History Main / DoAnythingSoldier

* ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'''s own [[TheLeader leader]] Col. [[OldSoldier Rick Flag]] is this in spades. from AcePilot to TheHandler and TheJailer, all of this despite of his KnightTemplar tendencies.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* Army Air Corps fighter jocks that survived ''Film/PearlHarbor'' are given new assignments as ''bomber'' pilots. [[{{Film/Airplane}} It's a totally different kind of flying, altogether.]]
* In ''Film/TheHurtLocker,'' Sanborn and James make a pretty good sniper/spotter team despite being EOD technicians. Both career fields require years of highly specialized training, and it's unlikely two soldiers in the same squad would be experts in both specialties. On the other hand, the film goes out of its way to avert this trope in other areas, making it obvious that James doesn't know what he's doing when he tries his hand at intelligence gathering or hunting for insurgents.
* In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', Packard's unit is called an assault helicopter battalion, and it operates slightly anachronistic UH-1 Hueys. Once downed, the surviving pilots and door gunners simply operate as infantry and are even geared up accordingly. In a real life Vietnam-era Air Cavalry battalion, the helicopter crews were just that, with the infantry they carried (who couldn't fly the choppers) to and from battle being a separate formation (at least company-size) within the same battalion. This would make some sort of sense if they were meant to be Marines (see RealLife below), but they apparently aren't.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'' where Colonel von Holstein claims that a proper Prussian Officer can do anything so long as he has read the book of instructions. Despite having never flown before, he then tries to fly a small aircraft from London to Paris using this principle and actually makes a fairly good show of it up until he drops the instruction manual while flying over the channel.
* In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', all clones are based on the bounty hunter Jango Fett. However, while most of them are destined to be simple foot-soldiers, some are given specialized training as Pilots, Advanced Reconnaissance Commando (ARC Trooper), Underwater specialists, etc., basically whatever is needed.

* Par for the course in Creator/GeorgeMacDonaldFraser's ''Literature/McAuslan'' series. During his two years in the 2nd Gordon Highlanders in the twilight of the British Empire, Fraser's expy Lieutenant Dand [=MacNeill=] (deep breath) commands a troop train in wartorn Palestine, catches a deserter, commands a desert outpost, stops an Arab riot, manages the battalion football team, mounts guard at Edinburgh Castle, guards a rebel leader, attends a court-martial, wins a quiz show and a golf tournament, competes in the Highland Games, digs up buried treasure, plays miniature golf with a nun, changes diapers, referees a wargame, gets lost inside a monument, acts in a play, and chases a moonshiner in the Scottish Highlands. This is on top of his normal job, which is leading ([[FatherToHisMen and parenting]]) a platoon of obstreperous Glaswegians.
-->''"[I]f I'd been ordered to redecorate the Art/SistineChapel or deliver a sermon in Finnish, I'd hardly have blinked an eyelid before running to the RSM pleading for assistance."''
* Specifically {{invoked|Trope}} in the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', as Wedge Antilles wanted pilots who could double as commandos in a pinch. Therefore when re-forming Rogue Squadron in the eponymous book, if given the choice between two pilots of equal skill, he always picked the one with useful ground-based skills as well. Done the other way around in the Wraith Squadron books, where Wedge wanted commandos who could fly fighters as well.

* ''Literature/TheMakoSaga'': Precisely ''because'' it's meant to teach and require every possible skill a soldier could know, no one ''Mako Assault'' player '''can''' be an expert in everything so the game ''has'' to be played as a team. Similarly, the Renegades do come out of their training as commandos who can also be {{Ace Pilot}}s, but they all have their own particular areas of expertise: Lee is by far the best pilot and the main strategist, Mac is the second-best pilot and the best hacker, Link is a sniper, Hamish is the demolitions guy, and Danny is an infantryman and martial artist. They're all ''competent'' in each other's skillsets, but they all lean on the others.

* Quenser and Heivia of ''Literature/HeavyObject'' are, on paper at least, a maintenance tech and radar specialist. In practice they engage in land battles, sea battles, aquatic base invasions, infiltration of enemy bases/cities, and more. The two tend to complain about this.

* ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'' features space fighter pilots who also double as land troops for some reason.
** {{Lampshaded}} in one episode when the 58th complain about this; Colonel [=McQueen=] justifies it with the Marine creed that every Marine is a rifleman. (This is not accurate, even in the Marines. Despite the text of the creed, in real life sending naval aviators in as infantry ''on purpose'' is a stupid risk of very expensively trained officers.)
** {{Deconstructed}} in "Sugar Dirt". The 58th are ordered to land their planes and join in ground combat, which lets their fighters be destroyed on the ground when the Chigs spring their trap.

