nkomo wrote:Before anyone says anything, I know these boots are of Saudi Arabian manufacture. That being said, this type of boot was sometimes used by US Special Forces when they did cross-border operations. These boots were not very popular because they were cheaply made and were exceedingly uncomfortable to However, they were used because of the different tread pattern on the sole compared to the US boot.

Where did you get that information?

I dont know if a SF guy told you that, but it seems extremely inaccurate.

JKin wrote:

nkomo wrote:Before anyone says anything, I know these boots are of Saudi Arabian manufacture. That being said, this type of boot was sometimes used by US Special Forces when they did cross-border operations. These boots were not very popular because they were cheaply made and were exceedingly uncomfortable to However, they were used because of the different tread pattern on the sole compared to the US boot.

Where did you get that information?

I dont know if a SF guy told you that, but it seems extremely inaccurate.

The information came from Soldier of Fortune magazine May 1992 issue. It was an article entitled "Bulldog Balwanz and His Eight- Man Army" by Dale B. Cooper (pgs. 32-37 and 73). The article was written from first-person accounts of a cross-border operation CWO2 Richard F. Balwanz led during Desert Sotrm. Here is the direct quote from the article:

"The Green Berets were issued Saudi desert boots, so they wouldn't leave familiar footprints like the U.S.-made jungle boot. Some team members found that the Saudi boots hurt their feet, so they taped cardboard onto the soles of their jungle boots and wore those."

If you notice in this picture, the ODA is wearing woodland BDU's as opposed to the normal 6-Color desert uniforms. Since they were operating in the Euphrates Valley, they wore the BDU's to blend in better with their surrondings.

If you have a chance to pick up a copy of this Soldier of Fortune (May 1992), it is a very good issue.

Thanks for clearing that up.

JKin wrote:Thanks for clearing that up.

Not a problem. It was just a quirk that I found the article and I have found little information about the Saudi boots since. It is a VERY obscure piece of USSF history/information.

Those guys were actually on an episode on some show on the military channel. It was about how they got cornered and got into a big gun battle with Iraqi soldiers deep in Iraq, and eventually called in air support.