US military on their feet in foreign footwear

This is from a press release.

"U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has begun the process of evaluating domestically manufactured athletic footwear sources for possible procurement, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced today. That action, known as a “Sources Sought,” is the result of language added to the FY14 National Defense Authorization Act Joint Explanatory Statement, which was included at the request of Senators Collins and King."

"Congress passed the Berry Amendment in 1941 to ensure that American soldiers trained and operated, to the greatest extent possible, with American-made uniforms and equipment. Servicemen and women are provided with dress uniforms, combat uniforms, and physical training (PT) uniforms. These items are standardized "uniform" items determined by the DoD, and for decades, the apparel and footwear for each of these uniforms was American-made as required by law.

However, in 2002 the Army, followed by the Air Force in 2008, altered its acquisition process such that it no longer directly procured American-made athletic footwear for issue to incoming recruits. Instead, military recruits are given an "allowance" and are required to "purchase" athletic footwear thus, in the opinion of DoD, exempting athletic footwear from domestic sourcing requirements because such individual purchases fall below the simplified acquisition threshold."