The term “boots on the ground” is popular among the politicians and talking heads who increasingly and disturbingly adopt military-sounding lingo while discussing our participation in deadly violence around the world.
Its four syllables (and worse, the lazy acronym you can see on Twitter) make it shorter than the more precise and honest “America’s sons and daughters” who wear the boots that some are so eager to put on the ground.
If you want to send your fellow citizens off to kill and be killed on your behalf, say it clearly.
The Smith Compound 