[Music plays]

Captain Adam Orton: Hi, I’m Captain Adam Orton with the Canadian Army Podcast. Close with and destroy the enemy by day or by night, regardless of weather, season, or terrain. Those are the words that every infantry soldier has memorized from the beginning of their training. My guest is Lieutenant-Colonel Cullen Downey of The Royal Canadian Regiment, and we’re going to explain the structure of the infantry and how it all works on the battlefield. Welcome to the podcast, sir!

Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Downey: Hey, thanks, Adam. Happy to be here!

[Music ends]

Capt Orton: So close with and destroy; it’s a great catchy tagline. What does that mean to you? Let’s start with that.

LCol Downey: Close with and destroy, to me, that is the forward edge of the battle. We are the final yards to occupy an enemy position, destroy the enemy who may be there, and to control that key terrain.

Capt Orton: A friend of mine, also a Royal, Steve Slaunwhite, would always ask people…

LCol Downey: Great guy.

Capt Orton: What does Ducimus mean on the cap badge? You know, it means we lead. How does that tie into that?

LCol Downey: Yeah, so, in a couple of different senses. So, not only is leadership so important on the battlefield because, in the infantry, the weapon system is truly the human who is completing the task. So, leadership is present throughout the battlefield, but also the infantry’s role in the battle space as the tip of that spear, and they are truly leading the charge onto that enemy position and doing the final, very gritty, very intimate aspect of that, of destroying the enemy who are in those trenches.

Capt Orton: Yeah, and in order to describe that spear, you know, you have the tip, you have the little screws to dig into the metaphor. We have all these little Lego blocks that connect together and build this machine that is the infantry. So, let’s break down the hierarchical nature of the infantry. Maybe starting at a fireteam or your battle buddy.

LCol Downey: Yeah, so, within the infantry, we got to keep in mind that at the smallest element at that fireteam level, which is truly two soldiers working together, they’re trying to achieve what we call fire and movement. So one person is providing suppressing fire on the enemy while the other person is moving on the battlefield. And that same concept goes all the way through the echelon. So, when you start with the fireteam, those are the two individuals. And one constant within the Army is you never go anywhere alone on the battlefield.

Capt Orton: That’s right.

LCol Downey: So, you’re always moving with your fireteam partner. And then those two individuals within an infantry context, so that fireteam, would operate with another fireteam and when you put them together, you now have an assault group.

Capt Orton: Yeah, that fireteam, they’re looking out for each other. They’re providing first aid on each other if something happens, you know, self-aid, buddy aid. And so that little tiny team dynamic, looking out for each other when you have to take a pee, you know, all those small things. And then you just double that up when you get to the assault group level.

LCol Downey: And the concept of fire and movement continues from there. So, within that assault group now, you now have four soldiers that are able to operate together. And within a regular line infantry platoon, that’s called an assault group. If you’re working within a reconnaissance platoon or a sniper platoon, that would be called a detachment of four-time soldiers. But within that assault group, you now have a little bit more firepower. You typically have a light machine gun that’s with you as well. You would have a grenadier operating a grenade launcher on their rifle, one of our Canadian M203s. And you would also have a limited anti-armour weapon system as well. So that is the assault group. And again, that assault group breaking down into teams is able to provide cover and movement for each other to continue to complete their task and move towards the enemy to ultimately destroy the enemy position.

Capt Orton: And that’s where you have like the beginnings of leadership too. It’s either led by a sergeant or a master corporal who’s kind of controlling the fire and movement of that little, like, pocket of people. And that’s one of those Lego blocks on the battlefield.

LCol Downey: Within the assault group, you’re exactly correct. You’ll either have your section commander that’s operating with that assault group, or you’ll have your section second in command, which is typically, doctrinally, would be a master corporal. Of course, within the infantry, we’re often having to step up and do the next job up.

Capt Orton: That’s right.

LCol Downey: So a lot of times we might have a corporal providing that leadership within that assault group, or the most senior person who has the experience that can lead that assault group within the section. And really, that’s the next logical step is that section level fight. So we’re working with twos here. So your fireteam, two people, two fireteams together makes an assault group. And now you put two assault groups together and now you have an infantry section of, in a dismounted context, it would be eight soldiers working together. And so, within the section, you’re doing that fire and movement, that block and tackle, moving up the battlefield with one assault group moving under command of potentially the sergeant, and then the other assault group providing suppressing fire under command of that master corporal, that section second in command.

