LPC's: LEATHER PERSONNEL CARRIERS

THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING

German Infantry WWII

“Good physical condition has been a basis for the notable march
achievement of German infantry. Despite all the mechanization of
modern armies, German doctrine foresaw the possibility that
motorized personnel might lose their equipment and have to move
rapidly on foot. In some cases German troops, under the prolonged
strain of combat operations, have covered 30 to 40 miles a day for
several days, and German sources claim a march of 44 miles in 24
hours during the Polish campaign. Reserve and Landwehr formations
(of older men) are held to nearly the same high standards.”

North Korean Infantry

“At Kangnung, on the coastal road, twenty miles below the Parallel,
the 11th Regiment of the 5th Division swung inland on an 8-day 175-
mile march through some of the wildest and roughest country in
Korea. It passed through P'yong-ch'ang, Yongwol, and Ch'unyang. At
the last place the regiment met and fought a hard battle with
elements of the ROK [Republic of Korea] 8th Division which were
withdrawing inland to the Tanyang area. The regiment then turned
east and joined the rest of the division at Ulchin on the coast on or
about 10 July. In this arduous march through and along the
mountains bordering the east coast, the N.K. [North Korea] 5th
Division lost from all causes about 1,800 men.”

Japanese Infantry WWII

“Mobility, which is achieved in a number of ways, has been one of the

most important factors in obtaining surprise. The ability to exploit to
the full the exceptional marching powers of the troops--they are
capable of covering thirty or more miles per day--is closely allied with
the question of rations. They may, by choosing a circuitous path
through difficult country, attempt to overtake and cut the line of retreat
of a force withdrawing along a road, but mobility does not end there; if
the chances of living off the country are small, troops may carry as
much as seven days' rations with them, thus freeing themselves
during this period from the encumbrance of an administrative tail.
Impressed local inhabitants, with carts or boats, if the country is
suitable, supplement their carrying powers, while opportunities to
seize local supplies are never neglected.

An outstanding example of strategic mobility on the part of the

Japanese was their advance through the Shan States from Karenni in
the south to Myitkyina in the north, a distance of some 450 miles,
covered in three weeks. This feat is even more remarkable when it is
realized that during their advance the Japanese fought three heavy
engagements and were hindered by numerous delaying actions. The
maintenance of a daily average advance of some 21 miles despite
delaying actions and having to fight, speaks for itself as an example
of strategic mobility. In considering how this advance was achieved
the following points are outstanding: First, the skill of the Japanese in
the choice, direction and execution of their encircling movements
which, probably more than any other single factor, accounted for the
speed and great distance of withdrawals the Chinese were compelled
to undertake. Second, the refusal on the part of the Japanese to be
deterred from the primary objective by threats to flank or rear.
Finally, there is the ability of the Japanese to move without a
cumbersome administrative overhead.”

British Commandos
As the state of mind is all important, it is essential not to let the men
become discouraged. If a man knows that others have marched 30
miles over mountainous country with heavy loads, and that he is fit
and properly equipped, he will feel that he is able to do it, too. The
men should camp out several days at a time, using different types of
equipment, and living on concentrated rations. This will give them
confidence. Gradually, as they get physically conditioned, they will
think nothing of doing 30 miles a day in mountainous country with 40-
pound packs. The officer or noncommissioned officer in charge
should carry as much as or more than the men. The men should walk
in single file as a general rule, following the route chosen by the
leader. Thus a tired man is less likely to lag. It is good practice to let
each man lead in turn, in order to introduce variety and to share
responsibility. When men are tired, it is best to promise them rest at a
definite time or place, for nothing is more exasperating than to march
interminably onwards at the will of somebody else.
Can you do any of that? I sure can’t. But I try to keep pretty mobile
on foot. Good boots are important no matter what you do, whether it’s
the Great Elk Hunting Death March (sorry Jerry) or an over-nighter
camping trip. When it comes to combat, good boots become almost
as essential as a good rifle.

The American military can buy a B-2 bomber that is quite literally,
pound for pound, worth more by weight than gold. A shiny new
Gerald Ford aircraft carrier is a bargain at $9 billion. An M1A1
Abrams tank is a real steal at $4,300,000. Yet only recently have they
done any real looking at a decent infantry boot.

