The term is plural and should be used to describe a group or collection, like a girl scout troop.
2007-05-29 07:59:41 · 5 answers · asked by kromekote2000 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Technically "Troop" is a company of Cavalry. An individual cavalryman is called a "trooper." The term is also used for airborne or Paratroops although an airborne company is not called "troop."
But according to Webster's:
Troop is defined as "a group of soldiers"
So grammatically the News organizations are correct.
2007-05-29 08:08:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The term is plural in civilian terms, such as with a girl scout troop. In military terms--and bear in mind, the military has its own unique lingo for everything--a "troop" is a generic term for an individual. It's generally used when referring to anyone on active duty without specifically identifying which service they belong to; you wouldn't say "10 soldiers died" if five of them were Marines, one was an Airman, one was a sailor and three of that ten were actual "soldiers" in the Army.
Civilians often bumble with military terms, or even mock them not knowing what they actually mean; a classic example would be some clown saluting with his left hand. A favorite of mine are business names like the "Maid Brigade" (I always wonder, given that it's Maid Brigade, whether that "brigade" is composed of an HQ element, three or four combat maid battalions, a combat maid aviation battalion, a maid intelligence company, maid recon, and maid logistics... you get the idea.)
2007-05-29 08:11:51 · answer #2 · answered by ಠ__ಠ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, actually, it is one troop, two troops. So if 10 were killed, that is more than one, so "troops". To be fair though, if they were in the Navy they would be "sailors", if in the Air Force they would be "air men", but the media does not make that distinction.
As to the girl scout troop, it is singular because it refers to ONE "group"; they got the name of troop from the military.
2007-05-29 08:17:28 · answer #3 · answered by Nothingusefullearnedinschool 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do not refer to them all as soldiers because Marines are not refered to as soldiers.
Troops is just a way to group all military together.
2007-05-29 08:03:14 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It comes from trooper. One is a soldier...
2007-05-29 08:04:18 · answer #5 · answered by Smelly Cat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