Indirect Fire Infantryman
The civilian and federal jobs that hire Army Indirect Fire Infantrymans — with real salaries and the resume that gets callbacks.
Every 11C has more options than a Google search will tell you. Below: career paths, BLS salary data, federal GS series, certifications by target career, and how to translate your experience without losing what made you valuable to the Army in the first place.
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After the Navy I got hired into 6 federal career fields and tech sales, and sat on federal hiring panels along the way. I spent the last 2 years rebuilding everything I learned into BMR, tuned for how AI actually screens resumes today. This is the system I wish I'd had on day one.
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Military Role Overview
The 11C Indirect Fire Infantryman — commonly known as a mortarman — operates one of the infantry's most critical weapon systems. 11Cs employ 60mm, 81mm, and 120mm mortar systems to provide indirect fire support for infantry and combined arms operations. The role demands rapid mental math for fire direction calculations, precise coordination with forward observers, and the physical ability to move heavy mortar systems across rough terrain under pressure.
Beyond pulling the trigger, 11Cs serve as part of a fire direction center (FDC), computing firing data, managing ammunition logistics, and coordinating with company and battalion operations. Senior 11Cs often serve as mortar section leaders and platoon sergeants, responsible for training, maintenance, personnel management, and tactical planning for mortar employment.
What makes this MOS valuable beyond the military is the combination of technical proficiency with high-pressure decision-making. Fire direction involves real-time calculations with zero margin for error — lives depend on accurate data. Section leaders manage teams, equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and complex operations under extreme time pressure. These are skills that translate well outside of combat arms, even though the specific weapons knowledge does not.
11Cs who have deployed often carry additional experience in convoy operations, route clearance support, base defense coordination, and joint operations with artillery and aviation assets. Some will have served in reconnaissance or weapons squad roles before or after their mortar assignment, giving them broader tactical experience than their MOS code alone suggests.
Mortarmen don't get the same translation help that 11Bs do, and the resume problem doubles. From BMR data, 11Cs convert into civilian operations and project management at strong rates once the resume actually translates fire-direction control, ammunition accountability, and crew-served weapon supervision into civilian terminology. The work is technical; the resume has to prove it. — Brad Tachi, Navy Diver veteran & BMR founder
Pay Reality Check
The number that matters when you're deciding what's next: how does civilian pay compare to what you make now?
Military comp is approximate (varies by location/dependents). Civilian is BLS median. Federal includes locality pay. Your real number depends on duty station, family status, GS step, and overtime.
Private Sector Career Paths
The civilian job market does not have a direct equivalent to mortar operations — there is no "civilian mortarman" role. However, the underlying competencies that 11Cs develop are highly sought after in several industries. The challenge is translating those competencies into language that resonates with hiring managers who have never heard of an FDC.
11Cs with leadership experience find traction in operations management, logistics coordination, and field supervision roles. Those with fire direction center experience have a quantitative and analytical background that applies to data-heavy environments. According to BLS data, operations management roles pay a median of $102,950 annually (May 2024), and the field continues to grow as companies invest in operational efficiency.
Veterans from combat arms MOSs often underestimate how transferable their planning and coordination skills are. A mortar section leader who planned and executed fire missions across multiple terrain types, coordinated with adjacent units, and managed ammunition resupply is doing project management — they just called it something different. The key to landing private sector roles is connecting those experiences to civilian job requirements with specific, quantified examples.
Civilian Job Title Translations
| Civilian Job Title | Industry | BLS Median Salary | Outlook | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
First-Line Supervisor of Protective Service Workers O*NET: 33-1099.00 | Security / Law Enforcement | $51,820 | About as fast as average (3%) | strong |
Security Manager O*NET: 33-9032.00 | Security Services / Corporate | $62,030 | Faster than average (6%) | strong |
First-Line Supervisor of Construction Workers O*NET: 47-1011.00 | Construction | $76,480 | About as fast as average (4%) | moderate |
Logistician O*NET: 13-1081.00 | Government / Manufacturing / Transportation | $80,880 | Much faster than average (17%) | moderate |
Emergency Management Director O*NET: 11-9161.00 | Government / Healthcare | $86,110 | About as fast as average (3%) | moderate |
Occupational Health and Safety Specialist O*NET: 19-5011.00 | Government / Manufacturing / Construction | $83,910 | Faster than average (5%) | moderate |
Training and Development Specialist O*NET: 13-1151.00 | Multiple Industries | $64,340 | About as fast as average (6%) | moderate |
Intelligence Analyst O*NET: 33-3021.06 | Government / Defense | $73,170 | Much faster than average (17%) | emerging |
Companies That Hire This Background
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BMR rewrites your 11C experience for any of the civilian roles above — keywords, achievements, and language hiring managers actually scan for.
