Top 12 Infantry Skills to Put on Your Resume
In today’s competitive job market, translating military experience into civilian language can tip the scales in your favor. Infantry skills carry weight beyond the wire—discipline, precision, calm under pressure. Show them clearly and you signal readiness for roles that demand grit, judgment, and teamwork.
Infantry Skills
- Marksmanship
- Navigation
- First Aid
- Radio Communication
- Tactical Awareness
- Physical Fitness
- Survival Skills
- Team Leadership
- Stress Management
- Defensive Tactics
- Equipment Maintenance
- Reconnaissance Operations
1. Marksmanship
Marksmanship is the disciplined, repeatable ability to place rounds on target. It blends mechanics, focus, and accountability for every shot.
Why It's Important
Precise fire wins fights, protects teammates, and reduces collateral risk. Reliable accuracy under stress anchors mission success.
How to Improve Marksmanship Skills
Stance and Grip: Build a stable base and a consistent, neutral grip that resists recoil without crushing it.
Breathing: Exhale, pause in the natural respiratory lull, press the shot. No rush, no flinch.
Sight Alignment/Picture: Hard focus on sights, clear alignment, accept a realistic wobble zone.
Trigger Control: Smooth, straight-to-the-rear press—no anticipation. Let the break surprise you.
Follow-Through: Stay on sights after the shot. Call it. Reset, prep, and be ready for the next.
Zero and Data: Confirm zero regularly and record holds at common distances and conditions.
Dry Fire and Reps: Daily dry practice for mechanics; live fire for confirmation under time.
Stress and Movement: Train with timers, use barricades, shoot after sprints, work low light.
How to Display Marksmanship Skills on Your Resume
2. Navigation
Navigation is the art of knowing where you are, where you’re going, and how to get there—day or night, with or without technology.
Why It's Important
Units that can move precisely arrive on time, hit objectives cleanly, and avoid hazards or enemy engagement when needed.
How to Improve Navigation Skills
Fundamentals First: Master map reading, compass work, pace count, terrain association, resection, and dead reckoning.
PACE Planning: Establish Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency methods (e.g., GPS, map/compass, terrain, celestial).
Reps in Real Terrain: Train in varied environments—wooded, urban, desert—by day and night with time standards.
Route Building: Use checkpoints, attack points, handrails, and backstops. Always maintain a back-azimuth.
Team Procedures: Assign navigator, pace counter, and checker. Run debriefs and correct drift before it compounds.
How to Display Navigation Skills on Your Resume
3. First Aid
Infantry first aid centers on lifesaving interventions under the Tactical Combat Casualty Care approach—treat what kills first, move fast, think clearly.
Why It's Important
Immediate care keeps teammates alive long enough to reach higher treatment. Seconds matter; priorities matter more.
How to Improve First Aid Skills
MARCH Protocol: Massive bleeding, Airway, Respiration, Circulation, Hypothermia/Head injury. Drill it until it’s reflex.
Tourniquets and Hemorrhage Control: Apply high and tight, verify occlusion, pack and pressure where needed.
Airway/Chest: Recovery position, adjuncts as trained, chest seals for penetrating trauma, watch for tension signs.
Casualty Movement: Practice drags, carries, and litter work in kit and under load.
Kit Discipline: Standardize IFAKs, mark expiration dates, inspect after every mission and range.
Realistic Scenarios: Use moulage, time pressure, low light, and noise to build calm hands in chaos.
Mental Health First Aid: Recognize acute stress reactions; know immediate steps and referral paths.
How to Display First Aid Skills on Your Resume
4. Radio Communication
Radio communication links teams, leaders, and supporting assets. Clear words, clean signals, disciplined nets.
Why It's Important
Fast, accurate, secure comms turn intent into action. Bad comms turn friction into failure.
How to Improve Radio Communication Skills
Comms Plan and PACE: Frequencies, call signs, brevity, authentication. Primary/Alternate/Contingency/Emergency routes locked in.
Radio Craft: Antenna selection and placement, power management, terrain masking awareness, quick checks before step-off.
Message Discipline: Short, standard, unambiguous. Use prowords; avoid chatter.
Security: Manage fills, protect crypto, follow emission control, rotate keys and plans as required.
Maintenance: Inspect connectors, cables, batteries, and spares. Label and stow for speed.
How to Display Radio Communication Skills on Your Resume
5. Tactical Awareness
Tactical awareness blends perception and anticipation—reading terrain, enemy patterns, and timing while adapting faster than the opposition.
Why It's Important
It keeps you a step ahead. Better choices, tighter risk control, cleaner execution under pressure.
How to Improve Tactical Awareness Skills
Repetitions Under Realism: Frequent, varied drills—limited visibility, noise, changing ROE—build intuition.
See and Report: Train SALUTE formats, hand-and-arm signals, and rapid, relevant updates.
Cover, Concealment, Angles: Constantly evaluate exposure and fields of fire. Move with purpose.
OODA and Debriefs: Shorten Observe–Orient–Decide–Act loops. After-action reviews convert mistakes into muscle memory.
Technology, Light Touch: Use sensors and aids, but never at the expense of fundamental skills.
How to Display Tactical Awareness Skills on Your Resume
6. Physical Fitness
Infantry fitness is a package deal: endurance, strength, speed, power, agility, and the mental resolve to keep moving when everything aches.
Why It's Important
Missions demand carries, climbs, sprints, rucks, and fight-through fatigue. Fit soldiers get there intact and finish strong.
How to Improve Physical Fitness Skills
Cardio Base: Mix steady-state runs/rucks with intervals and hills to raise capacity and recovery speed.
Strength and Power: Hinge, squat, push, pull, carry. Add sled drags, sandbag work, and grip training.
