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(March 2008)| A batman (or batwoman) 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
packsaddle with his officer's kit during a campaign. A batman's
duties often include: - acting as a "runner" to convey orders
from the officer to subordinates - maintaining the officer's
uniform and personal equipment as a valet - driving the
officer's vehicle, sometimes under combat conditions - acting as
the officer's bodyguard in combat - other miscellaneous tasks
the officer does not have time or inclination to do 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. By country  ||This article
or section appears to contradict it