Who is a professional soldier and what do they do? Professional soldiers are professional members of the army. If they are not simply an ordinary soldier (private) in the ranks they are classified by the rank they have achieved (non-commissioned officer, warrant officer, captain, major, colonel and general etc.) mainly by the education level attained. They are also classified according to their function – in a given army unit they may be assigned a given function.
What are the activities of the professional soldier job? This depends on function, as well as rank.. There are specialist military qualifications and trades. The most frequent roles include operating and maintenance of fighting vehicles, arms systems, various special or guard systems and equipment, possibly other military technology – commanding crews and other personnel of fighting vehicles, arms systems and other technical equipment – managing material and technology for the assigned army unit – commanding ad hoc groups (guard duties etc.) – managing and operating various work groups (stores of arms and ammunition, fuel, equipment, food, chemicals, communication equipment or workshops, the transport fleet, training grounds, firing ranges etc.), including looking after associated supplies and material (ammunition, fuel, equipment, foodstuffs etc, ) – ensuring equipment and materials are ready for operations, and free of technical faults – office and administrative activities.
Where is it done and under what conditions? In army barracks, on training grounds, on firing ranges, in open terrain. Soldiers work in various and sometimes very demanding weather and environmental conditions, outside normal working hours, with long absences from home, with noise, and in some cases with aggressive chemicals or war gases, fording rivers and all sorts of other physical taxing circumstances.
What tools/equipment do the professional soldier use? Often very complex or sophisticated military equipment, depending on the specialisation of the unit the soldier is attached to, but a soldier may work with anything from handguns to tanks, and fighting vehicles, artillery, helicopters etc, up to the most up-to-date rocket technology, not to speak of communication, radar and other very complicated systems.
What do you need to succeed? You need to have completed high school, vocational school or university with military or suitable technical specialisation, be in very good physical condition, with good eyesight and hearing, physical and mental fitness, able to make fast decisions, to exercise authority, be amenable to discipline, reliability,