Posted on 03/16/2017 8:23:46 PM PDT by fidelis
HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Army soldiers finished wading across a stream in a rainforest in Hawaii, and they were soaked. Their boots and socks were water-logged and their clothes, hair and ears were caked with mud.
The soldiers were going through training at the first jungle school the Army has established in decades. The course is part of a program to train soldiers for exercises and potential combat on terrain that looks more like islands and nations in the Pacific than arid Afghanistan and the deserts of the Middle East.
Brig. Gen. Stephen Michael, deputy commander of the 25th Infantry Division, said the Army set up the school as its footprint was shrinking in Iraq and Afghanistan after more than a decade of war in those countries...
(Excerpt) Read more at wtop.com ...
Yep. And in this climate, goretex or not, your feet are still going to sweat and get wet, so you might as well have something that drains. When H2O gets inide a goretex boot, that waterproof barrier works both ways. It will allow water vapor to escape, but liquid water, not so much. You might as well have a pair of rubber wellingtons (aka “Cajun reeboks”)
I saw an “Eco-Challenge” week-long team race a few years back. This one was in Borneo. A British Army team was in it. One phase was about a 50 mile jungle run. The Brits stopped and aired their feet and changed socks about every two hours. Feet in the air, the whole 9 yards. Because of these stops they fell further and further behind on the first day.
It was classic tortoise-and-hare. They passed every other team as one by one somebody’s foot issue made them a casualty. (You had to complete as a team, no left-behinds).
Super studly Olympic-caliber athletes who train in gyms or on roads and then take a shower and put on fresh clothes have no concept of what days in the jungle will do to your body, especially your feet.
While they certainly weren't issued, they may have been available for sale in the PX..........
Yep. I played soccer from the time I was six through college, did lots of orienteering and spelunking and that was before going into the Army. One can never underestimate the value of healthy feet. No matter how heavy a ruck I would hump, there was always room for one more ziplock sandwich bag with a pair of clean dry socks; worth their weight in gold. I still do a lot of recreational backpacking/camping, though now I have to pay for the equipment.
Mine was almost 90.....
Exactly!
Where do we turn in our old worn-out husks for new models?
That question has been asked about me more than once :-)
“Who’s that old man in the mirror?”
I wonder if they can be found still today?
They can. there are third-generation knockoffs, often found in all-black rather than with the green nylon side uppers, that aren't too bad and run $30 or so. There are also some pretty good ones in desert tan/sand, used for current AO applications, but omitting the alloy *punji plate* that holds desert heat from sun-baked sand.
One version to avoid: the ones with side zippers, which I've had several pair of and invariably tore the zippers out on within a week or two of use. But the local cobbler sewed the side back up solid, using the inside sand flap as reinforcement, and they were again good to go.
It's likely the best one at this time that takes foreign military students, now that the Royal Malayan tracker's school is under new management, as is Malaya/Malasia itself. The Australian SAS ran one that was awfully comprehensive and intense, and the Negritos at Clark AFB in the Phillipines ran one for the Air Force P-jocks and Combat Controllers that was likely the best for that part of the world at that time.
The Gurkhas who rotate through the British *advisory* group in Belize [formerly *British Honduras*] patrol in disputed areas sometimes patrolled from the other side by Guatemalan Kaibiles, giving their combat patrolling and immediate action training a certain emphasis.
It's likely the best one at this time that takes foreign military students, now that the Royal Malayan tracker's school is under new management, as is Malaya/Malasia itself. The Australian SAS ran one that was awfully comprehensive and intense, and the Negritos at Clark AFB in the Phillipines ran one for the Air Force P-jocks and Combat Controllers that was likely the best for that part of the world at that time.
The Gurkhas who rotate through the British *advisory* group in Belize [formerly *British Honduras*] patrol in disputed areas sometimes also patrolled [and claimed as Guat territory] from the other side by Guatemalan Kaibiles, giving their combat patrolling and immediate action training a certain realistic emphasis.
Bingo ..... what was the saying ? “It’s not how fast you go but how far you go fast.” or something to that effect ..... ENDURANCE !
Will it get you a freebie cup of coffee or hot chocolate, or a soft drink at your faveourite breakfast joint? Mine did.
Wasn’t as cool as the Harvey Point T-Shirt I still want ! ..... :o) I was at Howard AFB an Ft Sherman was a easy TDY school to add to a resume. Attended the school in Thailand that was pretty good. All fun !
I haven't forgotten, nor about the JEH FBI shirt. I'm STILL in the middle of relocating, but once I get back to Wyo, I'll get my stuff sorted out. I kind of figured the results in this last election were ofd some importance, and being in a position to do something about it, I did.
Need your shirt size, too, you ol' zoomie! PM me.
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