The Duties of an Infantryman
- Infantrymen can engage the enemy in areas that are inaccessible to tanks and other vehicles.soldiers on the parade image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
Infantrymen are the primary land combat force of an army, and are trained to fight on foot and engage the enemy directly. An infantryman's role is to defend his country during peacetime and to capture, repel, and destroy enemy forces during periods of war. The duties of the infantryman are numerous, but each duty falls into one of four main categories: attack, defense, reconnaissance and reserve duties. - The attack duties of an infantryman include engaging and destroying enemy targets using firearms and hand-to-hand combat, receiving and implementing combat orders, deploying and firing anti-personnel and anti-tank mines and performing operations as a member of a unit. Infantrymen may also lead other soldiers into combat, capture enemy-held objectives, call for and adjust indirect fire, direct supporting fire, plant demolition charges and capture prisoners of war. Infantrymen also use, maintain and store a variety of combat weaponry.
- Infantrymen are expected to repel enemy soldiers during combat, protect command posts and airbases, construct field-appropriate firing aids for infantry weapons, dig trenches, build defensive walls, utilize terrain and constructed fortifications to overpower invading enemy forces, perform vehicle and personnel escort missions and participate in frontline and rear patrols.
- The duties of infantrymen also include performing as a member of a reconnaissance team, evaluating terrain for weapon placement, recording operational information on maps, determining enemy map position and elevation and ensuring the collection and proper reporting of intelligence data. Reconnaissance forms the backbone of military intelligence, and enables the effective use of personnel and resources to ensure victory in conflict situations.
- Reserve duties are performed by infantryman behind the frontline of combat, and include the maintenance of weapons and vehicles, operating and maintaining communications and intelligence equipment, conducting and participating in attack and defense training exercises, processing prisoners of war and assisting in the organization and training of replacement units.