In the Falklands War, the British Army issue boot was crap. Once it
got wet, it stayed wet, and despite the plan to use helicopters to move
the infantry, they wound up hiking forever across a nasty landscape.
After the conflict, British Major General John Frost, said, "The
appropriate foot gear is appropriate to all who would do things
properly…this inadequacy [the boot] was responsible for more
casualties than enemy action…it is pointless to spend several
thousand pounds in arming a man if he becomes ineffective through
failure to spend twenty or thirty pounds in covering his feet."

Another side-note that I found interesting related to the Falklands War

was that the “super-athletes” and Physical Training instructors were
some of the first to drop out of the long marches. While they were in
peak physical condition by army PT standards, they lacked the sheer
stamina, both mental and physical, to endure long-term physical
exertion. The American military PT standards are equally irrelevant to
long-term dismounted infantry operations.

The infamous ‘cruit boots of my day and age were just plain shit.
Thin, flexible leather, offering little support, with a hard sole with tread
grooved like an old Duece-and-a-half tire. Walking on hard surfaces,
especially wet ones, you were like a hog on ice. They were also
known for causing shin splints when you ran in them. To top it all off,
they had to be spit-shined every day. (As the Germans noted: “Shoe
polish alone has a tendency to make leather hard and brittle and
clogs the pores of the leather. This causes perspiration to condense
inside the shoe and might induce frostbite.”) I had a non-military but
very outdoorsy guy look at an old pair of my ‘cruit boots and he
laughed, “What the hell are those? Bowling shoes?”

During WWII, the American combat boot proved totally inadequate in

the cold and wet, especially in places like the Ardennes and the
Hurtgon Forest. The good winter shoe pacs that finally got into the
supply system seemed to get no further than the rear-area pogues
who didn’t really need them long before the front-line troops who
needed them. The grunts probably finally got them in August. Troops
couldn’t be rotated back out of the front lines to dry out and warm up.
They slogged through in endless mud in the Hurtgon and lived in
holes half full of water. In Bastogne, they stood duty on thick pads of
captured straw to keep the bitter cold from seeping up through the
soles of their combat boots.

Rather than solve the problem, issue the proper equipment, or rotate
the troops out of the front lines, the American REMFs and high-
ranking officers came up with another innovation idea instead.
Cartoons!
If the cartoons failed, as in the Hurtin’ Hurtgon, soldiers were then
threatened with court martial if they became victims of trench foot or
frostbite. Gotta love them REMFs.

Although the following is a British Army pamphlet dating back to the

Second World War, it’s a pretty good summary on keeping good care
of your little footsies.

REGARDING CARE OF FEET

To avoid sore feet:
Remove shoes as soon as convenient after a march;
Wash your feet as often as possible;
Dry thoroughly, especially between the toes; and
Wash your socks at every opportunity.
To harden your feet:
Wash in cold water, using soap freely;
Rub the bottom of your feet with soap or grease; and
Soak the feet in a solution of salt. [I use rubbing alcohol.]

REGARDING FOOTWEAR
Fitting shoes
The best time to fit shoes is on a hot day and after physical
exercise. This is true because the foot expands in length and width
¼ to ½ inch when the soldier is on the march in hot weather.
Always fit shoes over army socks—never over the bare foot—and
always stand up and walk a little while determining a fit. The sides of
the shoe should feel comfortable and should show no signs of
bulging.
b. Care of Shoes
After having been worn, shoes deteriorate fast if not used often
thereafter.
Rub a light coating of some acceptable leather preserver on the
inside of the shoes at least once per week, but:
First remove all dust and dirt (if necessary, use a damp
cloth).
Put paper or some similar substance inside wet shoes so
that they will keep their shape while drying. (Dry
slowly.)
Remember that it is better to apply leather preserver
when your shoes are warm and slightly damp. (Apply
the preserver until the leather is flexible).

c. Care of Socks
Excessive rubbing, sweating, or boiling in water will cause wool to
shrink.
Always mend your socks from the inside. If the edges curl, they must
be trimmed.
Darned socks, or socks with holes in them, should not be worn on the
march because they will cause abrasions and blisters. Wearing two
pairs of socks will aid in preventing friction between the shoes and
the feet.
If your socks are worn out and none are available for issue at the
time, you can give good protection to your feet by wrapping them in a
triangular piece of cotton cloth, or even paper, and then putting on
your shoes. Your medical officer will show you how this is done.
 REGARDING FOOT TROUBLES
a. Sweaty Feet
Symptoms of sweaty feet are tenderness, local areas of redness, and
the tendency of the skin to peel off.
Treat sweaty feet as follows:
Wash them with soap and water; and
Dry them thoroughly and apply foot powder.

