Troop

For other uses, seeTroop (disambiguation).

K Troop,9th U.S. Cavalry

Atroopis amilitarysub-subunit,originally a small formation ofcavalry,subordinate to asquadron.In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to theinfantrysectionorplatoon.Exceptions are theUS Cavalryand theKing's Troop Royal Horse Artillerywhere a troop is a subunit comparable to an infantrycompanyorartillery battery.Historically the remainder of theRoyal Horse Artilleryused the termtroopin the same manner but they eventually aligned with the rest of theRoyal Regiment of Artilleryin referring to troops as subordinate to artillery batteries.

Troopsis often used to refer to the other members of one's company or cause, but because of its military connotations, it conveys a particularly altruistic type of dedicated worker. Traditionally,troopsrefers to the soldiers in a military.

A cavalry soldier ofprivate rankis called a "trooper"in manyCommonwealtharmies (abbreviated "Tpr", not to be confused with "trouper" ).

A related sense of the term,troopsrefers to members of the military collectively, as in "the troops"; seeTroop (disambiguation).

Troops in various forces

Today, a troop is defined differently in different armed forces.

In theAustralian Armya troop is the equivalent of a platoon sized element in units of certain corps, those being:

• Australian Army Aviation
• Royal Australian Armoured Corps
• Royal Australian Corps of Signals
• Royal Australian Corps of Transport
• Royal Australian Engineers
• Royal Australian Survey Corps(now disbanded)
• Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
• Special Air Service Regiment (SASR)

The SASR is the only unit in theRoyal Australian Infantry Corpsto use the termtroopto refer to its platoon-size elements. SASR troops are also unusual as they are commanded by a captain—most troop or platoon-sized elements are commanded by a lieutenant. In most cases, units which refer to platoon sized elements as troops refer to company-sized elements as squadrons and battalion-sized elements as regiments (regiments in theRAAuse the term 'battery' for company-sized elements). Privates in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and SASR hold the rank "trooper", however this is not the case for any other corps or units, which use the termtroops.

12th Royal Lancerson manoeuvres

In theBritish Armythe definition of a troop varies bycorps.

• Household CavalryandRoyal Armoured Corps:Three or fourarmoured fighting vehiclescommanded by asubaltern,i.e. effectively the same level element as an infantry platoon. A unit of two to four guns or launchers, or an equivalent headquarters unit.
• Royal Artillery:A half-battery. In theRoyal 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,Special Air Service,andHonourable Artillery Company(and formerly theRoyal Corps of Transport): A unit equivalent in size to a platoon in other corps, divided into sections or patrols. The Royal Engineers and Royal Corps of Signals used platoons instead until after World War II.

Other Army corps do not use the term.

In theRoyal Marines,a troop is the equivalent to an Army platoon; a carryover from the organisation of theBritish Commandosin World War II.

In theCanadian Army,a troop is the equivalent of a platoon within the armoured, artillery, engineer, and signals branches. Two to four troops comprise the main elements of a squadron.

In theUnited States Army,in the cavalry branch, a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry company, commanded by a captain and consisting of three or four platoons, and are called a troop within a regiment. Companies were renamed troops in 1883.In some instances, an infantry company may be titled as a "troop" due to its presence in a cavalry squadron; this is typically the case for the dismounted reconnaissance troop (DRT) of a RSTA squadron, in which an infantry company-sized element is part of a cavalry-branched squadron.

Troops in civilian organizations

In the United States,state policeforces are often regionally divided into troops. This usage came from these organizations modelling themselves on the US Army, and especially theolder cavalryunits. For this same reason the state police and highway patrol personnel of most states are known as "troopers" rather than "officers".

InScouting,ascout troopis a unit made up of scouts orguidesfrom the same locality under aleader.In the case of Guides, the term "company" is used more often, and was used bythe founderin his first books about guiding.