The Role of Infantry (and other Combat Arms)

[Old Sweat]

The infantryman, and by extension the rest of us, may be given tasks - weasel worded out of recognition or not- but the role remains to close with and destroy the enemy.

I am simple enough to accept these seven non-megasyllabic words as the truth.

 

[geo]

D&B
The close combat badge should be coming to Canada in the near future if the current CDS has anything to do with it.
The ways and means of qualifying for it are being hammered out - to take into consideration those who go outside the wire and close with and destroy the ennemy - without necessarily being Infantry by trade....

 

[vonGarvin]

I am simple enough to accept these seven non-megasyllabic words as the truth.

I disagree.  We need more multisyllabic words.


;D

Question: Why does the word "monosyllabic" have so many syllables?

 

[Infanteer]

I like the "Basic Arm" close with and destroy the enemy bit.  It implies the fundamental task of the "combat maneuver arms" - the how is not needed as it is up to the smart commander to figure out (irregardless of his hat colour); he can blow them up, dislocate them, or have an enemy tribe wack them.  Engineers, Arty, Aviation and maybe even Signals are "combat support arms" which help the basic arms dominate the battlespace.

Something needs to be said for the "how" though in terms of where to focus training.  Maybe not in the "role" paragraph, but somewhere else that acts as a doctrinal guide to Battle Task Standards.

 

[McG]

Something needs to be said for the "how" though in terms of where to focus training.  Maybe not in the "role" paragraph, but somewhere else that acts as a doctrinal guide to Battle Task Standards.

Each arm has a list of tasks, and most arms have an associated list of characteristics (the artillery have fundamentals of employment instead).  These should start to develop the how & provide an initial bridge between role and BTS.

 

[daftandbarmy]

D&B
The close combat badge should be coming to Canada in the near future if the current CDS has anything to do with it.
The ways and means of qualifying for it are being hammered out - to take into consideration those who go outside the wire and close with and destroy the ennemy - without necessarily being Infantry by trade....

Great idea. There have been problems with defining who, and who does not, qualify for similar badges in the past. Given the nature of today's warfare, there is definite blurring between who is most at risk - whether they happen to be inside a wire enclosure or not.

 

[Infanteer]

Each arm has a list of tasks, and most arms have an associated list of characteristics (the artillery have fundamentals of employment instead).  These should start to develop the how & provide an initial bridge between role and BTS.

So it's settled then - an ideal "role" does not need to include a "how".