New Balance In A War of Words with the Pentagon Over Shoe Snub

I wear New Balance running shoes and the claim they are not durable by the Pentagon I am highly skeptical of considering how the various shoes I have wore over the years have held up just fine:

Now the Pentagon has stepped into more procurement quicksand, this time here in Lawrence, where it touched off a war of words with the New Balance footwear company, the Lawrence City Council and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, by alleging the company’s athletic shoes are not fit for military duty. The company is not allowed to sell shoes on military bases, which it says will cost it the sale of many as 225,000 pairs to recruits and soldiers annually.

 

It was a snub heard ’round the world, sparking allegations that the Department of Defense prefers shoes made in Vietnam and Malaysia rather than in American hometowns like Lawrence, and amplified by New Balance’s decision to retaliate by taking up arms against President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership. The trade pact would lower tariffs on goods imported from 11 other nations, which New Balance says would flood the market with cheap foreign-made athletic shoes.

 

Rob DeMartini, New Balance’s president and CEO, said he agreed not to oppose the trade pact in exchange for assurances from Michael Froman, the Obama administration’s top trade official, that he would ease the impact by helping the company get a Defense Department contract to produce up to 225,000 pairs of athletic shoes a year for military recruits and soldiers. That never happened, the company said, then unleashed its attacks on the trade pact after years of reluctant silence.

 

“I’m definitely not a defense appropriation or procurement expert, but in the seven years I’ve been working on this, I’ve seen nothing but a bureaucratic nightmare, where middle managers at the Pentagon are making decisions that affect real jobs and real lives in America,” said Matthew LeBretton, a New Balance vice president. “There’s something really wrong with the system.”

 

LeBretton refuted DoD allegations that New Balance shoes are too expensive, noting that the company offered to supply the shoes at cost in an effort to keep its assembly lines humming and its supply lines full. He also disputed Pentagon claims that the test shoes it provided were not durable; published reports say the shoes were given to just six service members who were asked to run 30 miles over two months and then fill out a questionnaire.  [The Eagle Tribune]

Here is probably the most troubling statement in the whole article:

“If the Defense Department wants to make an argument that they want to buy non-American goods, that’s one thing,” Smithberger said. “But what a company’s political position is should have no bearing on whether they would get a contract or get a fair hearing and an ability to compete. It’s definitely improper.”

You can read more at the link.

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Bruce K. Nivens
Bruce K. Nivens
8 years ago

It makes no sense at all for the military to procure a “standard issue” running shoe. Any avid runner knows that proper fit, cushioning, pronation, etc., is unique for each individual. If you force a standard running shoe on everyone, you’re going to see a significant increase in running-related foot problems and injuries. Improper pronation, alone, can cause rolled/sprained ankles. shin splints, and stress fractures. Improper cushioning can cause foot and knee damage, lower back problems, etc.. Is it really worth all that just to make the PT uniform… more uniform? Or is this about awarding large contracts to companies like New Balance? I think the decision should be based on what’s best for the men and women of the military, and a standardized running shoe is NOT what’s best.

Bruce K. Nivens
Bruce K. Nivens
8 years ago

Who manufactures running shoes in the U.S.?

ChickenHead
ChickenHead
8 years ago

Fukk New Balance.

They made a deal with the Devil and sold out America… by keeping quiet on the America-hurting multinational-friendly trade agreement in exchange for an unsecured bribe of promised business.

When the Devil didn’t pay up, which was never intended anyway, they are suddenly butt-hurt because they trusted organizations that are engaged in activity demonstrating their complete untrustworthiness.

…now if they had hired a retired general, a connected lobbiest, the son of a senator, and a former Obama administration official, none of this would have ever happened.

Liz
Liz
8 years ago

Hm. My husband has always used New Balance shoes. They have a lot more options for wider sizes than most running shoes.
Maybe the DOD leaders have stock in Nike.

setnaffa
setnaffa
8 years ago

“Maybe the DOD leaders have stock in Nike.”

Or maybe their masters have a plan to “fundamentally transform” Americans into unemployed government-supported serfs?

http://www.mediaite.com/online/obama-advisor-openly-brags-about-lying-to-public-media-yawns/

We’ve been grubered since 2008…

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