Capt Orton: Yeah, and just like in that hierarchical system is those sections themselves are also blocked out and they’re moving together and working together in that dynamic. And all those pieces are starting to come in play. Where before maybe you had a light machine gun and a grenadier at the section level, now you’ve got two light machine guns, two grenadiers, maybe some additional firepower if you need it, and it just keeps zooming up like that.

LCol Downey: And there’s a little bit more that a section can tackle on its own because of, like you said, they have a little bit more firepower. They have two light machine guns. They have two grenadiers. They have some anti-armour systems. They may have some systems to help them do reconnaissance type missions. But that sergeant, at that level of experience, that sergeant, that senior non-commissioned officer on the battlefield, is able to truly control their sphere of influence on the battlefield.

Capt Orton: Yeah, and that’s their opportunity, especially at the NCO level. That’s the soldier’s first chance to do what I’ll call real leadership. You know, they’re writing orders. They’re sitting in as part of an operational planning process. They’re learning how to divide their soldiers up on the battlefield. And that’s now their ability to actually take command of a group of people and make things happen.

LCol Downey: And it is the lowest level of command and truly the only time in a non-commissioned officer’s career where they are in command of their group as opposed to being a second in command or a company sergeant major, that section commander is in command, much the same as a platoon commander, company commander, battalion commander. They have the authorities, the responsibilities, and the accountabilities, and the legal authority to command those eight soldiers on the battlefield.

Capt Orton: And then... We can also see the mechanized context, which is a little bit more intense than that light infantry context where now that section also has an armoured vehicle, maybe has some extra leadership involved to move that vehicle around. So, you got 25 mm cannon and etc. You know, I have limited mechanized experience. I don’t know…

LCol Downey: I don’t know if I’d characterize it as more intense. So different tasks for different roles, right?

Capt Orton: Right. Yeah, right.

LCol Downey: So, within the light infantry, they are truly the masters of that complex terrain or getting themselves inserted and extracted through various means. So, they are set up and equipped for that task. Within a mechanized setting, the section, the infantry section, is not fully realized until those dismounted seven soldiers are working hand in hand with that Zulu LAV under command of a master corporal crew commander with a gunner and a driver. And you’re correct in saying that you’re now adding extra firepower, you’re adding extra armour and protection and speed and lethality, but it’s for the specific job that they’re meant to do, which is speed, agility, open areas where they can use those to their max effective range. And that’s the mechanized fight.

Capt Orton: I gotta say, there’s nothing quite as exciting as being in the back of an armoured vehicle, bombing up onto a position, and just having that armoured vehicle just blast in, ramp down, everybody hops out, chaos begins, and it’s a little bit more dramatic and exciting than having to walk 12 kilometers to get to where you’re going.

LCol Downey: It may look chaotic, but it is an art and a science.

Capt Orton: True, yeah.

LCol Downey: And I tell you, these section commanders and these crew commanders, these NCOs, know their business. They are experts. They are the only ones within the Canadian Armed Forces who can do mechanized infantry tactics and fully employ something like the light armoured vehicle to reach out and kill someone at 2.4 kilometers and then move to enclose with and destroy the enemy and dismount those lethal, aggressive soldiers out of the back. But much the same in the light infantry.

Capt Orton: Yeah, that’s right.

LCol Downey: So yes, there may be some long infills, but if you’ve ever been part of an air assault onto an objective or an airborne drop to seize key terrain, there’s a lot of chaos there. But believe me, it is controlled chaos.

Capt Orton: Yeah. Now we have a platoon. It gets even bigger. You want to take us all the way up?

LCol Downey: So, we spoke through the teams. We spoke through the assault groups and the sections. So, when you start putting those sections together, working in a platoon context, and so within a platoon, you have three sections. Now you can start doing a little bit more manoeuvre on the battlefield. So, when we talk fire and movement, now you may put a section as a firebase, static, providing suppressing fire onto the enemy while you’re moving your other two sections around to flank and destroy the enemy from another direction that they’re not expecting. So, within that context, you now have a platoon commander who’s working with their three sections as well as a weapons detachment that just provides a little bit more firepower and you’re now able to control a bigger slice of the battle space, your sphere of influence has expanded.

