Rifleman
Rifleman is a private
soldier in a rifle unit of
infantry.
Originating with the 16th century handgunners and the
17th century musketeers and
streltsy, special units equipped more modernly than the bulk of the
pikemen, the rifleman from the
18th century has become the archetypical common soldier. The last pike regiments were dissolved by the
1720s, and the
bayonet in some ways replaced the pike, some commanders ordering concentrated close-range bayonet attacks until the early 20th century, often with devastating effects for their own troops.
Romanticized as the underdog, the cannon-fodder, the nameless grunt whose war-time heroics and peace-time antics are celebrated in military ceremony, literature, film and television, riflemen came to symbolize the bulk of a nation's armed forces.
As a general rule, riflemen are armed with long rifles meant to cover a good medium range, unlike the "
fusilier" (or
Sub-machinegunner), who are armed with shorter-range weapons for close combat. Riflemen are the basic modern soldiers from which all other soldierly functions stem. Though by tradition certain infantry units are based on the rifleman, they employ a variety of other specialized soldiers in conjunction with the rifleman.
Traditionally, the
United States Marine Corps is a Rifleman Corps. As modern conflict revolutionized the role of the individual soldier in combat, the Corps undertook changes to its organisation. However, in basic training,
U.S. Marines learn the proper use and care of the rifle. Their entire training regimen and soldier's philosophy is based on the rifle and its every function, from ceremonial duty to discipline to direct warfare. The
Rifleman's Creed is an important facet of the
United States Marine Corps philosophy. Major General William H. Rupertus, who served in
World War II, is at the origin of the Creed. Even nowaday the creed is taught to every recruit. The reciting of a shortened version of the creed is also a memorable scene of
Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film
Full Metal Jacket.
In the context of the modern
Fire team, "Rifleman" can be used to indicate a basic position such as scout, team leader, or
designated marksman. In the same context, the terms
Automatic Rifleman and
Assistand Automatic Rifleman are used to describe a soldier who carries a
light support weapon (or services and reloads it for the shooter).
The term "Long-Rifleman" is often used by police forces, anti-terrorist units and small-scale team-based military forces worldwide. It is an assignment rather than a rank, and refers to a marksman or sharpshooter (not a
sniper, who is additionally an expert in fieldcraft), one who is meant to expand the team's effective range with a long, scoped rifle. In the
Tom Clancy novels
Rainbow Six and
The Bear and the Dragon, Sergeant First Class Homer Johnston of Team Two is referred to as a "Long-Rifleman".
*
Service rifle*
Assault rifle*
Battle rifle*
Sharpshooter and
Marksman*
Sniper*
United States Marine Corps
