1. Slang for a soldier in the infantry, which has gradually become a term referring to a low-level employee in any field.
2. One of the original
1982 set of
G.I. Joe 3 3/4" action figures. He came with an
M-16 and a backpack. He was the blandest and least interesting of the Joes because he had no special attributes or equipment; he was just, well, a grunt. Maybe that was why the next year he was packaged with the
Falcon Attack Glider as its pilot. The
1983 Grunt was unarmed and had a tan uniform instead of the original green.
Grunt retired and got an engineering degree from
Georgia Tech. In
1991, he was back as an
E5 in a garish brown and orange outfit with an oversized missile launcher. A less ridiculous Grunt in a
camouflage shirt and with an
AK-47 was packaged with the
1997 Stars and Stripes Forever boxed set. He was now an
E6.
1982 filecard:
INFANTRY TROOPER
Code Name: GRUNT
File Name: Graves, Robert W. SN: RA52779623
Primary Military Specialty:
Infantry
Secondary Military Specialty:
Small Arms Armoror (
sic)
Artillery Coordinator
Birthplace:
Columbus, Ohio Grade:
E-4
Familiar with all
NATO and
Warsaw Pact small arms as well as domestic civilian arms. Graduated: Advanced Infantry Training. Finished in top ten of his class. Qualified Expert:
M-14;
M-16;
M-1911A1 (Auto-Pistol).
"Grunt is a highly motivated, systematic individual. He’s a stand-up guy who doesn’t blow his cool in a
fire-fight."
Comic book appearances:
* G.I. JOE: #1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 22, 24, 32, 33, 49, 50, 55, 56, 62, 78, 144-flashback, 145
* G.I. JOE Yearbook: #2
* G.I. JOE: Order of Battle: #1
Filecards and information from http://www.yojoe.com