Capt Orton: And talking about the weapons detachment, yeah, the platoon level, you start getting in, what I would call, a couple of extra toys. Sometimes you have to choose which things you can bring. Sometimes you’re given things. But you have, like, anti-armour weapons, like the Carl G or the 72. You have maybe a designated marksman, maybe you have some specialists attached in, indirect fire mortars, whatever, or just a medium machine gun, which just gives you some extra punch on the battlefield where you as the platoon commander can now decide where those things go.

LCol Downey: And in a traditional, doctrinal sense, everything you’re saying, 100%. But there’s also, there’s everything that we need in order to be effective in the modern battle space. So, at that platoon level, you have a platoon commander who is also plugged into the entire system. They’re on their radio, who’s able to reach back to the company level, tied into the battalion or battle group and into the higher level network where they can start asking for assets like joint fires, for attack helicopters, for fast air, for indirect fire to help augment their plan. And in a mechanized setting within that platoon fight, not only are you controlling those dismounts on the ground, but you now have your four Zulu LAVs. And Zulu LAVs mean that it’s just the crew commander, the gunner, and the driver that are able to manoeuvre those LAVs on the battlefield to deal with problems as they arise too. So that platoon commander with their NCOs are dealing with a little bit more combat power. There’s a little bit more to think about, but they’re able to provide much more lethal effects onto the enemy.

Capt Orton: So, what are the ranks within that platoon structure?

LCol Downey: Right, so the platoon commander oftentimes is a second lieutenant or a lieutenant, or at the top would be a captain.

Capt Orton: Yeah.

LCol Downey: And they will have command authority over that platoon of roughly 30 to 40 soldiers. At all times, they are enabled and advised by a senior non-commissioned officer that has roughly 20 years of experience in the tactical employment of that platoon.

Capt Orton: That’s right.

LCol Downey: And those three section commanders are your sergeants.

Capt Orton: And probably one of the biggest questions I get asked as somebody who’s in the military is, why is it that way? Like, why do you have a junior officer who’s relatively new, a couple of years of experience in, that’s being supported by this senior member that has lots and lots and lots of experience? Why are they not in charge? Why is it not the other way around?

LCol Downey: The officer in charge of that platoon needs to have the opportunity to learn the tactical and technical aspects of leading that organization. And they’re provided that mentorship by their platoon second in command, that warrant officer. So that warrant officer could command that platoon.

Capt Orton: That’s right.

LCol Downey: They have all the training and experience to do that. But that platoon commander will eventually move on to other roles. One day they will be a company commander, a battalion commander, and onwards. And all of that experience starts with that platoon, that initial foundation, and that relationship with that senior non-commissioned officer.

Capt Orton: Where is that officer? Where is that platoon commander? Where is that warrant officer on the battlefield? And kind of what are their different jobs?

LCol Downey: Within the platoon context, the platoon commander is the commander. So, we often refer to it as a leadership team with the platoon 2IC, that warrant officer, that senior non-commissioned officer. So, the platoon commander in the fight is at the forward edge and they are managing the fight in real time, working with their section commanders to work through the problem, to work through the enemy position. So, you’ll often find them at the main effort or the decisive point of battle where they’re using all of the resources that they have at their disposal, both there in the moment, but also on the radio, keeping higher involved in the picture, involved in the plan, and bringing assets to bear. The platoon second in command, that warrant officer, is a bit further back in the rear, close to the depth section, but they’re responsible for making sure that they have all of the resupply ready to bring forward into the fight. They’re also prepared to deal with any casualties that may arise on the battlefield. That is their bread and butter. They’re tied into that higher infrastructure as well and that higher network, but it’s on the medical and supply chain of things. So, they’re making sure that the fight is fed so that they can continue to move forward with the ammunition and the water and the litter carrier parties to maintain the fight forward.

Capt Orton: It’s worth noting also that you don’t put all your eggs in one basket and having the second in command too close to the platoon commander, particularly during combat, means that if something happens in that space, then working with limited leadership, which can cause problems and can create a little bit of chaos and so keeping them separate is important for like safety reasons too.

LCol Downey: Yeah, and it gives you redundancy. If something were to happen to that platoon commander, then that platoon second in command needs to be ready to move forward and continue the fight. Of course, those section commanders are going to do their job in the moment. But once they’re able to, that platoon second in command is going to move forward. The other aspect of all this is what you talked about, having a step back is making sure that there’s depth in your plan. So we don’t throw all of our forces forward at once.

Capt Orton: Right.

