Boots on the ground

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"Boots on the ground" is an all-purpose term used to describe ground forces actually fighting in a war or conflict at the time of speaking, rather than troops not engaged or being transported to the fighting.

Example: "The Pentagon may say we have enough, but that's not what I'm hearing from the boots on the ground."

It is from this term that journalist Karl Zinsmeister titled his book Boots on the Ground: A month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq.