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Blousing Military Boots

When someone asked “Why does the military tuck their pants into their boots?” on Yahoo! Answers last month, it wasn’t the first or the last time that this question has come up.

Other than to look cool, one obvious reason for tucking BDUs into your boots is too keep out any unwanted creepy crawlies and any other sort of debris that can be flying around. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that would be?!

Moreover, soldiers are constantly on the move, and they don’t want to get pants caught on anything that might slow them down. And it sure keeps in the heat during cold weather missions.

There’s also another big reason why soldiers stuff their pants in their boots: It’s a requirement.

According to Army Regulations 670-1: “Soldiers will wear the trousers bloused, using the draw cords or blousing rubbers, if the trousers are not tucked into the boots. Personnel will not wrap the trouser leg around the leg tightly enough to present a pegged appearance. Soldiers will not blouse the boots so that the trouser leg extends down to the ankle area. When bloused, the trousers should not extend below the third eyelet from the top of the boot. When soldiers wear the sleeves of the coat rolled up, the camouflage pattern will remain exposed. Personnel will roll the sleeves neatly above the elbow, no more than 3 inches above the elbow.”

Now that you have to do it, here’s how: First put on socks, pants and boots. Tie your boots and bring your pant leg to just above the combat boot. Pull the blousing string tight around your leg so it’s sitting right above the top of your boots. Tie the string in a knot, and tuck it underneath the pant cuff. Pull down the rest over the boot.

And then there are trouser blousers. You can use those, too. Or if you plan on wearing leather with your boots, check out the how-to demonstration below.

(Image via D Sharon Pruitt)