LCol Downey: Like I said, we try to do cover and movement. And so within a platoon context, working with three sections, you have two sections in the fight with one section further back, ready to either exploit an opportunity on the battlefield or to cover off your flank should the enemy try to exploit an opportunity. And so that’s called having depth. That’s called having options. That’s making sure that you can react to the situation as it unfolds.

Capt Orton: So we’re moving on to the company level.

LCol Downey: Yeah, a platoon will operate within a company. And that company is roughly 100 to 120 soldiers working under a major who also has a fireteam partner of a senior non-commissioned officer, a company sergeant major at the rank of master warrant officer. So within the company, you will have three platoons. Doctrinally, we would have four. What we practically have in the Canadian Army and our infantry is three platoons and a company weapons detachment. And so that enables us to achieve depth on the battlefield. And what I mean by that is that you can have elements forward while also keeping an element in the rear, being able to react to opportunities in the battle space.

Capt Orton: Right.

LCol Downey: So at the company level, you have your three platoons operating as tactical entities, and then your company commander also has at their disposal their company weapons det, which provides a little bit more firepower, both direct and indirect firepower, and other systems to enable the fight.

Capt Orton: Yeah. And I would say that’s where we start looking at getting all sorts of interesting support mechanisms in there. Like you said, the company’s weapon det maybe has some bigger weaponry or some more fancy weaponry or even just some other equipment that allows the whole system to run a little bit better.

LCol Downey: That’s right. And we try to layer effects in the battle space so that we are covering off in any seams and any gaps. So, it’s natural for us to think of the firepower that the weapons detachment would bring with their anti-armour weapons, with their mortars to fire indirect rounds forward, their machine guns, but there’s also the sense aspects.

Capt Orton: Right.

LCol Downey: In today’s battle space, we need to be able to see and hear where we might not have human elements. So, using drones and UAS for that, using our other enablers from the remaining combat arms, from the artillery and the armoured and the combat engineers to allow us to do more as a lethal combat team or a combined arms grouping. All of that kind of gets synchronized at the company level.

Capt Orton: Yeah, and I would say as we start gearing up for operational deployment, we get to integrate a little bit more with those organizations. And now they’re a part, whether it’s at the platoon level, sometimes at the section level, or even at the company level, and those have their own different flavors of formations and names, like, you know, you have combat teams and such things.

LCol Downey: There’s also the entire sustainment aspect of that. So within that company, you will also have your maintainers. Depending on if you are a mechanized company, you’ll have your maintainers and your vehicle technicians. You’re also going to have your ambulances and your medical technicians that are able to react to the battle and be able to bring supplies forward and remove casualties from the battle space. So there’s a lot of different aspects that are controlled and commanded at the company level by that company commander, but then the senior non-commissioned officers, that company sergeant major, has their own piece of the pie that they need to control to make sure that battle keeps moving forward.

Capt Orton: And it’s interesting how you paint the picture of sustainment because I think a lot of people when they see soldiers in a movie, they’re just like, it’s a person with a rifle, they’re running around, they’re shooting at targets, that’s what soldiers do. But in fact, there’s this whole iceberg of material and things happening underneath the surface that while you’re doing the fight, that’s also needs to be taken care of as part of the fight or even outside of the fight.

Col Downey: Absolutely. And that has definitely been my experience in the infantry is that once all of these elements come together and we can train together and we all understand each other’s role in the fight, that’s when the trust happens, that’s when that glue happens. One of my favorite stories to tell is as a company second in command, when I was serving in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, we were doing our fall live-fire exercise and we were doing a level 4 live-fire exercise, which is company level live-fire. And we had just occupied an ORV, an objective rendezvous point, and we were preparing to move into the attack position and across the line departure onto the trace. And my vehicle technician came up to me and said, hey boss, we need to change out one of the tires on one of the LAVs, it’s not going to be able to move. And I’m looking at my watch and I said, there’s no time for us to do that. But we had built up a rapport over about six months where we had trained in Wainwright, Alberta, on the traces in that harsh terrain. And I knew him and I trusted him. And when he told me what he needed to do, I asked him, I was like, can you do it in the next 5 minutes before we depart? And he said, yes. And I said, go for it. In the mud, in the middle of a leaguer, right before the sun was going down, they changed out the tire on a light armoured vehicle. It was fairly impressive, but that would never have happened unless that trust had been built. And it’s so important in the life of the infantry that we trust one another between our fireteam partners at the very lowest level, all the way up to bringing in these enablers and these attachments to make us realize that full lethal effect at the company and company group level and higher.

