Pioneer (military)
A pioneer ( /ˌpaɪ.əˈnɪər/) is a soldier employed to perform engineering and construction tasks. The term is in principle similar to sapper.
Pioneers were originally part of the artillery branch of European armies. Subsequently, they formed part of the engineering branch, in the logistic branch, part of the infantry; or comprised a branch in their own right.
Historically the primary role of pioneer units was to assist other arms in tasks such as the construction of field fortifications, military camps, bridges and roads. Prior to and during the First World War pioneers were often engaged in the construction and repair of military railways.
During the 20th century British Commonwealth military forces have come to distinguish between small units of "assault pioneers" belonging to infantry regiments and separate pioneer units (as in the former Royal Pioneer Corps). The United States Marine Corps have sometimes organized their sappers into "Pioneer Battalions".
Read more about Pioneer (military): History of The Word, Pioneer Units, Pioneer Regiments in The Indian Army, Pioneers in The British Army, Israeli Army, See Also
Famous quotes containing the word pioneer:
“The poet is no tender slip of fairy stock, who requires peculiar institutions and edicts for his defense, but the toughest son of earth and of Heaven, and by his greater strength and endurance his fainting companions will recognize the God in him. It is the worshipers of beauty, after all, who have done the real pioneer work of the world.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)