"Troop" versus "Soldier"

[rocktivity]

How come nobody says "soldier" anymore? On a news program last night, I actually heard "that troop would have to..." in reference to a single soldier. What does a troop do that a solider doesn't? Does it refer to a specific branch of the military? Or is this a Rove move to take away a solider's flesh-and-blood quality and make him or her easier to kill off?


rocknation

[el_gato]

1. because the campaign materials

all say support the troops
and they certainly don't want to
waste any money with new signs
that say support the soldiers
:evilgrin:

[Bunny]

2. I'm no military expert, but

aren't soldiers mainly Army? And the Navy has sailors. And the Marines have Marines? And I don't know what the Air Force has. Although I agree that referring to troop in the singular ( a troop) does sound weird.

[Whitacre D_WI]

5. Jinx!

[Bunny]

12. Back atcha!

;-)

[Throckmorton]

9. I don't know what the Air Force has.

As I often tell Mrs. Throckmorton, Air Force Vet, the USAF equivelent to Soldier is Junior Birdman.

[Whitacre D_WI]

14. Then what is...

...a Radio Birdman? ;)

[Whitacre D_WI]

3. The way I understand it...

A soldier is in the Army. A sailor is in the Navy. A Marine is in the Marines. I don't know what you'd call someone in the Air Force.

"Troop" is used as a catch-all.

[TAH6988]

4. Troop and Solider

are often used interchangeably by the military, but they are really slightly different. A "soldier" is one who is in the army. "Troop" is, or can be, anyone in the military. You often see the term "troop strength" as in "European Troop Strength Reduction" which applied to the military across the board, not just soliders. When he was SACEUR , Gen Joulwan referred to his entire staff (made up of all services) as "troops."

Army = Soldier
Navy = Sailor (or Seaman)
Air Force = Airman
Marine = Marine

[underpants]

7. Correct and "Troopers" usually apply to Cavalrymen

Scout

[arwalden]

33. Not To Be Confused With Calvary Men

:-)

[Devils Advocate NZ]

18. Actually, troop is short for trooper...

A troop is a cavalry formation corresponding to an infantry company, and a trooper is an enlisted cavalryman.

So, if someone was called "troop" it probably means they are a member of a cavalry company possibly from the 7th Cavalry which particpated in the Baghdad assault with the 3rd Infantry division.

By the way, modern cavalry are more often than not armoured formations.

[TAH6988]

20. Not anymore

The usage has expanded to mean anyone in the military in a general sense.

[sangh0]

30. I thought the generic term was "servicemember"...nt

.

[TAH6988]

31. Thought wrong N/T

[Bandit]

25. Army=Dogface ~Marine=Jarhead ~Navy=Swabby~ Air Force=Easy duty

Troop=Girl Scouts

[NNN0LHI]

6. They are trying to dehumanize the soldiers who are dying by using troop

It wasn't a soldier killed today. See. It was just another troop.

Don

[oneighty]

17. Yes

Remove the human face

Boots on the ground.---Occupation

Troop----service man or woman, young people with loving parents

180

[Stainless]

8. For what it's worth.....

When I was in the Army many years ago, our Drill Sergeant almost always called us "troop". He always made sure we knew that we would not be called "soldier" until we successfully completed basic training.

[TAH6988]

13. Usage is a bit more common now

especially when dealing with more and more joint commands. It's easier to "address the troops" than to "address the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines." I've heard it more and more frequntly.

[5thGenDemocrat]

26. Yes. "Puke" was pretty common, too.

Somehow, I got the nickname "Shitstick" in BCT. This was not a generic term -- somehow I was singled out from the forty troops of D-15-4 2nd Platoon (Fort Knox, KY) for this particular moniker as in "Front and Center, Shitstick." It began with my drill sergeants, SSG Maifeld and SGT Bowman, but all the drills called me that before long.
Interestingly enough, my older brother Chuck went through the very same platoon for his BCT about fifteen months before I did. They ragged his ass thoroughly as well.
John
All that said, troop and soldier are used interchangeably in the Army and were even back in those dark days of 1974.