b. Blisters
Treat blisters as follows:
Remove the obstacle which caused the blister;
Clean the blister gently with soap and water;
Apply an antiseptic;
Sterilize a needle by passing it slowly through a flame, and then
run the needle through the blister—in at one side and out the
other—to drain out the fluid:
Do not remove the skin covering the blister; and
Apply an antiseptic to the area, cover it with absorbent cotton,
and cover the latter with a piece of adhesive tape.

NOTE: Often you can manage to march in comfort with a blister

if you fit a piece of cloth or bandage under your foot, over the
instep, and around the ankle. Buckle the cloth over the outer
 ankle bone, pulling it tight. This arrangement lessens the friction
between the shoe and foot.

Serious abrasions and ingrowing toenails should be shown to

the medical officer at once.

BAWB'S NOTE: Always keep your nails trimmed. You can

remove an ingrown toenail with a needle-nose multi-tool and a
K-Bar, but I don't recommend it.

Don't get blisters in the first place. The moment you start to feel
a "hot spot" somewhere on your foot, stop and deal with it. If
nothing else is available, pinch a fold into your sock and fold it
over the affected area to add another layer, or change socks, or
roll them over so what was on the bottom is on the top. The
traditional cure is moleskin, but sometimes it's hard to find a
mole to skin, ha-ha. The humble Band-Aid works quite well, too.
And, if you have some as many back-country hikers do, you
can use the Handyman's Secret Weapon, Duct tape. I kid you
not, it works.

In most Western armies it has become pretty much standard for field
soldiers to buy their own commercial boots, especially in cold weather
and places like Afghanistan. This is certainly an improvement over
cartoons and court martials, but it is still bullshit that they have to do
so in the first place. Too bad they couldn’t purchase and bring their
own weapons; then the ones that knew what the hell they were doing
would really be good to go.

What to look for in a boot? USGI surplus is probably right out if you’re
serious about real hiking and covering long distances, such as elk
hunting or fleeing various government tugs.

My first tip…and I’ve heard the same from many hunting guides…is
to forget all that silly insulation. You know the boots I’m talking about.
They advertise four million grams of thinsulate so that you can hike
comfortably on the South Pole. Of course, if you hike anywhere else
they make your feet sweat like a whore in church. Then, when you
stop, your feet are soaking wet and then they get cold. The military
Mickey Mouse boots are the same. They’re great for sitting in a deer
blind or huddled over a hole in the ice all day, but walking, or skiing in
them, is a joke. If you have to have insulation, I’d personally go with
just 200 grams.

Always wear two pairs of socks. Some recommend two pairs of wool
only. I like to go with a pair of synthetic socks against the skin and a
pair of wool on the outside. One pair of socks on any serious hike will
leave you with blisters, most likely on the heel. I ALWAYS have at
least two extra pairs of dry socks with me even on a short hunt. In
decent weather, you can hang the old pair off your pack or LBE to
dry. If it’s below freezing, you can stick them inside your shirt. Yeah, it
makes you yipe at first, but they warm up and dry out, mostly anyway,
from body heat. This is where wool is worth its weight in gold. Even
damp it still has excellent insulating qualities. Same goes for other
garments, like wool pants and sweaters. There’s an old saying out
West: “Cotton kills.”

In picking out your boots, get them a half-size too large, and try them
on with the two pair of socks you would usually be wearing. If you go
for real long hikes, especially for an extended period, your feet will
flatten out and fill the boots. Before you lace them up, stick your toes
as far forward as they will go, and you should just be able to get a
finger down inside the heel. Then kick the heel back to the back, lace
‘em up real tight, and make sure you can wiggle and curl your toes.
The boot may still feel uncomfortable around the ankle and across
the wide part of your foot. That will soon go away when they break in.

