Pioneer Sergeant

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A Pioneer Sergeant is a position in the British Army and several army units of the Commonwealth. Although a Pioneer Sergeant holds the rank of Sergeant in the army, the Pioneer Sergeant title itself is a regimental appointment rather than an official military rank. Pioneer Sergeants are found only in line infantry regiments and regiments of the Foot Guards, and he is normally responsible for carpentry, joinery and related work.

According to British and Commonwealth military traditions, the Pioneer Sergeant is the only soldier in the army who is allowed to wear a full beard. A Pioneer Sergeant can be identified by an embroidered badge of two crossed axes sewn above the Sergeant's rank chevrons on his sleeve.