grunt

Any of the family Haemulidae (formerly Pomadasyidae, 5 genera) of mainly tropical fishes common in shallow coastal waters and around coral reefs. They are so called because they produce audible sounds by grinding their pharyngeal teeth.

The term grunt is slang for an infantryman in the U.S. military and some of the other armed forces of the English speaking world, and both Army and Marine infantrymen are known to take extreme pride in the term.

The term "grunt" may have come about from observing heavily laden infantrymen make grunting sounds as they footmarched.

The term "grunt" is used by and applied to soldiers of the US Army and Army National Guard who have an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) classification of "11": "11B" being a rifleman or infantryman--the true grunt, "11C" being a mortarman (infantry that manage, maintain, and operate indirect fire capabilities), "11D" being an anti-armor infantryman (mounted infantry who operate TOW missle launchers and various other weapon systems against armored enemy forces) "11M" being a mechanized infantryman (the grunts who maintain and operate armored personnel carriers). The term "grunt" is used in the military as a general term for a soldier with an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of "Infantry". Infantry is a front line combat MOS, actively engaging and seeking out the enemies of the United States, and to be a United States Army or Marine "grunt" is a profession closed to women.