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SOLDIERS

For other uses, see Soldier (disambiguation).

A soldier is a person who serves in an armed force for pay. The term soldier is usually limited to people who serve in the army. Groups of soldiers are usually divided into military units, which are organized in a strictly hierarchial fashion.

Although all soldiers get basic combat training, many soldiers serve in non-combat positions (such as in office management, clerical, logistics, or research and development).

In an army, the most common military rank held by soldiers is the lowest - in the British Army and United States Army, a private or equivalent. In some militaries, soldier specifically refers to members of the army who are not holders of an officer's commission. In most armies of the world a soldier who is not an officer can in theory work their way through the ranks to obtain a commission.

A soldier who no longer serves in the armed forces is often called a veteran, a term which can also apply to a long-serving or experienced soldier who is still in the army.

Classification

Infantry (or infantrymen; archaically "foot") are soldiers who specialise in combat on foot. Today many travel in vehicles, but generally fight on foot.

Cavalry (or cavalrymen; archaically "horse"), are traditionally soldiers who operated on horseback, but now crew armored fighting vehicles. Variations include dragoons (who traditionally travelled on horseback but fought as infantrymen), lancers; hussars, uhlans, Cossacks, and cuirassiers.

Artillery (or artillerymen) operate heavy indirect fire weapons, such as mortars and howitzers.

Engineers, are specialists in military construction, demolition, bridging and mine.

Army aviators are soldiers who operate army aircraft (normally helicopters). They are so defined because they fight as part of the land battle, and hence belong to land (not air) force elements.

Medics are soldiers who provide medical support to the fighting force. They often serve beside ground forces in combat.

Not all personnel who fill these roles are technically soldiers. These include members of the British RAF Regiment (who are technically airmen, not soldiers), and members of the United States Marine Corps, British Royal Marines, and other marine forces (many of whom bristle at being called soldiers, although they are often so described). Several navies maintain forces of naval infantry, who are sailors, not soldiers.

Etymology

The word soldier is derived from an Old French word, itself a derivation of Solidarius, Latin for someone who served for pay, as opposed to warriors in tribal society where every grown man is automatically member of his clan's fighting force. Solidare in Latin means "to pay" and Roman soldiers were paid in solidi. The common origin for the words soldier and payment survives not only in French (soldat and solde) but also in other languages, like German (Soldat and Sold), Spanish (soldado and soldada) and Dutch (soldaat and soldij).

See also