Lucas North said:All this Trade bollocks is for REMFS.
When you join the Army you are a Soldier first and foremost.
The real respect and satisfaction comes from Soldiering at the highest professional level to which you are capable, with your Unit under operational conditions.
What a load of fucking bollocks. As an Engineer, you are a Soldier first, a combat engineer second and then a tradesman third. 3 separate roles
It takes a vast number of roles to be fully functional in the field - right down to slop jockies who keep everybody fed. When you do come under enemy fire and you call in a contact report, some scaleyback with a trade has kept that radio operational in shit conditions, and when you do climb aboard a vehicle, some mechanic with a trade has kept that vehicle on the road. The list is endless, if you took the time to have a look around and see the bigger picture.
Oh, plus the additional pay of course that you get for having that trade in the first place ;-)