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“I am still getting compliments on my resume. Still getting interviews left and right, and now I have to say no. Very grateful to have so many options suddenly.”
Federal Career Paths
For 11C veterans, federal employment opens doors that private sector roles sometimes do not — particularly for those without a four-year degree. The federal hiring system values military experience directly, and Veterans' Preference provides a measurable advantage. Many agencies hire for roles where infantry leadership and operational planning experience count as qualifying experience under OPM standards.
Law enforcement and security positions are a natural fit. The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service, and Federal Protective Service all recruit veterans with combat arms backgrounds. These agencies value the discipline, physical fitness, situational awareness, and decision-making under stress that 11Cs bring. GS-0083 (Police) and GS-1811 (Criminal Investigation) series are common entry points, typically at GS-5 to GS-9.
Beyond law enforcement, 11Cs with supervisory experience qualify for management analyst (GS-0343) and program management (GS-0340) positions at agencies like the VA, DOD, and DHS. Those with logistics and supply chain experience from managing mortar ammunition and equipment can target logistics management (GS-0346) roles. Safety-focused veterans may qualify for safety management (GS-0018) positions, particularly those who managed range operations and live-fire exercises.
The key for 11C veterans applying to federal positions is documenting leadership scope, personnel management numbers, equipment dollar values, and operational planning responsibilities in federal resume format — which follows different rules than private sector resumes. Build your federal resume here.
GS Series & Position Matches
| GS Series | Federal Job Title | Typical Grades | Match | Explore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS-0018 | Safety and Occupational Health Management | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11, GS-12 | View Details → | |
| GS-0083 | Police | GS-5, GS-7, GS-9 | View Details → | |
| GS-1811 | Criminal Investigator | GS-5, GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0343 | Management and Program Analyst | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0080 | Security Administration | GS-5, GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0340 | Program Management | GS-9, GS-11, GS-12, GS-13 | View Details → | |
| GS-1712 | Training Instruction | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0346 | Logistics Management | GS-7, GS-9, GS-11 | View Details → | |
| GS-0019 | Safety Technician | GS-5, GS-7, GS-9 | View Details → | |
| GS-0301 | Miscellaneous Administration and Program | GS-5, GS-7, GS-9 | View Details → |
Federal resumes follow different rules. We know them.
Federal hiring uses keyword-matching and structured experience. BMR builds federal-format resumes (USAJobs-ready) with the right keywords, hours/week, and supervisor info — for any GS series above.
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Want to Change Careers Entirely?
Not everyone wants to stay in a related field. These career paths leverage your transferable skills — leadership, risk management, logistics, project planning — in completely different industries.
Surveying and Mapping Technician
Fire-direction work is applied surveying. You already shoot azimuths, plot grids, and run coordinate geometry by hand. Land and construction surveying uses the exact same math and instruments, just pointed at property lines instead of targets.
Air Traffic Controller
Running a mortar fire-direction center means doing fast spatial math and clear voice coordination while everything is loud and high-stakes. That is the exact temperament air traffic control hires for, and it is rare in the civilian pool.
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor
Infantry teaches you to function and keep others functioning when conditions are at their worst. That hard-won resilience and credibility make veterans effective counselors, especially with other veterans and first responders.
Electrical Power-Line Installer and Repairer
Lineworkers do demanding, dangerous work in bad weather where one mistake is fatal and the crew has to move as one. That is the physical and procedural discipline infantry builds, which is why utilities recruit veterans heavily.
Coach and Scout
You spent your career training a squad to execute under fatigue and stress, and breaking complex drills into repeatable steps. Coaching at the school, club, or strength-and-conditioning level is that same teaching instinct applied to athletes.
Power Plant Operator
Running a fire-direction center is procedure-driven precision work where a calm, exact response matters most when things go wrong. Plant control rooms hire that same discipline, and the math and composure transfer directly.
Pivoting industries? You don't need to start from scratch.
The skills that made you a good Marine, Sailor, Airman, or Soldier transfer further than you think. BMR rewrites your bullets for any of the pivot careers above — without making you sound like you've never done the work.
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Skills Translation Guide
If you are applying to defense contractors, law enforcement, or security firms, many of your military terms will be understood. This section is for 11C veterans targeting careers outside of defense and security — operations management, logistics, project management, construction, or corporate roles where the hiring manager has never seen a mortar system.
