Queen Of Battle, The Infantry

I used the appellation "queen of battle" in regard to the infantry in an earlier post and until I saw the Google hits looking for it showing up I had no idea it was not general currency. The term is derived from the realities of warfare, wars are won by taking and holding dirt. This is true because quite simply, people live on dirt. Governments and all the pieces of civilization that make for a nation are on dirt.

There are many sexier and more comfortable parts of the military to serve in and no one can doubt their usefulness, but their functions are not quite clear to many. While the infantry is the "lowliest" of positions, it is also the one that is served by all others. The planes that fly, the ships that sail, armor, artillery, satellites, and so on are all there to serve the interests of the infantry. Whatever their momentary missions, the over-riding ones are to make sure the infantryman can take and hold ground. An enemy is defeated when he has no place to be, when all his infrastructure is denied him, when his government is taken , his populous controlled and he is captured and this only happens with "boots on the ground."

It can be argued that the infantry can't do its job without the other methods of service and that is quite true, but it is also true that the others cannot do the job of the infantry, it alone can accomplish that end. The grunts get the dirty end of the stick and get called cannon fodder, ground-pounders, and other derisive names; but no matter, they are still members of The Queen Of Battle and justly proud of it.