I want to be an Infantry Officer in the Army, but I've been extremely curious about what kind of daily things do Infantrymen do? I'm sure it's not the same thing everyday, but again I'm not sure. I just want to have a clearer idea of what is to be ahead for me.
Thanks!
It really depends on the unit to which you are assigned (deployed v. non-deployed, mech infantry v. light infantry, rapid reaction v. training brigade) as well as what stage you are in your career (company grade officer in Infantry battalion v. field grade officer at the Pentagon, etc.).
Speaking in terms of non-deployed life of a company grade officer in a front-line Infantry battalion (which seems to be your most likely scenario if you are graduating in 2015/2016), you will go through cycles of "life in the barracks" and "life in the field".
Daily Routine for Barracks
PT
Inspections (uniform/equipment)
Training/Equipment Maintenance
Lunch
Training/Equipment Maintenance (officers have extra duties assigned by battalion or company commander, such as investigations of incidents, arms room inventory, individual soldier issues, meetings with NCOs, planning future training, evaluations, etc.)
End of Day
Daily Routine for Field
There really is no "daily" routine for the field (and certainly NO "End of Day"). They are very similar to the FTXs that you will experience as a cadet, but a LOT more of them and you have much more responsibility than simply digging a foxhole. The one thing that is different about the Infantry officer corps and the soldiers you lead is that officers often spend more time in the field than their soldiers. In my experience, after your platoon's field training is done, the soldiers often return to garrison to maintain equipment, etc., while the officers get asked to go out to the field again to evaluate other units (e.g., ARTEPs). Also, when in the field, you spend a lot of time checking your gun emplacements and walking up and down the line, then you walk back to the command post for meetings with your company commander and the other platoon leaders, and then back to your unit. You also spend a LOT of time on the radio (communicating with your squads and your company commander) and doing patrols at 2am with a few folks from your platoon.
I'd say that the above general routine is the same for all the combat arms branches, except Aviation (they have more flight-time related tasks). It is markedly different than, say, working in the Finance Corps. But they do the things that you would expect when you think "Army".
Also, note that an ROTC instructor branched Infantry has a VERY different experience than an Infantry officer assigned as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division.
One more thing -- Lieutenants in the Infantry like to have fun just as their soldiers do, but you can't go out to a local bar frequented by your troops and "blow off steam" (but you will blow off steam within the protective confines of the O-Club or taking long "road trips" with the other LTs in the battalion on the weekends you are in garrison).
Looking back on my life as an Infantry officer, I loved it. If you like FTXs as a cadet, you'll like the Infantry life. If you dread them, you won't.
One more thing: If you have a close relationship with your platoon sergeant, your life will be good. If you don't, your life will suck. That guy is so incredibly important to whether you have a good experience or not.