Batman (military)

A batman or orderly is a soldier or airman assigned to a commissioned officer as a personal servant. Before the advent of motorized transport, an officer's batman was also in charge of the officer's "bat-horse" that carried the officer's kit during a campaign.^[1] This British English term is derived from the obsolete bat, meaning "pack saddle" (from French bât, from Old French bast, from Late Latin bastum).^[2]

The military term long predates the appearance of the fictional superhero Batman, whose name is etymologically unrelated given his association with bats, the flying mammals of the order Chiroptera.

acting as a "runner" to convey orders from the officer to subordinates

maintaining the officer's and personal equipment as a valet

uniform

driving the officer's vehicle, sometimes under combat conditions

acting as the officer's in combat

bodyguard

digging the officer's in combat, giving the officer time to direct his unit^[3]

foxhole

other miscellaneous tasks the officer does not have time or inclination to do

A batman's duties often include:

The action of serving as a batman was referred to as "batting". In armies where officers typically came from the upper class, it was not unusual for a former batman to follow the officer into later civilian life as a domestic servant.

(ADC)

Aide-de-camp

Adjutant

Bagman

Equerry

Squire

Valet

Akhtar Khan, Muhammad (July 2001). . Defence Journal. Karachi. Archived from the original on 18 August 2002.