The infantry branch of the military consists of infantrymen, or foot soldiers, who carry one of two types of weapons—projectile or shock. The infantry constitutes the main land combat force of most armies. In that capacity, the infantry provides the core fighting strength of a country’s army. Furthermore, the infantry plays a vital role in peacetime as well as during times of armed conflict. As might be expected, as the nature of warfare has changed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, so has the role of the infantry, which faces new challenges in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan, where religious fundamentalism and modernity have clashed and where soldiers more often than not are tasked with implementing counterinsurgency operations against an elusive insurgent enemy. ...