Just like on Earth, there are foot-soldiers patrolling many other worlds (and the ships and stations between them) across Creation.

 

Table of Contents:

  1. Vocabulary
  2. Description
  3. Purpose
  4. History
  5. Nicknames
  6. Infantry Specialties
  7. Additional Notes
  8. Images

 

Vocabulary:

n·fan·try

ˈinfəntrē/
noun
noun: infantry; plural noun: infantries
  1. soldiers marching or fighting on foot; foot soldiers collectively.
    synonyms: infantrymen, foot soldiers, foot guards; 

    the ranks; 
    informal GIs; 
    cannon fodder; 
    Military slang grunts; 
    historical footmen
    “the infantry, as usual, took the worst of the battle”

 

Description:

Infantry is the branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalryartillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mountsmilitary vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

 

Purpose:

“To locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, and repel the enemy’s assault by fire and close combat.”

 

History:

Individual ground fighters and armies have existed since before recorded history began.  Though their tactics and strategies have improved significantly, essentially they are still throwing rocks at each other.  What more is a bullet, really?  Even arrows, rockets, missiles, and kinetic impact rods are all just hard objects cast toward opponents.  Not much has changed, in that regard.

Leather armor was eventually upgraded to metal, and the knights were born.  Medieval warriors sometimes carried nearly their body-weight in the cumbersome stuff.  There were times when Roman legionnaires running downhill would have heart-attacks from this, killing their enemies by running into them, full-force, unable to stop, for they were dead and merely moving with momentum and gravity.  This was obviously a clumsy problem that needed working out.

Modern infantry units involve months to years of training, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and boast a wide variety of support options; they can call for air support, artillery strikes, E.O.D., medical evacuation, naval gunfire, tanks, and more.  They typically use light vehicles to cover intermediate distances, then patrol on foot, wearing anywhere from 25-50 lbs. of armor, breaching tools, communications equipment, optics, and other gear.  Every group of four of these war-fighters includes a basic rifleman, a designated marksman or sharpshooter, a machine-gunner, and either an assistant machine-gunner (who carries extra ammo.) or one who carries a Light Anti-tank Weapon (LAW).

During the late 1900s, the Space infantry of modern mankind was born; Germany left the Earth in the 30s and 40s, followed by the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. during the 60s.  As their missions and colonies grew in both scope and number, so did their need for militia-style defense.  Soldiers who had once worn armor plates, and the occasional HAZMAT (or ‘MOPP’) suit, now wore armored astronaut suits.  Their kind had come full-circle; knight armor used to cover the entire body, then it was shelved in favor of camouflage fatigues which sometimes did not come with even a flak jacket.  Now, it was back to full-body cover.  One might call the newest troops ‘Space knights’.

Armored Space-suits have technically been in common use since the dawn of NASA and even earlier; those protective garments include up to 14 layers, and are quite sophisticated in both design and function.  Modifying and revising them over the generations has led to stronger, more flexible, more versatile variants, such as the ‘Mjolnir’ suits of the Halo series.  There are also bulkier, tank-like versions, such as those in StarCraft and Warhammer.

 

Nicknames:

Lovingly referred to as

  • Grunts,
  • Crunchies,
  • Ground-pounders,
  • bullet-sponges,
  • knuckle-draggers,
  • life-takers,
  • heart-breakers,
  • widow-makers, and
  • baby-eaters.

‘Crunchies’ is because of the sound they make when armored vehicles accidentally run over them and all their gear.  Those in the Marine Corps are also known as Devil Dogs.

 

Infantry Specialties:

11: Rifleman

  • Training Time (weeks):  22 (5.5 months, 3 being for Boot Camp, followed by 2.5 for Infantry-specific training)
  • Weapons (categorical):  small arms, basic grenades, light anti-tank weapons (LAWs)
  • Vehicles (specific):  HMMWVs, MRAPs, MTVRs, CH-47s (and modern Space equivalents)
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft (troop helicopter variants), Naval vessel, military convoy

12: Riverine Assault Craft Crewman

  • Training Time (weeks):  22 (2 weeks of Indoctrination (administrative and physical preparation), followed by 8 weeks of Basic Crewman Training (BCT), then 12 weeks of advanced Crewman Qualification Training (CQT))
  • Weapons (categorical):  small boat mounted weapons
  • Vehicles (specific):  armored speedboats, etc.
  • Deployment (method):  Naval vessel or Coast Guard base

