according to the military website.

“This is important to the Army. It’s important to soldier in a hot, high-humidity, high moisture area, and we are responding as quickly as we possibly can with the best available, immediate capability we can get on soldiers feet quickly and then refine and improve as we go,” Lt. Col. John Bryan said during an interview with reporters. Bryan is also the product manager for Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

The first brigades to don the boots will be the 2nd and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams of the 25th Infantry Division, located in Hawaii.

The Army has sought to update its uniforms to better address the needs and surroundings of tropical climates. For roughly two years, the Army has participated in new uniform trials in Hawaii, and thousands of soldiers test-wore a number of different uniform designs that were supposed to be quick-drying, lightweight and longer-lasting, Army Times reported in August. New and improved uniforms could be finalized by 2018.