Boots for march training

When I was in the Middle East all our rations were kept in the open under the desert sun. The dates on the cans indicated that the stuff was made in 1940, yet 16/7 years later we were still eating it. The chocolate had turned white from age, but every thing was still eatable, well most of us are still here. Now I wonder what sort of shelf life the government would put on all this food if it was in a supermarket. Still they didn't believe in spoiling you in those days.
 
LeEnfield said:
When I was in the Middle East all our rations were kept in the open under the desert sun. The dates on the cans indicated that the stuff was made in 1940, yet 16/7 years later we were still eating it. The chocolate had turned white from age, but every thing was still eatable, well most of us are still here. Now I wonder what sort of shelf life the government would put on all this food if it was in a supermarket. Still they didn't believe in spoiling you in those days.
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Off topic I know. When I was at RAF Odiham in Hampshire I was tasked with a 3 tonner to dispose of hundreds of cases of emergency 12 man pack compo rations. I asked the Catering Officer why not give the rations to old peoples homes or hospitals. "More then my life's worth." he replied. I managed to squirrel one 12 man ration pack away, when I opened it, there was nothing wrong with it at all. I wish I had nicked a few more cases. The lot ended up on the local council dump, what a terrible waste.
 
For your first baby steps on humping/yomping/tabbing or whatever one may call it you can use almost any boot that will support your ankles in a good way.
When you start adding weight it gets alittle more critical.
Some nations SF have a rule that you must undergo selection and training with the regular boots you are supplied with by your Army.
Find out if that is the case in your nation and if so find out what model and brand they are.
Boots are rather individual and for long roadmarches you should avoid the softer soles as they will get worn down quicker then the slightly harder ones.
The other thing is you pack.
Find out what pack you will be carrying and go to town with that.
More important, lern to pack it (weightwise)the way can carry it over time.
At times this won´t help you, at times you will have time to adjust the lionpart of the weight to the part of your back that can take the punishment the best..

And oh yeah, always wear your shiteating grin.



DO NOT during your selection or training process mix in with a quitter. It is contagious.
Help the weaker men in your patrol as much as possible without destroying your own chances of making the time or pass the grade unless it is a patrol evolution.
Then shy no means to get the rest of the patrol there.
Accomplish the mission!
Whatever it is, whenever it is.
Never ever start having the "quitting dialouge" with yourself or you are a gonner.
It´s quite easy to spot when you are rested and fed.. In most cases it starts with.. "Why am I doing this...Why is this important...Why should I endure this... Why...."

If you start asking THAT question you will sooner or later rationalize not meeting the time/the standard/the skillevel requiered.

Focus on the 25 meter target (short term goal). What will I have to do to get there and press on.

Remember they will not kill you during training unless you screw the pooch in a bad way...

Good luck reaching your goals..

KJ sends..
 
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One little trick is to replace the laces on your boots with paracord. They never snap and can in survival situations be used for many things. Try to get the military MIL-C-5040H Type III paracord. In use, the main difference will be strength. Consumer cord will snap at 250-300 lbs. Mil-spec cord will snap at the advertised 550 lbs. Most people will never notice this, because most paracord doesn’t typically take on that kind of weight. But someday you might be in a pinch, and need to rely on the actual performance limits of your paracord.
 
LeEnfield said:
Whay ever happened to the old leather boot laces they seemed to last for ever
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Had them in my old Ammo Boots, but used para cord in my work boots, like 42 RM said, for exactly the same reason.
Always used to carry para cord, such useful stuff.
Boot wise, the issue Combat Highs fell appart so quickly we all got our own. Some guys splashed out on Danner Boots, others on a Norwegian brand, but the most popular were German Para boots.
The surplus stoors were full of them, the Germa Paras must have been wearing trainers!:mrgreen:
 
Trooper1854 said:
Had them in my old Ammo Boots, but used para cord in my work boots, like 42 RM said, for exactly the same reason.
Always used to carry para cord, such useful stuff.
Boot wise, the issue Combat Highs fell appart so quickly we all got our own. Some guys splashed out on Danner Boots, others on a Norwegian brand, but the most popular were German Para boots.
The surplus stoors were full of them, the Germa Paras must have been wearing trainers!:mrgreen:
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Are AMMO boots still issued? I remember all too often falling on my backside when given the command "HALT," especially on paving slabs. I must admit they sounded good when the blokes managed to stay in step.

That remind's me, another blast form the past. Who remembers Bootsie and Snudge?
 
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BritinAfrica said:
Are AMMO boots still issued? I remember all too often falling on my backside when given the command "HALT," especially on paving slabs. I must admit they sounded good when the blokes managed to stay in step.
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If you want them you have to buy them, and they are not cheap!
I remember coming out of a church after a parade, the floor was wooden and we tore it up, only to go skidding across the paving outside!
 
