I'm Sergeant Jason Girard from Maniwaki, Quebec.
I'm an Infanteer posted at the Canadian Armed Forces Infantry School in Gagetown.
Infanteers are the primary combat fighters in the Canadian Army.
Their role is to close with and destroy the enemy.
Working on the front lines, they form the backbone of the Army.
You have to be in great physical shape.
Mentally, I'd say you have to be mentally tough.
General leadership skills, either natural or you build on them,
quick decision-making skills and initiative -
those are probably the general backbone of what you need to be a good general infantry soldier.
This exciting job includes mounted operations working out of a LAV 6 light armoured vehicle;
airborne operations like parachuting;
operating high-tech equipment or firing a multitude of powerful weapons systems,
as well as driving and maintaining both soft-skinned and armoured vehicles.
I've gone through a lot of cool stuff in my career,
and then I've done a lot of challenges that have brought me
to a higher level of physical and mental preparations.
The infantry is the tip of the spear on the battlefield.
They conduct raids and ambushes in a combat mission
or conduct patrols and convoy escorts as part of security and stability missions.
This is a hands-on job.
Infanteers are trained to fight in cities, deserts jungles, the Arctic -
or any other environment they are called upon to operate in.
And Infanteers are trained to do more than just fight.
They deploy across the country to help Canadians combat forest fires,
floods, and other natural disasters.
Standing proud for Canada as an Infanteer comes with a rich history of battle honours
embodied in every Canadian regiment.
They have a strong tradition of overcoming obstacles
and some of the greatest challenges on the battlefield.
Physical fitness and mental resiliency are two critical traits for Infanteers,
who may work in harsh conditions that demand precise action.
Whatever you're going to do, go do it and do it hard.
Anything you try, never give up and push even harder than you think you would, or could,
because that's going to bring you to greater victories and greater skills.
My coolest experience was in recon platoon.
You're kind of trying to determine the most likely course of action of an enemy,
so that we can paint a very clear picture for the infantry when they come in and they do an attack,
so they don't have any surprises.
And we're just trying to guarantee their success.
Once trade-qualified, Infanteers are posted to an Infantry battalion at bases across Canada.
Reservists in this role will return to their home units
where they continue their training on a part-time basis.
Soldiers are assigned to one of three rifle sections in a platoon,
where they continue to build their skills through in-garrison training and field exercises
and by completing additional courses, working to make their unit the best it can be.
Well, I had the opportunity, as soon as I finished up all my training,
to get deployed to Afghanistan in 2010.
I was there for almost a 10-month deployment.
Generally, I had a pretty good attitude about it, even with all the evolving situation,
and walking the unknown the whole time.
It was just a great experience altogether.
Battalions that are not deploying overseas participate in field training and exercises
to ensure they stay mission-ready, keeping their warfighting skills at a high level.
There is no life like in the Army.
It's its own little world, I mean, we have our own dynamics,
and our own way of doing things, and just our own kind of team spirit -
esprit de corps is just different from anything else
you're ever going to live anywhere else.