660 troops from 7RAR Battalion outfitted with RM Williams boots STAND EASY: Private James Cerone fits his RM Williams boots at the Edinburgh RAAF Base. FOLLOWING in the footsteps of generations of Australian stockmen, 660 members of the 7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) have been fitted with the new RM Williams parade boot in Adelaide in the past two days. The Australian Defence Force members were the first to be fitted with the boots made by bootmakers at RM Williams factory in Salisbury. Defence Public Affairs spokesman Allan Cole said the reaction to the boots was very positive. "They thought they were fantastic and that it was great to have boots made by a South Australian company and made here in Adelaide," Mr Cole said. The elastic-sided Craftsmen, each made from a single piece of leather, will be used as the new Australian Army parade boot, replacing the traditional black lace-up army boot worn by generations of soldiers on the parade ground. STYLE: Members of the 7RAR being fitted with their RM Williams parade boots at the Edinburgh RAAF Base. Picture: Simon Cross The company, renowned as the stockmans' outfitter, will supply 15,000 pairs of boots to Australian soldiers for each of the first three years of the contract followed by 5000 pairs to inductees in each of the next two years. It follows an open tender to select the new boot by the Defence Materiel Organisation. A trial of the R.M. Williams boot was conducted by members of Australia's Federation Guard, who regularly wear the parade boot for ceremonial duties. COOL: Corporal Kane Lukassen and Private James Cerone in their parade boots.