Originally Posted by Old_Gregg

Originally Posted by Dwarf

Blacktoe
You have the usual debate about who is best that kicks off whenever someone Inf dares to express pride it. But look at the response of people who were/are proud to belong and do it. Yes we need the others to be able to do our job, and a mighty team we are, but without us you can't win a battle. They hand us the saw but we cut down the tree.
Yes some times are not pleasant and some are great, but all jobs are the same.
I am pleased that I did my stint with my face to the elements, a rifle in my hand, and the history of the regiment behind me.
Go for it. Be part of it. And best of luck.

Us other Arms with half a brain realise just what it is the Infantry do. On the whole a phenomenal job.

....but winning battles isnt our job im afraid. It fcuks me off when the infantry think that somehow we are all trying to be as good as them but failing and walting it up....b*llocks, we've all got trades that are essential to the main effort but the reason that Sappers and Siggies and Techies and other supporting arms arnt trained to fight up hills and slaughter the enemy is because, its not our job!!

edited to add.....

Yes everyone gets trained to fight their way out of trouble but seeking and destroying the enemy is rarely what other arms have to do.

While your right in all your assments, you must have seen the odd rear echelon walt. Some fat bloke how is so far back he has to sne dhis mail forward with a bulging assault vest, pistol, minimi pouch, UGL bandolear and 16 mags (for his 60 rounds). I guess his oppo's think his he a d1ck as well.

We all know that its one big team and we can't opperate without the fat driver bringing up scoff and ammo through the fight in a four tonne bullet magnet, but banter is what keeps every one on there toes. I don't mind the REMF's haveing ago at me for being thick infantry, I know they want to be just like me.

Originally Posted by Old_Gregg

Originally Posted by Dwarf

Blacktoe
You have the usual debate about who is best that kicks off whenever someone Inf dares to express pride it. But look at the response of people who were/are proud to belong and do it. Yes we need the others to be able to do our job, and a mighty team we are, but without us you can't win a battle. They hand us the saw but we cut down the tree.
Yes some times are not pleasant and some are great, but all jobs are the same.
I am pleased that I did my stint with my face to the elements, a rifle in my hand, and the history of the regiment behind me.
Go for it. Be part of it. And best of luck.

Us other Arms with half a brain realise just what it is the Infantry do. On the whole a phenomenal job.

....but winning battles isnt our job im afraid. It fcuks me off when the infantry think that somehow we are all trying to be as good as them but failing and walting it up....b*llocks, we've all got trades that are essential to the main effort but the reason that Sappers and Siggies and Techies and other supporting arms arnt trained to fight up hills and slaughter the enemy is because, its not our job!!

edited to add.....

Yes everyone gets trained to fight their way out of trouble but seeking and destroying the enemy is rarely what other arms have to do.

Of course it isn't, whilst it was what I trained for. As I said we are all a mighty team and I hope that you have as much pride in your arm as I do/did in mine.
I accepted urine-extraction for my arm, and hope I gave as good as I got to all the lesser human beings that populated the rest of the Army. But jokes apart it gets me when as soon as anyone says "Inf, Yeah that's for me" then a large number of people who should know better, jump on him from a height.

I never thought that the other arms tried to be as good as us and failed. In my experience it was a case of Sappers showing off by building something and saying "Look how good we are, you can't do this." The Siggies blinding us with science and achieving coms in shite conditions, and saying "Look how good we are, you can't do this." The Tankies ploughing through everything "Look how good we are, you can't do this, and did we run over that?"
Of course the Infantry does the same with their speciality, "Look how good we are, you can't do this as well as we do".

I personally can't see the problem, A medic loves what he does and wouldn't want my job, vice versa, If you are Infantry inclined enjoy it for it is supreme soldiering.

[quote="SO3Paperclips"]I love being an infantryman. I can see that being a tankie would be pretty cool and that being a sapper or a craftsman or a signaller would be challenging and more intellectually stimulating. Christ knows why anyone would be a gunner, but each to their own./quote]

Little winkies.....................Youknow...........Big Guns.............................Compensation..... ............................Sad.

Originally Posted by psychynurse

Originally Posted by SO3Paperclips

I love being an infantryman. I can see that being a tankie would be pretty cool and that being a sapper or a craftsman or a signaller would be challenging and more intellectually stimulating. Christ knows why anyone would be a gunner, but each to their own.

The feeling of:

kneeling on top of a Tor in the dark at 3am, temperature at -3c, knowing that no one has seen your approach.

clipping your skis on before skiing off into the Norweigen arctic, rifle across your chest.

the final O group before loading at the loading bay and heading into Basrah to kick some c#nt's door in

the spray of the jungle river as you plane up a river in Belize.

the rush of blood when the chain gun gets going

the feeling of team work when you're in shieldwall in public order

I have done it all..in the Infantry. Some corps men might have done some of it but not in 5 years' service.

