The Aussies did. They stayed off the trails and used bolo knifes and machetes and created their own trails. Notice, no helmets, flack jackets and heavy rucksacks.
Well when I was in, back in the 1970's, we were taught by the Nam Vet's not to go near roads or trails -- just stay in the bush. Your odds of stepping into a punji trap were then less if you stayed in the weeds and off trails or roads. A friend of mine who stayed-in fought in Iraq #1 in the great tank battle where they greased a bunch of Iraqi tanks. He sent me the military write-up of it. Otherwise Iraq and A-stan were long after my time. Generally speaking I would put an Abrams tank in front of me if I had to go down a road now -- nothing less. They can take the impact of an IED. Back in the day our M-60 tanks had snow plows on the front of them to clear roads with. Why aren't they using these now in A-stan and Iraq ?! Are the generals too stupid in this generation ??
When I was based out of Hoi An there was this red dirt road that ran alongside the Thu Bon River and every morning at dawn the combat engineers would go down the road blowing up mines that were planted by the VC every night.
That's doing it right. The 'Nam Generation did not mess around -- once they figured out how Charlie was operating. Nobody knew about the extensive spider holes however. The holes were known of but never the entire network which had been built to fight the Japanese and the French by Mr. Victor Charles. That was a big surprise. Gives "going underground" a whole new meaning.
The main thing that I learned from the Nam Vets who taught me in boot camp was how to kill with a bayonet. You need to stab at dead center chest to kill the heart. The lungs have 5 lobes and so if you miss the heart it will be a slow kill not a quick kill. In a slow kill the enemy can kill you back while he is dying.
I believe that a modified vest with a plate covering your heart on the front and on the back is a great idea however. You can recover from a chest wound to the lungs. But not a shot to the heart.
Love my Gerber machete too! http://www.cabelas.com/product/GERB...VxYl-Ch3FwQ-hEAQYASABEgIVRPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
During archery season for buck deer you are not allowed to carry a firearm in my state. So my Gerber machete becomes my primary side arm. No worse than the ancient Greeks or Romans then. My bow and broadhead arrows are better than a spear.
... Which all reminds me that the best way to deal with a sh!t sandwich is to think of something positive (like deer hunting) to look forward to when you get back home to the States after your tour of duty in-country. Shooting yourself or jumping off the fantail is a dumb-azz idea no matter what Suzie just left you or how bad it is in the sh!t. Yay though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for there is nothing on this Earth that I cannot kill. (Learned this in boot camp from the Nam Vets.)
It's my opinion the Vietnam era jungle boot is the best boot to ever go to war. But the WW ll Marine Corps boondockers is the second best combat boot. Since there was no ankle support, you had to wear leggings. http://www.smwholesaleusa.com/boondocker-boots-us
Many different vehicles nowadays that are IED magnets. Hard to bring them with you when you're patrolling to catch the enemy by surprise. Don't need a tank when the modern soldier perfected shoot, move, communicate. Also hard to have them on stand by from your out post 5,000 feet up an afghan mountain side patrolling over 10 foot rocks and cliffs.
You need more ankle support in order to hike all day. Otherwise you will get tendonitis in your Achilles. I like steel toed work boots. The have a slightly lower rise than combat boots but more than these boondockers.
The boondockers have no ankle support and is why Marines wore leggings into the mid 1950's before they adopted the black leather combat boots that the U.S. Army had adopted during WW ll. The boondockers were extremely comfortable. 50 mile force marches and your feet were happy as clams. Ever hear of the term "yellow legs" ? It was what the Chi-Coms called U.S. Marines during the Korean War. Chi-Com and North Korean soldiers would avoid Americans who wore leggings because they were U.S. Marines not U.S. soldiers. "Do not attack yellow legs" !!! yellow legs Name given by the Communist North Korean Army to U.S. Marines, whom they feared and recognized by their discolored, yellow-looking leggings... https://www.mca-marines.org/leatherneck/lingo/yellow-legs During the Korean War U.S. Marines were ordered to remove their leggings. "Interesting, leggings but the pants outside and rolled up." http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/for...50-us-marine-catching-some-zzzzzzskorean-war/
I don't have a preference on combat boots. I have really stubborn feet so that's always been the least of my worries. I'll march till I have a heel full of blood and I barely feel it.