* Harm from ''Series/{{JAG}}'' who, despite being a lawyer, seems to be able to perform every single job in the US Navy; from flying a fighter jet (his previous job in the Navy) to parachuting out of a helicopter with a squad of marines. He can also do every job in the Marine Corps, going undercover as a Force Recon Gunnery Sergeant, later being complimented as a "credit to the uniform". Not to mention that most of their investigations would probably be better handled by the Office of the Inspector General or {{Series/NCIS}}.

* In ''Series/StargateSG1'' Colonel O'Neill is implied to have spent most of his air force career as a ground based commando and this is the role he plays as a member of an SG team, but he also flies helicopters and even test flies experimental fighters on occassion.

* TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} has the Soldier skill, which covers a lot, from tactics to chains of command to how to properly hike. Taken up a notch with Ten Hut!, which covers anything a soldier could conceivably do short of firing a gun.

* The "Nebelwerfer Hunt" mission of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAlliedAssault'' is particularly egregious about this as Lt. Powell is tasked with doing anything vital for the mission, be it sniping, anti-tank combat or demolition job, despite being accompanied by up to 4 other soldiers.
* Averted in ''Videogame/PlanetSide 1''. A soldier can only use things he's certified in; meaning a soldier certified in driving tanks probably won't be certified in piloting bombers. Once you reach Battle Rank 25, you usually have enough certification points to do almost anything; and [=BR40=] unlocks ''everything''. ''Planetside 2'' allows soldiers to use any vehicle and class by default, though specialization requires expending certification points, which are granted every 250xp (roughly 2.5 kills); a [=BR1=] Prowler driver can use the basic tank with a HEAT cannon and 20mm gun, whereas a specialized player can utilize armor-piercing ammo, EnemyDetectingRadar, [[DualModeUnit anchored mode]] and [[RegeneratingHealth self-healing armor]], among other things.
* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' series: In the second game Jeanette "Angel" Deveraux was a starfighter pilot, but shortly after the end of the second ExpansionPack she transferred to a special forces team doing reconnaissance on the [[MegaNeko Kilrathi]] homeworld, and was captured along with them. A milder example that affects gameplay is how the player and the other pilots constantly switch between different types of space fighters, such as interceptors or torpedo bombers, during the campaign, instead of each being assigned to a particular squadron that uses one type in order to fill a particular tactical niche (in the first game they technically are assigned to a specific squadron that uses a specific fighter type for a given role, they just get shuffled between squadrons every 3-4 levels. And there's one level where everyone gets assigned one specific fighter type because all the others on the carrier are down for repairs).
* In the Soviet campaign of the original ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', you played as an infantryman, then at one point there was a tank mission justified with a blurb about lack of tank crews leading to your reassignment, and then back on foot for the finale. ''Call of Duty 2'' wisely avoided this by making it clear you played as a different character in the tank missions, then ''World at War'' did the same thing as the first, with even the ''rest'' of your tank's crew seemingly being comprised of other soldiers from the same squad as you.
** The ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series tends towards this. In a lot of cases they try to justify this via ElitesAreMoreGlamorous (the first player character is in the Special Air Service), but then ''2'' ended up with you playing as an Army Ranger, Ramirez, who nevertheless still [[MemeticMutation did everything]].

* A slightly different example from ''VideoGame/WorldInConflict'': [[NonEntityGeneral 2nd Lt. (later Lt. and Cpt.) Parker]] is originally an infantry commander, yet throughout the game, he is given command not only over infantry squads, but also armored units, AA batteries, heavy artillery batteries and even attack helicopters in one mission, and in much greater quantities than you would expect for such a junior officer. The ExpansionPack features a different PlayerCharacter but he also comes from the infantry corner, yet is on one occasion given control over ''artillery batteries''.
** Both of these examples are somewhat justified; the player character on each side is doing several people's jobs at once because their unit is [[YouAreInCommandNow desperately short-handed]] and/or a scratch-force of survivors from several units who took a hammering in the early stages of the war, so the chain of command is kind of ad-hoc.
* Averted in the original ''VideoGame/OperationFlashpoint.'' There are four characters, one infantry man, one tank commander, one pilot and one special forces soldier that does mission behind enemy lines. The only odd thing is that the pilot starts out as a helicopter pilot and ends up flying an A-10, but it [[{{Handwave}} is mentioned that they're short on people.]]