When I was in you wore what you were issued with and any variation and you would be facing either jankers or a spell in the cooler
 
LeEnfield said:
When I was in you wore what you were issued with and any variation and you would be facing either jankers or a spell in the cooler
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That was technically still the case, but as everybody knew how bad the issue boots were, a blind eye was turned to what you wore on exercise.
The official boots were worn around camp and for parades, because thats all they were really good for.
In the Falklands, the British Army were wearing the same boots the Army wore in WWI. This caused a re-occurence of trench foot as they were inadequate for the conditions out there.
The Royal Marines, however were wearing non regulation boots and had no problems.
Alot of official issue kit came about as of a result of non standard stuff guys wore to make things more comfortable.
We all got Norwegian Army shirts on exercise, much better than the KF or GS issue.
The RSM had a big crackdown on them, until one of CSMs got him one as a birthday present, then they weren't a problem.
 
LeEnfield said:
When I was in you wore what you were issued with and any variation and you would be facing either jankers or a spell in the cooler
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Trooper1854 said:
The RSM had a big crackdown...
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So this guy will be in Sh$t trouble, I guess.

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42RM said:
So this guy will be in Sh$t trouble, I guess.

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The sprung a suprise inspection on us one day.
Any military kit that was not issue was confiscated.
They told us that unless we could provide a receipt to prove we had purchased the kit, it was forfit!
That is the closest ever I have seen guys come close to mutiny.
Some guys had spent a fortune on boots, Bergens, webbing, waterproofs, shelters, mess kit, etc.
In the end there was a "compromise", we were given the kit back but could not store it in our lockers.
A lot of NCOs had funny tasting brews for a while when they got us to make them a drink:shock:
 
Trooper1854 said:
The sprung a suprise inspection on us one day.
Any military kit that was not issue was confiscated.
They told us that unless we could provide a receipt to prove we had purchased the kit, it was forfit!
That is the closest ever I have seen guys come close to mutiny.
Some guys had spent a fortune on boots, Bergens, webbing, waterproofs, shelters, mess kit, etc.
In the end there was a "compromise", we were given the kit back but could not store it in our lockers.
A lot of NCOs had funny tasting brews for a while when they got us to make them a drink:shock:
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I got annoyed when someone wanted to confiscate my carpet slippers!

Us RAF chaps needed our comfort.:cool:
 
When I was in the Middle East in the mid 1950's we would be issued with one canteen of water per day. Now the first thing you had to use for was to wash and shave the next thing was your morning brew just half mug full and that was your water supply for till the next day. Now when you are marching up and down mountains in temperatures of 100 degrees plus you missed your drink of water. It was about this time that you could get cans of beer, well you could fit two pint cans in each ammunition pouch and that is what we did despite orders to the contrary. Well in the finish there were so many happy paratroopers out in patrol they decided to issue us with a second water bottle, and then give instructions of the fate of any found on patrol with cans of beer rather than grenades
 
Back on topic.

As far as I recall, you will have to use the standard issue boots and uniform, for the selection process for the Danish SF.

I'm not 100% sure if these are still the issued boots, but Jolly 6010. They're Goretex safety boots and are about 1 kg each.

As for uniform, i believe it is standard M/84 BDU (kampuniform M/84).



KV.
 
Since the thread is still going on, let me ask you guys another question:
- What's your point of view on Gore Tex?
When reading about it, people seem to be pretty satisfied with it as long as they have dry feet. But if they eventually get wet, they seem to hate Gore Tex because it takes forever to get the boots dry again.
Since my dream is Jægerkorpset, I must expect to get wet feet.
Should I avoid Gore Tex? I'm pretty convinced I have to, unless you guys have other experiences.

- Thanks.

EDIT
Oh, and KV. I wrote a mail to Jægerkorpset asking if they have any specific requirements for the boots.
Wouldn't be surprised if they have, but I can't imagine them use the 6010's.
 
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PwNex said:
Since the thread is still going on, let me ask you guys another question:
- What's your point of view on Gore Tex?
When reading about it, people seem to be pretty satisfied with it as long as they have dry feet. But if they eventually get wet, they seem to hate Gore Tex because it takes forever to get the boots dry again.
Since my dream is Jægerkorpset, I must expect to get wet feet.
Should I avoid Gore Tex? I'm pretty convinced I have to, unless you guys have other experiences.

- Thanks.

EDIT
Oh, and KV. I wrote a mail to Jægerkorpset asking if they have any specific requirements for the boots.
Wouldn't be surprised if they have, but I can't imagine them use the 6010's.
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I would avoid them and use the standard Danish boots, of two reasons. Firstly, if you are in the Danish SF somewhere in the middle of nowhere, they will not run out and buy you new boots of a specific brand if you need new boots out there. Secondly, I have three pair of boots, two German and one American (Matterhorn) when I clean them inside it takes forever for them to dry
 
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