Senior Boots

Aggie Senior Boots

Written by Cadet Bryce A. Reed ‘22

Cadet Connor Fortier ’22, Corps Commander leads the Corps of Cadets during one of the March-In for school year 2021-2022. T he Aggie boots started over 100 years ago when the Corps of Cadets changed from the typical dress gray service academy styled uniform. Cadets at this time liked the look of the military boots typical of Army Officers and mounted Soldiers, which the Army changed after World War I. Senior cadets often interacted with cadre members that wore riding boots and wanted to adopt this style of footwear for the senior uniform, that of a cadet officer. At this time, military boots were fairly similar to the current design, however, they were lace up along the front which was not aesthetically pleasing. To cover up the laces, butterflies were created in the 1930s and 1940s to show other organizations that the cadet was a part of and insert a personal flair to their appearance.

Because at this time Texas A&M was an all male military college every aspect of life was centered around commissioning military officers. Before 1959 every cadet was placed in a unit that trained them how to be proficient at a designated branch of the military, the distinction between the officer cadets and the noncommissioned lower classes was aided with the use of these boots, which were used even in field environments. There are many photographs of the

early Corps of Cadets, especially the artillery and cavalry units training while wearing their senior boots. After the reorganization of the Corps of Cadets in 1959 many things changed, but the use of senior boots did not. The senior boots stayed a solidified part of the uniform tradition within the Corps of Cadets after

Boot Loan Program

Each year many rising senior Cadets cannot afford the hefty price tag on senior boots which is between $900-$1900. The Boot Loan Program, which is housed in the Sanders Corps Center was established in 2003 to help ALL senior Cadets have the opportunity to wear senior boots. In 2021, the program has about 350 boots that have been donated by former Cadets and of those about 125 are issued out each year.

Once a pair boots are donated to the program, they are entered into the Boot Loan system and assigned an identification number, which is associated with the donor’s information. A cadet tries on boots and finds the right fit. The boots are logged as checked out and the deserving Cadet is given the donors information and past “history” of the boots. The Cadets make contact with donor to say thank you. After Final Review each year, the cadets return the boots to the Loan program for the next lucky Cadet to use.

The CCA is proud to sponsor the Boot Loan Program and has helped bring in over 60 pair of boots, 5 Sam Browne belts and 4 sabers to put into the program

Today, the senior boots are one of the last holdouts of tradition that has remained nearly unchanged within the Corps of Cadets since nearly its inception. Many cadets today carry on their family tradition of Corps involvement by wearing boots worn by their parents or grandparents. Most cadets however, order their senior boots from Holick’s during their sophomore year. This is because there is such a long wait and there are many measurements and fittings required to make sure the boots fit perfectly for the individual cadet. During these fittings, it is traditional for a cadet to bring their “old lady” aka roommate to pull their boots for the first time. After the junior cadet wears their senior boots for the first time during the second pass of final review, many former upperclassmen will return and pull their boots signifying their promotion to cadet officer.

The application process to get Aggie boots, Sam Brown belt, or saber is very simple. The cadet would put in an application to Ms. Lisa Kalmus ’91 in the Sam Houston Corps of Cadets Center during their junior year better known as their “Butt” year. Once that is completed she will contact the cadet about an appointment to get sized for their boots. She measures the arch, and the length of their foot to determine the best boot for that cadet. She is known for taking a guess and choosing the right boot to fit, based purely off of her years of experience.