The price you pay is:

hours in the cold and rain or the heat and the dust

very few transferrable skills

hours of waiting and preparing and notice to move

being treated like an inanimate object.

What do you want? Why join the Army? If you genuinely want to be the best and you want to be one of the rough men in the dark who keep the rest of society safe - the Infantry is the place to be.

I really liked this post, a bit of common sense. Is it just on arrse that some infantrymen see most of the rest of the army as REMFs? I have the utmost respect for the infantry. I served alongside quite a few in NI (admittedly I was HSPT and it was during the first ceasefire). The banter was fantastic I've never come across a truely thick infantryman. That's one of those vicious rumours with very little basis in fact. However, god forgive me for saying this and I await the inevitable flack from the feminists, females are just not built for the infantry (gasp!) With the home service battalions of the R Irish now gone, so has the only opportunity for women to serve in this very challenging and I must say, downright fun role! So for all those in the infantry I salute you.

Now can people stop calling QA's bad names?

What would be your excuse to comfort eat then be :D

Dont believe all the stagging on stories they all come from the jobs worth mutants of the battalions. Think about it the infantry mission is to close with and engage the enemy in all operationall theartres and enviroments in order to bring about his defeat. Does that sound like stagging on to you

I am an Infantryman and feel both words of encouragement and warning should go to the person who originally posted.
I cannot speak for other infantry units but in my Regiment the job can be both good and bad much like a civilian job, however ours tends to be on the ends of the spectrum ie if you have a really good day ( Im not reffering to 'closing and killing the enemy' rubbish either) you have an excellant day but on the flipside if you have a bad day you are having a REAL BAD DAY :D . I dont regret joining nor do i feel it is the best job in the world but some people are just drawn to it and if you feel that is you give it a go,you can always transfer. However a final word of warning dont pay attention to the 'sharp end of the sword/close and kill the enemy' Bulls**t, i doubt anyone making these comments has ever done the above nor should you wish for it,in my experience the people doing the gobbing off about killing and close quarters etc were curled up on the floor feeling sorry for themselves, the good men under fire are the ones who want to get the job done and look after their freinds. Hope this helps

Speaking mathematically, as we REME do, in abattalion of (say) 500 men in barracks perhaps 12 will be on stag every night. Now knock off perhaps 30% who don't do guards for a variety of reasons and you have perhaps 350 men doing guards at 12 a night yuo could end up doing as few as 1 guard a month, if I'm way out yuo'll b edoing one a fortnight, hardly stagging on all the time. If yuo're on ops obviously you'll have a much larger number on stag every night so will do more stagging. This is also true of every unit in the army (who don't have MPGS or MOD police) so it's hardly an infantry problem. If you join the infantry, or any other arm, there are two possibilities, you'll like it or you won't. The thing to remember about being in the army (any arm or service)is that the old adage still holds true. You only get out of it what you put into it.If you feel the infantry is right for yuo you'll have to accept thyat stagging on is a small part of what it's about but stagging on can be a lot less boring than ,for example, doing radio watch or fire picquet. Go for it and enjoy it.

I served as a Bandsman in a exceptional good county infantry regiment 1 DWR now 3 Yorks-sadly; did a fair amount of infantry work and thoroughly enjoyed it did a fair amount of stagging on too.

I have the utmost respect for all infanteers I regarded the lads that I served with as the salt of the earth.

For me it is a massive buzz knowing I am in the only part of the Army that is capable of taking AND holding ground and can operate in any environment on Earth and that most of the other parts of the Army work in direct support of me.

The Infantry is no longer a poor mans trade. There is plenty of opportunity to specialise (Javelin, SF, Recce, Int Cells, QM's departments etc etc) so you can always learn something new. (all quoted)

Take and hold? or as us engrs call it, mobility, counter mobility and sustainability so thats one more!! I thank you!

No longer a poor mans trade?? i'll tell the recruitment agency down town i can fire a javelin i'm sure that'll get me loadsa cash in hand!! MUG!

Plus engrs are infanteer, engr, tradesman so there you have it, loadsa respect for the REAL infantry doing all the shite in the army and gettin shot at however i like my comforts and like to know i have a 40k trade when i leave!

However i wish we shot more stuff!

about that last msg for all the infantry blokes out there big love however i can not see how anyone that is over 25 and got more than 4 D grade GCSE's could find being disrespected and round into the ground any sort of living!