Machine Gunner
Requirements
- Fitness for service in terms of health and moral qualities
- Desire to keep learning and improving your skills
- Age 18 to 45
- Physical endurance and no contraindications to performing military service
- Ability to work as part of a team and carry out the combat orders of command
- Ability to make decisions in stressful situations
Responsibilities
- Organising and providing fire support for the unit
- Making effective use of machine-gun systems to provide fire support in various combat conditions
- Operating and maintaining machine-gun weapons
- Keeping weapons, equipment and ammunition in constant combat readiness
- Carrying out tasks to neutralise threats and enemy forces
- Carrying out combat tasks as part of a unit, including in the combat zone
- Compliance with military regulations and discipline
Terms
- Mobilisation until the end of martial law, or contract service
- Basic and specialist training as required
- Pay: base pay of UAH 21,000 + an additional bonus of up to UAH 100,000 for carrying out tasks in the combat zone — up to UAH 121,000 per month in total, depending on the duration and area of the tasks
- Full social package
- Full provision of protective equipment and military property
- Opportunity to obtain combatant status (UBD)
Vacancy: Machine Gunner
In an infantry squad everyone has their own role, and the machine gunner's role is to cover their own. They provide the most powerful fire support to their brothers-in-arms: pinning the enemy down while the group works, and holding the sector while the guys get the job done.
This is the position around which the work of the entire squad is built. When the machine gun is working, the group has freedom of action. That is why the infantry hold the machine gunner in special regard: they do not just shoot, they create the conditions in which everyone else can complete the task and return safely.
Machine gunners appeared in the infantry back in the early twentieth century and have remained the backbone of a squad's firepower ever since. The weapons have changed, the tactics have changed, but the essence is the same: where there is a machine gunner, the unit feels confident.
Who can become a machine gunner
No military experience is needed. Infantry positions in the 141st are mostly filled by volunteers who previously had nothing to do with the army. For them, the brigade runs a complete training system — from scratch, with instructors who have fought themselves.
What really matters:
- Willingness to learn. That is the main thing. We will teach you the rest
- Physical endurance. A machine gun with ammunition is a weight you will have to carry. Not athletic fitness but working fitness: to march, to carry, to dig in
- Medical fitness — determined by the military medical board (VLK)
- Reliability. Your brothers-in-arms need to know that the sector on your side is covered
Experience in sport shooting or hunting, or any physically demanding work, will come in handy. But we take people without it too — and they are the majority here.
In other words, a machine gunner in the 141st is a motivated person in good health with a desire to learn. Everything else is a matter of training.
What a machine gunner does in the 141st SMB
Main tasks:
- Fire support for the squad: covering the advance, holding the sector
- Covering the group while it changes positions
- Choosing and preparing a firing position, and preparing an alternate one
- Weapon maintenance — whether it works at the critical moment depends on it
- Working as part of the squad: everyone knows their place, and so does the machine gunner
A machine gunner never acts alone. They are part of a well-coordinated group in which everyone understands who does what and who covers whom.
How you will be trained
You do not need a machine gunner VOS (military occupational specialty) or any military training at all. After the basic course, which lasts 51 days, the brigade runs its own adaptation course — 14–15 days. It is taught by our instructors with combat experience, not by the textbook.
These are not lectures. A 12–15 kilometre march during which you drill actions for different situations, including reacting to drones. Training continues at night too. Water and ration packs are dropped along the route by heavy "Vampire" drones — so that the skill of collecting cargo from the air is built in advance, in calm conditions.
Tactical medicine is drilled separately until it is automatic: tourniquet, bandage, helping a brother-in-arms — on training mannequins until the movements become habit. Our instructors' principle is short: the priority is to survive. Not "complete the task at any cost", but do the job and come back.
Training never ends. Even experienced soldiers, after completing tasks, return not to the barracks but to the training range — to stay in shape.
What you will be provided with
The brigade provides everything you need — from gear to weapons. On top of the standard issue, soldiers of the 141st also receive what the brigade develops and tests itself: an enemy drone detector and camouflage against thermal imagers. Such items rarely reach the infantry through general supply — so we make them in-house.
