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Rumor Has It – UQCP Postponed

Word on the street is that the Army has postponed the Uniform Quality Control Program for boots planned for this Spring. The program has raised numerous questions from industry regarding how it would be implemented which resulted in hesitation in manufacturing Coyote Brown boots for the upcoming transition to the Operational Camouflage Pattern this Summer.

Had it gone on as planned, there would have been few footwear options available along with the new version of the ACU because no one wanted to be stuck with a warehouse full of uncertified boots. While issue boots are being procured through the Defense Logistics Agency, footwear manufacturers were waiting to begin making commercial options until after UQCP had completed its process. As it is, the delays caused by UQCP will most assuredly result in boot shortages during the initial transition as boot builders remain skeptical.

What’s more, it’s “caveat emptor” since there’s no guarantee the Coyote colored boots you purchase will eventually receive UQCP certification, nor that you’ll be allowed to wear them. Even though a boot model might earn UQCP certification, it’s still up to the chain of command whether it can be worn. The best bet is to look for boots that are AR 670-1 compliant and hope that your CoC will allow you to wear them.

The delay is currently estimated to be six to eight months but they plan to take it back up once the transition to OCP is under way.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2015 at 14:15 and is filed under Boots, PEO-Soldier. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

13 Responses to “Rumor Has It – UQCP Postponed”

  1. SN says:
    March 31, 2015 at 15:03

    While Airmen buy whatever style they want as long as it’s the correct color.

  2. WagenCAV says:
    March 31, 2015 at 15:07

    Isn’t the wear guidance, as of now, such that we can continue in tan boots, belts, and shirts with OCP, just not coyote boots, belts, and shirts with UCP?

    • SSD says:
      March 31, 2015 at 17:05

      There isn’t any official wear guidance yet…

      • WagenCAV says:
        March 31, 2015 at 17:33

        I meant unofficial wear guidance as in coming from less-than to moderately informed NCOs and military.com reporting. My bad.

        • WagenCAV says:
          March 31, 2015 at 17:45

          Oh yea, and the lady at the Patriot Arms store at the PX on Ft Stewart told me something to that effect as well

  3. CAVstrong says:
    March 31, 2015 at 15:37

    Will the transition to the ACU Gen II and OCP continue as planned?
    I’m beginning to get worried that there hasn’t been much news or rumors concerning this. Considering its supposed to begin in four months….

  4. Sal says:
    April 1, 2015 at 03:27

    As a civilian, it always struck me as odd why a CO can ban someone from wearing a certified piece of gear. If gear is certified as regulation compliant, then the chain of command should have no say in the matter.

    • xdarrows says:
      April 1, 2015 at 14:17

      The real brain-twister is:

      1- CO’s have nearly unlimited power (within regulations) to dictate the “hows” and “whats” in his/her command.

      2- This is for several good reasons: maintaining order & discipline, ensuring that troops don’t cut corners and wear/procure shoddy/substandard items, etc

      3- But, quis custodiet ipsos custodes? What is the remedy when the CO and his NCOs are less-qualified/less-informed than the individuals trying to do the RIGHT thing versus the CORRECT thing?

      The bottom line is that Government (and this includes the Military) cannot regulate Common Sense … so, as a colleague once said, “When someone breaks a rule, the rulebook gets thicker.”