13: LAV Crewman

  • Training Time (weeks):  nearly 6 (Light Armored Reconnaissance Leader Course (LARLC))
  • Weapons (categorical):  LAV-mounted; machineguns, automatic grenade-launcher, etc.
  • Vehicles (specific):  LAV variants; LAV-25 (or off-world / near-future variants), etc.
  • Deployment (method):  convoy or dropship

14: Rigid Raiding Craft (RRC) Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) Coxswain

  • Training Time (weeks):  24
  • Weapons (categorical):  raft-mounted
  • Vehicles (specific):  RRC, RHIB
  • Deployment (method):  cargo helicopter for small/RRC, and Naval vessel for RHIB

16: Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft Coxswain

  • Training Time (weeks):  4
  • Weapons (categorical):  raft-mounted
  • Vehicles (specific):  RRC
  • Deployment (method):  Naval vessel or cargo helicopter

17: Scout Sniper

  • Training Time (weeks):  12.5
  • Weapons (categorical):  a few different sniper rifles
  • Vehicles (specific):  (mostly on foot)
  • Deployment (method):  usu. as attachment to a mainstream or elite military unit

21: Reconnaissance Man

  • Training Time (weeks):  104 (1.5-2 years, depending on specialty)
  • Weapons (categorical):  high-end automatic and custom/rare, sometimes classified (not even regular military aware of)
  • Vehicles (specific):  DPV, MH-6 variants, and other light-weight customized
  • Deployment (method):  sometimes attached to larger units, other times deployed on their own (such as… as an “advance party”, but also often as overseas QRF)

23: Reconnaissance Man, Parachute Qualified

  • Training Time (weeks):  4 just for the parachuting (many more weeks to become Recon in general)
  • Weapons (categorical):  small-arms that can be strapped to a parachutist
  • Vehicles (specific):  sometimes those which can be parachute-dropped or rendezvoused with upon landing
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft

24: Reconnaissance Man, Combatant Diver Qualified

  • Training Time (weeks):  8 just for the diving
  • Weapons (categorical):  small-arms that can be strapped to a diver
  • Vehicles (specific):  sometimes RRC/RHIB
  • Deployment (method):  helicopter, Naval vessel, speedboat, or raft

26: Reconnaissance Man, Parachute and Combatant Diver Qualified

  • Training Time (weeks):  12 just for those 2 trainings
  • Weapons (categorical):  small-arms that can be strapped to the diver-parachutist
  • Vehicles (specific):  rarely more than a handheld propeller device to expedite swimming
  • Deployment (method):  just about anything

31: Machine Gunner

  • Training Time (weeks):  22
  • Weapons (categorical):  small arms, basic grenades, LAWs, machine guns
  • Vehicles (specific):  HMMWVs, MRAPs, MTVRs, CH-47s
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft, Naval vessel, military convoy

41: Mortarman

  • Training Time (weeks):  22
  • Weapons (categorical):  small arms, basic grenades, LAWs, mortars
  • Vehicles (specific):  HMMWVs, MRAPs, MTVRs, CH-47s
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft, Naval vessel, military convoy

51: Infantry Assaultman

  • Training Time (weeks):  22
  • Weapons (categorical):  small arms, basic grenades, LAWs, SMAWs
  • Vehicles (specific):  HMMWVs, MRAPs, MTVRs, CH-47s
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft, Naval vessel, military convoy

52: Anti-tank Missileman

  • Training Time (weeks):  22
  • Weapons (categorical):  small arms, basic grenades, LAWs, TOWs
  • Vehicles (specific):  HMMWVs, MRAPs, MTVRs, CH-47s
  • Deployment (method):  aircraft, Naval vessel, military convoy

69: Infantry Unit Leader

  • Training Time (weeks):  4 (Infantry Small Unit Leaders Course (ISULC); for Sergeants+)
  • Weapons (categorical):  all the Infantry (given student’s) unit uses (no refresher ranges during this mostly-academic training)
  • Vehicles (specific):  all the Infantry (given student’s) unit uses (no refresher ranges during this mostly-academic training)
  • Deployment (method):  however the given student’s unit is ordered to deploy, typically by cargo/commercial airplanes and/or military convoys, though also commonly as passengers aboard Naval vessels

 

Additional Notes:

Then there is the King of Inisfree‘s own Infantry:  Inisfreean Storm Troopers (STs).  Unlike all other Infantries, their main role is not to default to man-to-man firefighting; their main purpose is to patrol and talent-scout across all the realms, and some of their secondary functions are to maintain and restore healthy environments, terraform and even start brand new worlds, make local weather whatever their maker wants/needs it to be, and other superhuman tasking.  STs are far more intelligent and powerful than all other Infantries combined.

 

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