A to Z Challenge - I is for Infantry

ARMY - Infantry 'foot soldiers' make up 15 percent of the Army force, and are trained in combat skills and arms.  Infantryman (11B) is the main land combat force and backbone of the Army. They are responsible for defending our country against any threat by land, as well as capturing, destroying and repelling enemy ground forces. Soldiers see service in all types of roles throughout the world, in peacetime, peacekeeping, and warlike activities.

While all Marines train for amphibious warfare, few soldiers do. Instead, most soldiers pick or are assigned a terrain or warfare specialty such as airborne, Ranger, mountain, or mechanized infantry. Ranger is by far the hardest of these specialties to earn, and many rangers will go on to serve in Ranger Regiment.

MARINES - Infantry train in the core competencies of gunnery, combat operations, and battlefield awareness. They are the primary scout, assault, and close combat forces of the Marine Corps.  The 03 Occupational Career Field in the US Marine Corps are ground forces trained to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy's assault by fire and close combat.

The Marine Corps organizes itself in infantry battalions, which are its basic combat unit. A battalion has about 900 Marines and includes three rifle companies, a weapons company, and a headquarters and service company.

The Marine Corps categorizes its infantry by weapons systems and tactics rather than the specialties above. Marine infantry can enter the service as a rifleman (0311), machine gunner (0331), mortarman (0341), assaultman (0351), or antitank missileman (0352). Soldiers can only enter the Army as a standard infantryman (11-B) or an indirect fire infantryman (mortarman, 11-C).

For more information:

http://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/army-infantry-marine-infantry


What's next for J?
J is for Judge Advocate General (JAG).  What's a judge advocate?  Are there different types?  What do they do?  In which branch of military service will you find them?  Come back tomorrow and find out!