Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.

This is an interesting one. With the wide diversity of running shoes on the market (minimalism --> maximalism and everything in between); the importance of injury prevention in the military during initial basic training; and the increased understanding of the individual needs during running shoe prescription;, it is interesting the US military (and I understand, most army's) restricts the choice of running shoe so much:

The push for official Army sneakers (from Army Times)

 

Aloha,

You should train in the conditions you are going to fight in.

If our soldiers wear advanced composite helmets and flack jackets and carry 100 pound ruck sacs and rifles with plenty of extra ammo into battle should they also wear foam "runing shoes" ?

Stress fractures cost the US Army over $100 million per year and the Department of Defensse has yet to realize and understand the solutions that have been offered to them from our veteran owned Amercian small business.

This push for American made footwear for our soldiers has been supported by the few remaining footwear makers in the US. Currently 98.6% off all footwear bought in the US is made out of the country, mostly Asia, according to the "American Apparal and Footwear Association."

If we cannot compete with the low cost foam based shoes how about competeing in the higher value advanced composite footwear market?

Letting soldiers train in training wheels ??

Not too Smart.

Mahalo,
Dr. Steven King

Co-Principal Investigator SBIR A11-109 "Advanced Composite Insoles for the Reduction of Stress Fractures." US Department of Defense and Army Medical Research and Materials Command.

Prior Army officer and Podiatrist

Please review Final Report under MAREN tab at www.kingetics.com

 

The influence of new military athletic footwear on the kinetics and kinematics of running in relation to army boots
J, Sinclair; J, Taylor P.
Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: POST ACCEPTANCE, 7 April 2014

 

Aloha,

"thus it is recommended that the PT1000 footwear [running shoes] be adopted for running exercises"

You should train the way you fight was how we were tought in officer training.

Many of the training injuries in the military are not only on fitness runs but during road marches and field movements.

But this article recomends that when we train our soldiers and first responders in casual running shoes that have the puncture resistance and stability about equal to a rubber slipper sandal.

So our soldiers should train for combat in combat situations in rubber slippers...???

I know that sounds stupid but how is a foam running shoe different than a slipper with a thin cloth upper and laces?

How about build them a better safer boot instead ??

What would happen if soldiers had to run into battle in boots they had never ran in before? Charge !! Ooo Aaa Ouch !! cHXARGEE !!! mEDiC !!!

Do Pono,
Steve