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Combat engineering - Terminology

Combat engineering - Terminology: Encyclopedia II - Combat engineering - Terminology

A general combat engineer is often called a "Sapper" (the word itself is derived from the French and British armies). In some armies the term Sapper is a professional term and indicates a specific military rank and level of training. For example: Sapper (abbreviated "Spr.") is both the Royal Engineers' and the Royal Canadian Engineers' equivalent of Private. This is also the case within the Royal Australian Engineers, where referring to a Sapper as a Private is considered an insult and can result in discip ...

Combat engineering: Encyclopedia II - Combat engineering - Terminology

Combat engineering - Terminology

A general combat engineer is often called a "Sapper" (the word itself is derived from the French and British armies). In some armies the term Sapper is a professional term and indicates a specific military rank and level of training.

For example:

Sapper (abbreviated "Spr.") is both the Royal Engineers' and the Royal Canadian Engineers' equivalent of Private.
This is also the case within the Royal Australian Engineers, where referring to a Sapper as a Private is considered an insult and can result in disciplinary charges being laid.
In the Israeli Defence Forces, Sapper 07 ( פלס 07 ) is a professional-rank denoting a combat engineer who has graduated basic general engineering training.

Also to note is that the term combat engineer is different from field engineer in the United States Army. The latter usually denotes a mechanic of the Ordnance Corps who is skilled in field maintenance of equipment, weapons and armored fighting vehicles. In the British Army's Royal Engineers, however, the terms are synonymous, with a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers tradesman being designated a mechanic or technician.

A Military engineer is an engineer specializing in military applications such as construction, fortification design, weapons design and more. The difference between a military engineer and a combat engineer is that a combat engineer usually operates during battle and under fire, while a military engineer is mostly not directly involved in the fighting. A military engineer is also usually a commissioned officer, whereas a combat engineer can hold any rank.

In the British and Australian armies, an assault pioneer is an infantry soldier with some combat engineering training. As well as clearing obstacles during the assault and light engineering duties, until recently assault pioneers were responsible for the operation of flamethrowers.