Capt Orton: I think you really hit it there is some of the magic that, what you called the glue.

LCol Downey: Yeah.

Capt Orton: Some of that magic is also knowing that when that person is reporting that, it’s like, okay, we have to do this. Because like I think of an incident in Afghanistan when we were driving and we just lost a wheel off of a LAV for whatever reason. It happens. And then it’s like, okay, can we keep going? And the guy is like, well, we probably shouldn’t, but I think we’ll be okay. And like, okay, we’re keeping going. And again, it’s that honest and sincere direct communication of understanding each other and being able to communicate each other’s needs. This company needs to move forward. This vehicle needs to go. Can we do it? And the person’s like, I know the technical manual answer says probably not, but I think it’s going to be all right. And then because of that, you’re able to accomplish tasks with a level of certainty that you need in order to maybe put yourself a little bit at risk.

LCol Downey: You bring up a great point about risk, right? So within the infantry, within the Army, our job is not to avoid risk. Our job is to manage risk appropriately. And one of those mitigating factors when having to manage and accept risk could be that trust that you have with your team and your individuals to be able to be innovative in the battle space, to know their job through and through so that you can accept certain amounts of calculated risk in order to complete the mission. And in the story you just told, that is prevalent throughout the battle space.

Capt Orton: That’s right.

LCol Downey: And that is why the infantry is such a unique entity where the human aspect comes into everything we do.

Capt Orton: Yes, 100%.

LCol Downey: Whether you are in garrison or whether you’re in the field or whether you’re on operations overseas, the most important job in the infantry is making sure that we can get humans to do one of the hardest jobs that’s out there. And there’s a reason why historically we’ve been called grunts. And it comes back to carrying heavy loads, the actual physical exertion and grunting when you’re doing that.

Capt Orton: Yeah.

LCol Downey: We have to do the dirty work. We have to do the very hard, intimate work of getting into trenches and rooting out the enemy. And you can only do that through like built trust with your team.

Capt Orton: It’s the sound you make when you put your backpack on.

LCol Downey: That’s exactly it. That is literally where it comes from.

Capt Orton: Yeah. Okay, so we talked about company. I think the last level, I mean, it’s not really the last level, but I think for the purposes of this conversation, we should probably talk about what an infantry battalion looks like because there’s a lot more things now all in the context of what we just talked about.

LCol Downey: Right. So the same fundamentals and principles apply from the section, the platoon, the company, and up to the battalion. So, within a battalion, in Canadian doctrine, you would have four rifle companies. Practically speaking, we roll with three rifle companies right now. So each of your battalions will have three rifle companies. You will then have a combat support company, which brings in a bunch of different enablers such as reconnaissance, assault pioneers, snipers, mortars, as well as direct fire systems and anti-armour systems. So those come with your combat support company, as well as your signals technicians to make sure that you are able to speak and maintain common operating picture in the battle space. And then there is a fifth company that is your combat service support company. And that’s where you bring in your logisticians and your transport capabilities and your vehicle technicians and weapons technicians and your electronical optics technicians. And all of them are working in what we call our A2 echelon in order to support the fight forward. So all of that is wrapped around the battalion level. So roughly 500, 600 people under command of a lieutenant-colonel at this point.

Capt Orton: Yes.

LCol Downey: Who has already been a company commander, has already been a platoon commander, has grown and has brought forward all those experiences. And their fireteam partner is now a chief warrant officer who has the role as the regimental sergeant major.

Capt Orton: Exactly.

LCol Downey: And that’s the battalion structure. Now, within the Canadian infantry, you will have Regular Force battalions. We have nine Regular Force battalions total within the Canadian Army, but then there’s also over 50 Reserve infantry units, right?

Capt Orton: There’s a lot of Reserve units, yeah, so many.

LCol Downey: So we need to also remember those two structures of both the Regular Force and the Reserve Force that are vital to how the Canadian Army operates.

Capt Orton: Absolutely. The Reserves, be they in battlefield conditions or just, you know, in modern day peacetime units, those structures are a pool of people that you can count on to solve additional problems when larger scale structures are being committed. And so it’s important to have those Reserves regardless of the context, right?

