Troop

A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. Cavalry soldiers of private rank are called troopers (abbreviated "Tpr.", not "troupers"). Today, "troop" has different specific meanings in different armed forces.

Generally, soldiers may be referred to as troops.

British Army and Royal Marines

In the British Army the definition of a troop varies by corps.

*Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps: Three or four armoured fighting vehicles commanded by a subaltern. A unit of two to four guns or launchers, or an equivalent headquarters unit. In the Royal Horse Artillery, a troop used to be the equivalent to a battery in other artillery units.
*Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Logistic Corps and Special Air Service: A unit equivalent in size to a platoon in other corps, divided into sections.

Other army corps do not use the term.

In the Royal Marines, a troop is the equivalent to an army platoon.

Canadian Army

In the Canadian Army, a Troop is the equivalent of a platoon within the Armoured, Engineer, and Signals branches. Two to four Troops are comprise the main elements of a squadron.

U.S. Cavalry

In the United States Army, in the cavalry branch, a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry company, commanded by a captain and consisting of 3 or 4 platoons, and subordinate to a squadron (battalion).

General military usage

The mass nouns troop or troops can also be used more generally:
* To refer to all active duty military (e.g. "Support our troops", "Bring the troops home").
* To refer to ground forces generally (e.g. "combat troops").
* To refer to a subordinate by a supervisor in the military (e.g. "he is my troop").

When referring to a specific service different words are used (singular or plural):
* Royal Navy/United States Navy - Sailor
* Royal Air Force/United States Air Force - Airman
* British Army/United States Army - Soldier
* Royal Marines/United States Marine Corps - Marine
* United States Coast Guard - Coast Guardsman
* United States National Guard - National Guardsman

Note that within the British Armed Forces, these specific terms are often used only to refer to non-commissioned personnel (an army officer may speak of "my soldiers", for instance).

tate Police

Within the United States, State Police forces are often regionally divided into Troops. This usage came about from these organizations modeling themselves off the US Army, and especially the older cavalry units. For this same reason the State Police and Highway Patrol personnel of most states are known as "Trooper" rather than "Officer". California, all US territorial police forces (Guam, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and several other states use the "Officer" instead of "Trooper". Most state police and highway patrol forces make much more extensive use of an Army-style rank structure than do local law enforcement agencies.Fact|date=January 2008

Boy Scouting

Troop is also a term used in Boy Scouting. The scout troop is the fundamental unit of the Boy Scouts. This is the group a Boy Scout joins and via which he participates in Scouting activities, such as camping, backpacking, and canoeing. The troop leadership, youth and adult, organizes and provides support for these activities. It may include as few as a half-dozen boys, or as many as seventy or more. Troops usually meet weekly. A troop is often sponsored by a community organization such as a business, service organization, school, labor group veteran's group, or religious institution. The chartering organization is responsible for providing a meeting place and promoting a good program. A key component of the Scout method is that troops are run by the Scouts under the advice and guidance of adult leaders.cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | year = 1990 | title = BSA Troop Committee Guidebook | publisher = Boy Scouts of America | location = Irving, TX | id = ISBN 0-8395-6505-4]

Collective Noun

The word "troop" is also used as a collective noun for any group of primates (including humans).

References