* Taken to an extreme in fanmade ''VideoGame/TheXCOMFiles'', where same people fight on land and underwater. Moreso, this game answers a long-standing fan question of who pilots the craft -- same agents that fight ground battles. This means that any VTOL interceptor doubles as a one-man troop transport -- as long as you get missions a single agent can win.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals'': All infantry units can commandeer disabled (read:pilot was a victim of SnipingTheCockpit) vehicles, no matter their battlefield role. This permanently removes the unit, however (including heroes), although their experience level does transfer. The basic soldier (Ranger, Rebel, Red Guard) is also the only unit capable of capturing buildings.

* Quenser and Heivia of ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' are, on paper at least, a maintenance tech and radar specialist. In practice they engage in land battles, sea battles, aquatic base invasions, infiltration of enemy bases/cities, and more. The two tend to complain about this.

* In ''Franchise/GIJoe'' it was typical to see characters doing things they shouldn't have been expected to, starting with General Hawk (the leader) doubling as the Surface-to-Air-Missile operator. Lady Jaye and the Baroness, both intelligence experts, both found themselves in the backseat of dogfighting jets at one point.

** The US Marine Corps also takes its creed, "Every Marine a Rifleman" quite seriously, if only for tradition's sake in modern times: Their helicopter and strike aircraft crewmembers are expected to complete Basic along with the ground personnel before going on to flight training.

* Pollo and Vorenus on ''Series/{{Rome}}'' go from infantrymen to commanding a squad of German cavalry in-between episodes. That is quite frankly the ''most'' believable part [[TheGump about their career]].

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: During the Golden Age of Comics ComicBook/SteveTrevor's job with the USAAF seemed to be a mishmash of spy, commando and {{ace pilot}}.

* In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', Packard's unit is called an assault helicopter battalion, and it operates slightly anachronistic UH-1 Hueys. Once downed, the surviving pilots and door gunners simply operate as infantry and are even geared up accordingly. In a real life Vietnam-era Air Cavalry battalion, the helicopter crews were just that, with the infantry they carried (who couldn't fly the choppers) to and from battle being a seperate formation (at least company-size) within the same battalion. This would make some sort of sense if they were meant to be Marines (see RealLife below), but they apparently aren't.
* Played for laughs in ''Film/ThoseMagnificentMenInTheirFlyingMachines'' where Colonel von Holstein claims that a proper Prussian Officer can do anything so long as he has read the book of instructions. Despite having never flown before, he then tries to fly a small aircraft from London to Paris using this principle, and actually makes a fairly good show of it up until he drops the instruction manual while flying over the channel.

* In ''[[Literature/GauntsGhosts Ghostmaker]]'', the Royal Volpone Bluebloods are an elite SuperSoldier force that practices regularly with every conceivable discipline of war they might be expected to use in addition to their standard shock trooper know-how. This allows them to, for instance, storm an enemy's fortified bunker and then seize and use the artillery guns on top with pinpoint accuracy. About the one thing they can't handle is stealth, which is fortunately the specialty of their rival regiment, the eponymous Ghosts -- near to every Tanith Ghost regardless of role is accomplished at stealth, tracking, and survival. When they team up in the novel's climax, they perform a next-to-impossible feat by pushing a force of about sixty into the enemy's line in the middle of a torrential storm, running roughshod over an entire army with their interlocking skills.
* ''Literature/TheMakoSaga'': Precisely ''because'' it's meant to teach and require every possible skill a soldier could know, no one ''Mako Assault'' player '''can''' be an expert in everything so the game ''has'' to be played as a team. Similarly the Renegades do come out of their training as commandos who can also be {{Ace Pilot}}s, but they all have their own particular areas of expertise: Lee is by far the best pilot and the main strategist, Mac is the second-best pilot and the best hacker, Link is a sniper, Hamish is the demolitions guy, and Danny is an infantryman and martial artist. They're all ''competent'' in each other's skillsets, but they all lean on the others.

** This could lead to some really strange situations when aircraft come into play. In ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany Bad Company 2]]'', for instance, players entering helicopters would just keep using their class skin..... so a two-seater helicopter like the Hind flown by two snipers (in ghillie suits) looked like the Wookiee Air Force. In Battlefield 3 and 4, players' skins change to a special pilot skin when they enter a plane. Occasionally, bailing out will fail to reset the skin to infantry, and so you might see pilots running around with assault rifles.