LCol Downey: Yeah, absolutely. And operationally speaking, we have integrated our part-time soldiers with our full-time soldiers in order to get downrange and do missions overseas or at home in Canada, on domestic operations. I think it’s also important to state where the Army is moving with regards to Army Modernization as well. And there are distinct roles that are coming for both our Regular and Reserve Forces. As it applies to the infantry, our Regular Force battalions will now all be consolidated under one division. And that division right now is being called the Manoeuvre Division. And it will be responsible for that far-right spectrum of conflict, of major combat operations. So we have all of our Regular Force battalions within the brigades that are under this division structure. One of the other key changes that’s coming to the Manoeuvre Division is we’re going to take all of our light infantry battalions within our three Regular Force regiments, and we’re going to combine them into a light infantry regiment. And that’s extremely exciting because it will also take our light soldiers and give them clarity of purpose and mission, using all of their capabilities for an insertion-extraction, as well as to own and control complex terrain and putting those all together. It also gives the Government of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces a rapidly deployable force that holds a posture ready to deploy anywhere in the world or here at home and in our Arctic in order to do their job. When it comes to our Reserve Forces, our Reserve infantry units will fall under what is being called the Defense of Canada Division. And they will have a very important role for exactly that, defending Canada at home, making sure that they can secure vital infrastructure, that they are responsive when the Government of Canada needs soldiers in order to answer requests for assistance so that they’re able to do domestic operations and help defend our Arctic. Another key point is that our Reserves will be responsible to deploy both expeditionary and domestically alongside our Regular Force elements. A key example of that is our current deployment to Latvia under Operation REASSURANCE where there are Reserve soldiers working throughout the Multinational Brigade, working hand in hand with their Regular Force counterparts to defend the eastern flank of NATO.

Capt Orton: It’s interesting also, you know, you were kind of talking earlier on about the modes of operation of these units individually is some of them are mechanized and they have certain types of supports and requirements. Others, light, have certain types of support and requirements. How does that all come together in terms of infantry units in their modes of operation?

LCol Downey: So the first thing between mechanized and light infantry, they can do many different roles, but they are more suited for certain roles and certain environments and different terrain. So when you think about the mechanized infantry, they’re operating out of a light armoured vehicle. That’s seven soldiers in the back and a three-person crew. So you have your crew commander who is commanding that entire vehicle. You have your gunner who is controlling that 25 mm cannon that can reach out and destroy a target at 2.4 kilometers. You have your driver who is driving the vehicle and then that section in the back. And the full capability of that platform is realized when that vehicle in that section are working together in tandem to close with and destroy the enemy. So the mechanized infantry is suited for speed, aggression, firepower, open terrain, and working hand in hand with our other combat arms elements. Whereas for the light infantry, their role is rapid insertion and extraction into very complex terrain. And they are the masters of complex terrain. So the places where you wouldn’t want to send a LAV or you wouldn’t want to send mechanized or armoured vehicles without having infantry own that ground ahead of time, that is the role of the light infantry.

Capt Orton: Yeah, that’s right.

LCol Downey: So they operate in complex terrain. And like I said, they’re able to insert themselves and extract through various means, whether that is by helicopter, whether that is by parachute, whether that is by sea or riverine crafts, that is what the light infantry brings to the fight.

Capt Orton: Something we haven’t had a chance to talk too much about in this episode is the cool stuff about the infantry. You know, the pathfinders, the people jumping out of airplanes. Talk to us a little bit about the specializations and where they fit into that kind of bigger picture.

LCol Downey: Yeah, it’s one of the aspects that I joined the infantry for. We all watch the movies. We see movies like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers and We Were Soldiers. It’s the infantry that initially drew me to joining the Canadian Armed Forces and the Army.

Capt Orton: Yeah, that’s right.