The biggest mistake combat arms veterans make on resumes is listing military-specific duties without context. "Served as FDC computer" tells a civilian hiring manager nothing. But "Performed real-time mathematical computations for precision targeting, coordinating multi-team operations with zero-error tolerance" communicates the same skill in language that resonates across industries.
Resume Bullet Examples
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BMR turns your 11C duties and accomplishments into civilian bullets that match the job you're applying for — no manual translation, no rewriting.
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Certifications by Career Path
Which certifications you need depends on where you're headed. Find your target career path below.
Emergency Management
GIS & Geospatial
Operations Management
Project Management
Safety & EHS
Security Management
Got a cert? Don't bury it. List it the right way.
The wrong placement can sink an otherwise strong application. BMR knows where each cert ranks, what to call it, and how to frame it for ATS keyword matching and hiring manager attention.
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Transition Resources
For Defense and Security Careers
SkillBridge Programs: Defense contractors and security firms participate in DOD SkillBridge, allowing 11Cs to work civilian jobs during their last 180 days of service. Check the SkillBridge database for current openings. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and various private security firms have historically participated.
Law Enforcement Pathways: Federal law enforcement agencies (CBP, USMS, Secret Service) actively recruit combat arms veterans. Start the application process 6-12 months before separation — these agencies have long hiring timelines. State and local law enforcement often have expedited hiring for veterans.
Security Clearance Leverage: If you hold a Secret clearance, that has real market value with defense contractors. Sites like ClearanceJobs.com list positions requiring active clearances. Do not let yours lapse during transition.
For Careers Outside Defense
Project Management: The PMP certification (PMI) is the gold standard for project management careers. As a mortar section leader, your documented planning and execution hours likely count toward the experience requirement. Cost: ~$555 (PMI member) for the exam.
OSHA Safety Certifications: OSHA 30-Hour (Construction or General Industry) opens doors to safety management roles. Your range safety and live-fire exercise management experience is directly relevant. Many EHS roles start at $60,000+ and grow quickly with certifications.
Federal Employment (USAJobs): Create your USAJobs profile now — do not wait until you separate. Use the "Veterans" filter. Federal resumes are 2 pages max. Build yours here.
Veteran Networking: American Corporate Partners (ACP) provides free mentorship from corporate executives. You get paired with someone in your target industry. ACP is legitimate and completely free for veterans.
Education Benefits: Use the GI Bill Comparison Tool to verify program approval before enrolling. Many certification exam fees and prep courses are GI Bill-eligible. A bachelor's degree combined with military experience and certifications is a powerful combination for management-track roles.
BMR Career Resources
Army Resume Guide: MOS Translation | Complete Military Resume Guide | Army ETS Checklist | Build Your Resume Free
Your 30 / 60 / 90-Day Transition Plan
Most people do this backwards. They wait until terminal leave to start, then panic. Here's the sequence that works. Already out? Same plan, start at day one today.
Set the foundation
- Pull your DD-214 (request from Milconnect if separated)
- List your top 3 civilian roles AND top 3 GS series
- Build your tailored 11C resume — BMR does it free
- Write 1 strong LinkedIn headline (not "veteran seeking opportunities")
- Pull together your evals/performance reports for accomplishments
Apply with intent
- Apply to 5–10 jobs/week — quality over quantity
- Tailor every resume to the job description (BMR auto-tailors)
- Connect with 5 people/week on LinkedIn (not a spray)
- Set up a USAJobs profile and a saved-search alert for your GS series
- Practice translating your military bullets out loud — explain to a civilian friend
Close the offer
- Track every application — date, status, contact, notes
- Follow up 7–10 days after each application
- Prep for behavioral interviews using the STAR method
- Negotiate salary — don't take the first offer (BLS median is your floor)
- Stay applying even after one offer — leverage = options
Print this. Tape it to your monitor. Veterans who treat the job search like a 90-day op get hired faster than the ones who treat it like an emergency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What civilian jobs can I get as a former 11C?
What is the salary range for careers available to 11C veterans?
Do I need a degree to get a good civilian job after 11C?
What if I want to leave the military field entirely?
How does Veterans Preference work for federal jobs?
Is my security clearance valuable after leaving the Army?
Should I use my GI Bill for a degree or certifications?
What certifications should I get before separating?
Can I start job searching while still on active duty?
Where are the best job markets for former 11C veterans?
Translate your 11C Indirect Fire Infantryman experience into a resume that gets callbacks
Stop rewriting from scratch every time you apply. BMR turns your military experience into civilian and federal resumes — tailored to each job.