A footlocker is a cuboid container, secured by a padlock or combination lock, used by soldiers or other military personnel to store their belongings. The name is derived from the fact that they are typically placed at the foot of a soldier's bunk or bed. The term "footlocker" is currently used in recruit training in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

United States

Plywood footlockers are a common type of footlocker used by the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. They generally follow similar size and designs, undergoing only minor cosmetic changes in color and materials (from plywood to plywood, depending on war material needs and/or desire to reduce weight and cost of manufacture and cost of shipping). The corners are reinforced with straps of metal riveted to the locker, and had thick wooden handles on both sides for lifting by hand. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the protruding wooden handles were replaced with collapsible metal ones, so that each footlocker occupied less space and could be packed together more tightly for transportation. Each footlocker came with an internal (or thinner) plywood tray which could store some of the smaller items used by a soldier, and the larger items were kept below the tray. Crate footlockers were cruder than plywood footlockers in that they were either made out of old

ammo Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other wea ...

and packing crates, or followed similar packing-crate designs for simplicity and expediency of manufacture. Officer footlockers were noticeably different (especially during the World War II era) and issued to officers and some non-commissioned officers who were lucky enough to be issued or re-issued them. They were built better than the other two designs, with metal strapping along all of the corners and edges and

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...

handles on both sides. They were also made from better materials, stronger latches, and had fancier locks. Usually, officers were permitted to have custom drawings displayed on the outside of their footlockers. Most footlockers are made of plywood, but starting in World War II some footlockers were made out of a form of cardboard, which evolved into

pressboard Pressboard is a class of cellulose-based material constructed of several layers (plies) of paper which, when compressed using a combination of heat and pressure, form a stiff, dense material in a range of weights. Pressboard has been widely used in ...

, covered with adhesive paper. Such materials were used to reduce cost of manufacture, although the materials also reduced durability when exposed to water and/or

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

. Depending on the nature of the troop movement, footlockers would be shipped when the military unit was deployed to a base. However, if the unit was simply on a training assignment, the footlockers would remain at the training barracks and each soldier would either be issued or procure his own footlocker for transporting his possessions. The soldier's name would be stencilled on the outside, along with his APO address. Modern footlockers are used today in military installations and military academies. Sometimes referred to as trunks, the use of footlockers in the military has decreased over the years. Their largest military user is the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

References

{{Authority control Luggage United States Army equipment