* The original 1990s ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}'' games lack character classes, meaning that every soldier can perform all combat roles, with their combat stats improving as they participate in battles. If a soldier becomes a good shot with an assault rifle, they've also become a good shot with a rocket launcher or heavy plasma. Installments after the 2012 reboot, like ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', avert this, using character classes that gain skills as they survive missions rather than increasing stats.
* In the unofficial remake ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', there are also no character classes as such, and every soldier can perform all combat roles. This is somewhat averted with the aliens, some of whom specialise in particular tasks (Harridans are snipers, Reapers are close combat specialists etc.).
* Taken to extreme in fanmade ''VideoGame/TheXCOMFiles'', where same people fight on land and underwater. Moreso, this game answers a long-standing fan question of who pilots the craft -- same agents that fight ground battles. Which means that any VTOL interceptor doubles as a one-man troop transport -- as long as you get missions a single agent can win.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] by Gen. Charles C. Krulak, [[SemperFi USMC]], in his article [[http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/usmc/strategic_corporal.htm The Strategic Corporal: Leadership in the Three Block War]]. In essence, General Krulak claimed that Marines would need to be highly flexible on the modern battlefield. In his hypothetical "Three Block War", a Corporal (a very junior noncomissioned officer) might need to deal with combat, humanitarian aid, and peacekeeping, all within the space of three city blocks simultaneously. Thus, [[YouAreInCommandNow junior leaders must be trained and empowered]] to make important decisions without seeking input or permission from senior leadership who may not be immediately present or available.

** In small units, like patrol ships, there's only so many people available to do work, but often just as much work that needs to be done. So you might find things like the operations officer who is also the communications officer and the intelligence officer, and many of the lower ranks cross-trained in each other's jobs.

* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' does this often: In the side stories Reinhard's and Kircheis' first assignment after graduating from military school was driving a scout vehicle in the ground forces. Then an assignment as chief navigator (Reinhard) and security officer on a destroyer, a stint as military police investigators, and a cruiser captaincy for Reinhard with Kircheis tagging along as security officer again. Later, when Reinhard was a commodore commanding a flotilla of 100 vessels, he personally took to the field during a ground assault on an enemy base and captured their commander. In the main series, Reuentahl and Mittermeyer don powered armour and personally participate in the capture of Ovlesser and the station he commands, even though they were already admirals at the time.

* TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} has the Soldier skill, which covers a lot, from tactics to chains of command to how to properly hike. Taken UpToEleven with Ten Hut!, which covers anything a soldier could conceivably do short of firing a gun.

* Despite the cast of ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' having a [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters very diverse spectrum]] of backstories and skills listed on their character sheets, in practice almost every character except Dr. Shelton did very little except kill lots of enemies in one way or another. Many objectives in the role-play boiled down to either "cover Shelton from the bad guys until he finishes whatever needs to be done," or "rescue Shelton from the bad guys so he can do what needs to be done." This is because Shelton was one of the few characters who wasn't gun-proficient, so to compensate his author always made him doing something technical or scientific or whatnot.

* In the ''Gray Death Legion Saga'', set in the Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse, Grayson Carlyle engages in everything from piloting a HumongousMecha, infiltration/ex-filtration, scouting, and vehicle combat, in addition to his duties as the owner of a [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenary company]] employing over 300 people. Mostly averted in the rest of the series, which focuses primarily on the battlemech pilots which are often in a more structure command.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' does this often: In the side stories Reinhard's and Kircheis' first assignment after graduating from military school was driving a scout vehicle in the ground forces. Then an assignment as chief navigator (Reinhard) and security officer on a destroyer, a stint as military police investigators, and a cruiser captaincy for Reinhard with Kircheis tagging along as security officer again. Later, when Reinhard was a commodore commanding a flotilla of 100 vessels, he personally took to the field during a ground assault on an enemy base and captured their commander. In the main series, Reuentahl and Mittermeyer don powered armour and personally participate in the capture of Ovlesser and the station he commands, even though they were already admirals at the time.
* Quenser and Heivia of ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' are, on paper at least, a maintenance tech and radar specialist. In practice they engage in land battles, sea battles, aquatic base invasions, infiltration of enemy bases/cities, and more. The two tend to complain about this.
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1942}}'': During the Golden Age of Comics ComicBook/SteveTrevor's job with the USAAF seemed to be a mishmash of spy, commando and {{ace pilot}}.