I'd be sorely tempted to take the boots to an automotive body and paint shop and have them shot in gloss black urethane with a flex additive. Corcorans on the cheap, and in any style you want!
New G.I. boots always have a pehbly finish when you get them. Don't try to sand the finish smooth or you'll ruin the skin of the leather! The solution to the problem is the one you don't want to hear: LOTS OF POLISHING IS NEEDED. Cold water, yes. Spit, no.
I had some success with getting new boots into inspectable shape by applying a HEAVY coat of polish and letting them sit overnight before starting to buff them out. More of the polish seemed to stay on the boot.
Make a boot raid in some other squad's barracks. Find a pretty, well polished pair of boots in your size, gank them, and leave your new boots in exchange.
Don't get caught.
For future reference, if you're allowed to use other than standard G.I. issue boots, try out some of the other options. Jump boots are comfortable, and they have less leather to keep shiny.
I'd tell you what brand of boots I usually wear, when I wear boots, but I can't find the suckers! They're approved for duty use and they're as comfortable as a worn-in set of sneakers. Wolverines, I think...?
I retired my first set of G.I. issue boots only when the steel shanks in the soles BROKE!!! Never heard of THAT happening before!
A pity, too. They were chrome shiny and so comfortable I could run in them. The key to that is that technically, they were a size too large for me. Maybe that, combined with running in them, is why the shanks broke?
CJ