And the main thing that is not issued from a store: you will not be alone. The machine gunner works as part of a squad in which everyone covers everyone else. This is not a figure of speech — the whole training system is built around the group coming back at full strength. "One for another" is not a T-shirt slogan but the way work is organised here.
Where you can grow
Machine gunner is an entry point, not a ceiling. Real steps up:
- Gunner — more precise work with weapons, more responsibility for the result
- Squad leader — your own people, your own decisions, NCO positions and higher base pay
- Instructor — teaching newcomers what you can already do yourself. The adaptation course is run by soldiers with combat experience, and this is a separate path
- A different field — reconnaissance, unmanned systems, vehicle repair. You can transfer within the brigade, and this is normal practice
In the 141st, rank is an entry in your military ID. What counts is competence, a cool head and readiness to take responsibility. See a solution — propose it. Your career here depends on results, not length of service, and you can rise quickly.
There is also a distinct culture of recognition: our patches are not handed out for length of service but earned for specific deeds — green for combat work and lives saved, blue for assault actions. The uniform shows what a person has behind them.
And it does not have to be the infantry. The brigade has artillery, unmanned systems, repair workshops and a medical service. If someone proves themselves in another field, transferring within the brigade is normal practice, not an exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
Logic and process: we answer the key questions about enlistment, training and status.
Apply for this positionDo I need experience firing a machine gun?
+No. Most of our machine gunners had never held a machine gun before joining the army. Training starts from scratch: first the basic course, then the brigade's own adaptation course, run by instructors with combat experience. On the firing range you practise as much as you need to get it right — without the limits typical of rear-area training centres.
Is being a machine gunner physically hard?
+Honestly — yes, it is the most physically demanding position in an infantry squad: you have to carry the machine gun and its ammunition yourself. But you do not need athletic fitness; you need working endurance, and that is built up during training. If you have doubts about your health, the military medical board (VLK) will decide, not you.
How does a machine gunner differ from a grenadier?
+A machine gunner delivers dense fire against enemy personnel and covers the squad's movement. A grenadier fires single rounds at cover, vehicles and firing points. Different weapons and different tasks in the same fight.
I have no military experience. Can I still join you?
+Yes. Most of our best specialists were civilians yesterday. What matters to us is your motivation. We’ll match a role to your skills: if you understand machinery — you’ll go to the mechanics; if you know electronics — to UAVs or communications. Everything military — we’ll teach you.
How long does training take before deployment to the unit?
+Every recruit completes Basic General Military Training (BGMT) at a training center. After that — additional specialized training depending on the chosen role. We send only the prepared to the line of contact — that is our core principle.
What happens after I fill out the form?
+Your application goes to the recruiting center. Within 24 hours our specialist will call — it’s not an interrogation, just an introduction and answers to your questions. If we’re a match, the brigade issues an official request and our liaison helps you get through the TRC and MMB as fast as possible.
Can I transfer to the 141st SMB from another unit?
+Yes, we consider transfers — including via the Army+ app. Fill out the form and select the status “Active service member” — a recruiter will advise on your real chances and the steps involved.
I am AWOL (SZCh). Can I join?
+The law allows a return to service. If you’re motivated to fight in a sound team — fill out the form and state your status honestly. Our specialists will advise you individually on legal ways to return. Confidentially.
Do you provide uniform and equipment?
+Yes. The brigade fully provides basic kit, body armor, helmets and weapons. Plus — thanks to a strong volunteer network, we have additional technological support: drones, EW, transport.
Similar positions
Didn’t find your role?
The brigade has more specialities than the site describes, and some roles are not written up yet. If yours is missing, fill in the form and tell us which position you are looking for. A recruiter will check what is open right now and answer straight.
Tell us which role you wantWhat happens after you apply
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01
A call within 24 hours
Your application goes to the recruiting centre and a specialist calls within a day. It is not an interrogation — just an introduction and answers to your questions.
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02
Interview and choosing a role
Together we look at what you can do and where it is most useful. If we are a match, the brigade issues an official request for your transfer.
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03
Enlistment office and medical board — with support
Our liaison helps you get through the enlistment office and the military medical board as fast as possible. You do not navigate the queues alone.
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04
Training first, then the unit
Basic general military training takes 51 days, followed by the brigade’s 14–15 day adaptation course with instructors who have combat experience. We send only prepared soldiers to the front line.