He gets paid to skate hard, handle a puck, and take a hit. Infantrymen are paid (fractions less)to take asymmetric warfare to the enemy in any environment and at any time, with the expectation of no resupply available.
How do you get over a fallen tree? How do you get over a 5 foot wall in an urban environment? It needs to be carried by the men on the ground to truly be versatile.
I cant find the particular scene, but in the beginning of Platoon, Elias goes through Chris's (Charlie Sheen) pack and just starts throwing unnecessary shit out after he nearly humped himself into being a heat casualty.