[newyawker99]

37. Hi anotemouse!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[TacticalPeek]

10. Term of Art

Perhaps it is to cover two possible id's with one, i. e., Marines are not correctly referred to as "soldiers", they're Marines, even tho to most they look like soldiers. Its a terminology thing. The uniformed military service members are identified as soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, usually, tho you should add coast guardsmen also, as well as as airwomen and coast guardswomen, I guess. I heard Clark in the last day or two include the coast guardsmen, usually omitted from the list, and I think he got airwomen in there, too. Maybe even coast guardswomen.

I think.

Reporters and writers inexperienced with military service have been on a slow learning curve with correct terminology. The Faux news creeps had a particularly abysmal time keeping "special forces" and "special operations" straight, tho to be fair, that was a common blunder. Initially, there was quite a bit of rank confusion, even with their own hired mil pundits, crossing colonels and generals, even branch of service.

Especially irksome in chickenhawks.

[pbeal]

11. Troop is a Cavalry term

A Cav Troop is equal to a platoon, Cav Soldiers are referred to as Troopers.

Its also a generic term for a group of Soldiers.

[TAH6988]

15. Correct

But now used more and more to refer to all services in general.

[underpants]

16. Actually a Cav troop is equal to a Company

HQ Platoon (mortars Mechs drivers)
and Then 3 platoons.

My unit originally had 6 Brads in each line platoon then we switched to the "H" series and had 5 Brads and 3 M1A1's in each platoon.

[Patriot_Spear]

23. It's actually equal to a Company...

Scouts Out!

[TAH6988]

24. Good catch! N/T

[pbeal]

32. I ment to say company

Sorry

[TAH6988]

34. We know you did

some times it's easy to type one thing while your brain is thinking another!

[papau]

19. Are the 205,000 reservists going to "war footing" Troops?

The chief of the U.S. Army Reserve in "warning all 205,000 soldiers under his command that the Army Reserve is 'on a war footing' and will need to take tough measures to meet commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan." - from USA Today

[TAH6988]

21. They

are both! :-)

[Patriot_Spear]

22. I was a Cavalry Scout in the Army...

We were called and called each other Troopers.

Our designation was as a Troop; as in 1/33 Echo Troop, or Charlie Troop Sixth Cavalry Squadron, etc.

[OldSoldier]

27. It's for uniformity's sake

Instead of saying "soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines," they're all troops.

Airborne soldiers are paratroopers, or paratroops. You can get your ass beat if you call them mere "soldiers." Says the Airborne Creed: "I am an airborne trooper. A Paratrooper!"

The comment about "Air Force = Easy Duty" reminds me of an old poster we had hanging up behind the distro desk in Berlin...there were five little panels on it. Imagine three little soldiers in the rain...

The first was labeled "Infantry." Said he, "it sucks here."
The second, Ranger. (Rangers are more-advanced infantry.) He said "I love how much it sucks here."
The third, Special Forces, who said "I wish it sucked here more."
The fourth was a pilot sitting in his helicopter, looking down and saying "I bet it sucks down there."

The last was an Air Force guy. He was in a hotel room holding a remote..."No cable TV? This REALLY sucks!"

The best part was, the guy who drew it was one of the Air Force captains who worked with us.

[TAH6988]

28. Seen that poster

in many different forms in many different places. It's been around since 1985 at least and was in my last unit in early '03.

[rocktivity]

29. By George (if you'll pardon the expression) I think I've got it!

Thanks to you all!


rocknation

[soothsayer]

35. "warfighter" is the safe term since it doesn't discriminate betwixt...

..the different arms of the service.

[TAH6988]

36. Except

that only a small portion of our troops are actually "warfighters!"

[janekat]

38. It makes it sound less personal - I'll bet n/t