Mobility and Durability: Daily joint prep, dynamic warm-ups, and post-session stretching to cut injury risk.
Job-Specific Work: Sprint–drag–carry circuits, casualty drags, kit climbs, and awkward-load carries.
Recovery and Fuel: Sleep enough, hydrate, and eat for output—protein for repair, carbs for work, fats for endurance.
How to Display Physical Fitness Skills on Your Resume
7. Survival Skills
Survival skills keep you alive when plans break. Shelter, water, fire, signaling, navigation, and the judgment to conserve energy and avoid compounding mistakes.
Why It's Important
When separated, delayed, or deep in austere terrain, these skills stretch time, preserve strength, and increase the odds of link-up or rescue.
How to Improve Survival Skills
Shelter and Heat: Build fast, weather-appropriate cover. Manage layers and stay dry.
Water: Find, purify, and ration. Know terrain indicators and purification methods.
Firecraft: Redundant ignition sources, proper prep, and smokeless techniques when signature matters.
Signaling: Panels, mirrors, smoke, IR strobes—practice both overt and low-signature options.
Field Hygiene: Foot care, wound care, and sanitation to prevent minor issues from becoming showstoppers.
Evasion Basics: Camouflage, noise/light discipline, route selection, and patience.
Land Nav Under Duress: Navigate hungry, tired, cold—so you can do it when it counts.
How to Display Survival Skills on Your Resume
8. Team Leadership
Infantry leadership is clarity under stress. Setting intent, aligning effort, protecting the team, and driving execution.
Why It's Important
Good leaders shorten decision cycles, keep morale intact, and turn small units into force multipliers.
How to Improve Team Leadership Skills
Intent and Brief-Back: Give simple, clear tasks and purpose. Have teams brief back to confirm understanding.
Trust and Standards: Model integrity, enforce basics, recognize excellence, and correct quietly but quickly.
Rehearsals: Walk through actions on the objective, contingencies, and signals. Then tighten timelines.
After-Action Rhythm: Ruthless honesty, no ego. Capture lessons, assign fixes, verify changes next rep.
Develop the Bench: Cross-train, delegate, and create space for junior leaders to make decisions and learn.
How to Display Team Leadership Skills on Your Resume
9. Stress Management
Stress management is the toolkit for staying sharp when adrenaline spikes—keeping cognition online, emotions steady, and actions deliberate.
Why It's Important
Better stress control means fewer mistakes, stronger teamwork, and more gas in the tank during long operations.
How to Improve Stress Management Skills
Breathing and Reset: Tactical breathing (in–hold–out–hold) to lower arousal and regain focus in seconds.
Routines: Pre-mission checklists and cue words to anchor calm; post-mission cool-downs to discharge tension.
Fitness and Sleep: Physical readiness buffers stress; consistent sleep and naps restore cognitive edge.
Mental Rehearsal: Visualize actions and contingencies. When it happens, it feels familiar.
Social Support: Peer check-ins, small-group talks, and early conversations with trusted resources.
Fuel and Stimulants: Eat on time, hydrate, and avoid leaning too hard on caffeine or nicotine.
How to Display Stress Management Skills on Your Resume
10. Defensive Tactics
Defensive tactics combine terrain, obstacles, fires, and deception to blunt attacks, hold ground, and set conditions for counteraction.
Why It's Important
Well-built defenses save lives, protect key terrain, and buy critical time for maneuver or reinforcement.
How to Improve Defensive Tactics Skills
Site Selection: Position for fields of fire, cover/concealment, depth, and mutually supporting sectors.
Fortify and Obstacle: Harden positions, emplace wire and obstacles, and tie everything to observed fires.
Range Cards and Triggers: Diagram dead space, reference points, and engagement criteria. Standardize across the team.
Camouflage and Deception: Break outlines, manage signatures, and mislead enemy ISR.
Rehearse and Reserve: Practice counterattack and casualty plans; keep a small reserve to plug gaps.
Anti-UAS and Indirect: Plan for drones, integrate indirect fires, and coordinate with adjacent units.
How to Display Defensive Tactics Skills on Your Resume
11. Equipment Maintenance
Equipment maintenance means your weapons, gear, and radios work when they must. Prevent issues early, fix problems fast, and document everything.
Why It's Important
Reliable kit reduces friction, extends service life, and keeps missions from stalling for avoidable failures.
How to Improve Equipment Maintenance Skills
PMCS as Habit: Conduct before/during/after checks. Clean, lube, and function-test on a schedule.
Standard Kits: Stock common spares—batteries, bulbs, springs, small parts—and protect them from the elements.
Tools and Training: Provide the right tools and teach basic repairs every soldier can perform.
Logs and Trends: Track faults, fixes, and repeat issues to spot patterns and prevent downtime.
Accountability: Label gear, run inventories, and assign ownership to maintain care and readiness.
How to Display Equipment Maintenance Skills on Your Resume
12. Reconnaissance Operations
Reconnaissance gathers the truth: enemy, terrain, routes, and patterns—quietly, accurately, and without unnecessary risk.
Why It's Important
Better intelligence sharpens decisions, reduces surprises, and sets favorable conditions for every element involved.
How to Improve Reconnaissance Operations Skills
Training Variety: Practice zone, area, and route recon by day and night, in open and complex terrain.
Stealth and Signatures: Camouflage, movement in shadows, thermal and noise management. Leave no trace.
Observation Craft: Build hides, establish schedules, and record with disciplined, consistent formats.
Reporting: Use standard formats, transmit concisely, and hand over cleanly to follow-on elements.
Sensor Integration: Blend human observation with available sensors and small UAS when authorized.
Decision Drills: Rehearse break-contact, emergency exfiltration, and lost comms procedures.
How to Display Reconnaissance Operations Skills on Your Resume
