Papa isn’t the only one who wants a new pair of shoes. Apparently every soldier in the Chinese Army wanted some too, and they’re about to get them. Mostly because they’ve been wearing the same crappy government-issued canvas models known as “liberation shoes” since the early 1950s, after the communists won the nation’s civil war in 1949.

Oh, and because they stink like hell.

To improve upon the odor, China plans on doling out new footwear to their soldiers — combat boots. While they’ll mostly be used for “training”, amidst downtime, the old lightweight canvas versions will still kicked around despite the fact that they’re anything but water-resistant (hence the foul smell).

This from the BBC:

About 180,000 soldiers and officers of the paramilitary branch of the PLA and the Public Security Bureau were asked their views on the new black trainer.

Man Xiangdong, the armed police officer in charge of shoe design, said they were “anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and odor-resistant”, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

Another military man chimes in on the benefits that’ve come with the upgrade:

Li Zhixiang, a member of the armed police remarked on the army website that the new shoes were light.

“I feel like stepping on spongy cushion while running,” he said.

“Our dorm is no longer full of the smell of feet since we got the new shoes last year,” he added.

Sounds like the Chinese mess halls won’t be serving Limburger anytime soon.