LCol Downey: And the draw to doing cool things. And I’ve certainly been able to capitalize on that in my career and enable my soldiers to be able to seize those opportunities. And so I will start with within an infantry battalion, as mentioned, they have a combat support company. And within that combat support company, there’s some key elements and capabilities that an infantry soldier can aspire to attain and to be employed as. So within that, you have your reconnaissance platoon, which are experts at seeing and reporting on the enemy and shaping the battle space in order for our manoeuvre elements to close with and destroy. They really are sensors out there that provide the commander with their eyes and ears forward. So that is reconnaissance platoon. They need to be physically fit, they need to be mentally resilient, and they need to be prepared to carry heavy equipment over long distances in order to do their job. Working hand in hand with them is our sniper platoon. So these are our direct fire specialists using their small arms in order to have precise effects on the enemy in order to take out the enemy at distances in a very discreet and covert way. They can operate in any terrain, both urban and in open country. And our snipers, they flow through a reconnaissance platoon pathway in order to unlock the opportunity to become a sniper in the infantry. Another aspect is our anti-armour platoons, our direct fire specialists as well. They employ anti-armour weapons against enemy tanks and armoured vehicles, and they have a wide range of weapon systems in order to allow them to do that. And again, we always need to keep in mind that we do this within a mechanized setting as well as a light infantry setting. And so we will task tailor those weapon systems depending on the role and the mission. Our assault pioneers, they are like a mini combat engineer element within an infantry battalion. So they don’t have the same level of training as a combat engineer. They can’t do the same scope of effects on the battlefield. But what they do is they provide a bit of explosive expertise to the battalion. And they are also able to do a little bit of mobility, counter-mobility. And what I mean by that is improving routes, ensuring that our forces and our supplies keep moving. And they can also close down certain routes using low wire entanglements and obstacles to slow down the enemy. And that is the primary aspects of the combat support company. Other elements that you may see in both light infantry battalions and in some cases in mechanized battalions is a mortar platoon. And a mortar platoon, they use indirect fire systems in order to basically lob projectiles at the enemy at distance. And so I talked about direct fire. Basically, you’re firing a machine gun or an anti-armour system at an enemy position. Well, a mortar specialist can lob these with different mortar systems in order to lob projectiles at the enemy. And then there’s other specialist courses that you can take within the infantry, such as the Patrol Pathfinder course. That is something that I was in charge of myself back in the day in Trenton, Ontario. I ran two serials of the Patrol Pathfinder course. Incredible. Two months of just hard training, being able to insert and extract into contested terrain into very far from friendly elements and be able to establish those insertion extraction zones for friendly follow-on forces such as landing zones, drop zones, beachheads, airstrips. That’s their role. Probably one of our hardest courses to accomplish within the infantry.

Capt Orton: I’ve not had a Patrol Pathfinder experience myself, but I’ve had friends who have gone on the course and reported the challenges associated with it and learned a lot, but also learned a lot about how hard things can be.

LCol Downey: Well, that’s it. And whether you learn it on a course or you learn it through training with your unit, it’s all about making sure that you’ve gone through these experiences, both physically and mentally, so that when you do it on operation, you’re not seeing it necessarily for the first time.

Capt Orton: Yeah.

LCol Downey: You know how your body’s going to react. You know how your mind’s going to react. And that’s one of the core elements of these specialist courses. It’s the same for stuff like the parachute course, whether that is a round canopy or square canopy. I’ve had the opportunity to do both of those courses, both of them extremely challenging, but also extremely rewarding to be able to have that niche capability within the Canadian Army. Now, those are a lot of the specialist courses that we talk about pretty frequently. Now, there’s other courses out there that are less known, such as urban operations instructor courses, where you become an expert at urban operations, being able to do that aspect of our job and work in those very complex environments. There’s also a lot on the cognitive side. When we talk about information operations, psychological operations, civil-military cooperation, these are other aspects of specialist training that aren’t necessarily just focused at the infantry, but our infantry soldiers may have the opportunity to complete some of that training, which just gives you more tools in your toolbox within your company, within your unit, and for your commander to employ on the battlefield.

Capt Orton: You’ve mentioned a lot of things that are coming down the pipe for the Army. Things are changing. Is there anything that stands out to you as particularly exciting or particularly important for what’s about to happen next?

LCol Downey: Yeah, the entire Army Modernization trajectory for me is extremely important. It is exciting, it’s inspiring, and it is the right changes for our Army. When we think of the infantry, I immediately think of the effect the infantry needs to have. And we know our purpose. Our purpose is to close with and destroy the enemy. That very tip of the spear, that front line. The changes are coming structurally to the Army are going to enable that.

Capt Orton: So definitely some optimization coming down the pipe.

LCol Downey: Absolutely.

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Capt Orton: Well, thank you so much for coming out and closing with and destroying this podcast.

LCol Downey: Hey, thanks Adam. Appreciate it.

Capt Orton: That was Lieutenant-Colonel Cullen Downey. He’s with The Royal Canadian Regiment, and he came here today to talk to us about the structure of the infantry. I’m Captain Adam Orton for the Canadian Army Podcast. Orton Out.

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