If you’re in a hurry, you can always soak the boots in water (not too
long, only a matter of several seconds) and then go for a serious day-
long hike. When you’re done, they’ll be pretty well broken in right. Dry
‘em and condition ‘em and you should be good to go next time out.
The other way is to just wear them around during the day, at work, for
short hikes without a pack, etc. Once they’re comfortable to wear all
day long, they’re good to go.
I personally would go for leather boots. I’ve worn out the high speed,
low-drag boots made of fabric/nylon and leather, or fabric only. They
were only $100 boots, but I can wear a pair out in a single season of
serious hunting in the mountains. Avoid like the plague anything with
plastic eyelets; whoever came up with that idea should be beaten like
a red-headed step-child and it's a red flag for a cheap boot. Those
“lightweight hikers”, aka glorified tennis shoes, are comfortable for
just farting around town or short hikes across the back forty, but will
soon be a shambles in the back country.

They say every pound on your foot is the equivalent to carrying five
pounds on your back. Well, if you want a really good tough pair, you'll
have to add some weight. Plus, it makes it easier to kick someone's
ass. I prefer heavy-duty leather and high tops if they are to protect
your feet in the mountains, and some extra weight is a penalty I can
live with. NO STEEL TOES. Wildland firefighters are probably
tougher on boots than even the average infantryman and they are
required to have boots with at least an eight-inch top and Vibram
soles.

Speaking of soles, Vibram is still about the best thing going for a
combination of durability and traction. Air Bob soles are about the
best for traction, and have pretty decent longevity too.

Boots are really one of those things where, “You get what you pay
for.” Wildland firefighters (at least they used to) beat the ever-living
hell out of their boots and the brand of choice is most often Danner. A
good pair of Danners will last you many years, and I’ve known guys
who’ve had them re-soled two or three times and they’re still going.

Most people also seem to wear their boots too tight. It’s a bad military
habit that goes along with spit-shining. Your boots should be
somewhat loose, not yanked just as tight as you can get them until
you can’t feel anything below the knee. Maybe that habit developed
because it’s the only way to get even marginal ankle support from a
pair of ‘cruit boots. With long laces, I wrap them once around the top
of the boot (not real tightly) and then tie them and tuck the ends in.
That’s always worked for me.
If you have no choice but to wade a stream, or, as they're called in
Fly-Over Country, a "krick", take off your boots and socks. Wearing
only the boots, ford the water. On the other side, put dry socks back
on under the wet boots. They'll help suck the moisture out fairly well.
After a half a mile or so, change into another two pairs of dry socks
and try to dry the wet ones as noted earlier.

Blousing your pant legs is kind of a matter of preference. I like to do it

in the summer and fall, to keep them out of the way and keep out
sticks and twigs and pine needles and ticks and such. I’ve always
found it comfortable. In the winter, in the snow, I never blouse ‘em.
The pant legs will get wet and the moisture creeps into your socks
sooner or later. I let them hang down over the boot and though they
freeze, they keep the snow out. If you’re in snow more than six inches
or so, I wear gaiters. Those Sportsman’s Guide surplus Swiss Army
gaiters are the best, IMHO. The new bulky synthetic gaiters can
sometimes be pretty noisy when you're moving through the woods.

As for keeping leather boots in shape and still water repellent in the
winter, I’ve found Sno Seal my favorite, and outfitters have also
mentioned Dri. Pre-warm your boots for a short period in an oven set
on its lowest setting, meanwhile getting the Sno Seal also warm and
buttery and easy to work. Rub it into the boots good with an old
toothbrush; the warm seal and the warm leather penetrate very well.
That should last you about a week.

When it’s real winter in the high country and the snow’s ass deep on
a ten-foot Norwegian, I wear German Army Lowa mountaineering
boots with gaiters. Skiing or hiking, these things do seem to play hell
on the heels and just above them. You can sew a thick patch on the
heels of your special mountaineering boot socks, insert a pad of
fabric between the socks or, once again, duct tape can be your friend.

As an aside, if I’m way back in the sticks, especially for trapping, I use
cross-country/telemark skis but I carry a pair of snowshoes strapped
to the pack also. You wouldn’t believe mountain snow. You step off
your skis and ‘woof’ you sink right down into the snow to your knees
or worse.
Last but not least, when you find that perfect pair of boots that’s
juuusssstttt right, go out and buy three or four more pairs, because
you can bet your bottom dollar the SOB’s will quit making them.

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