Trooper (abbr. Tpr) from the French "''troupier''" is the equivalent rank to private in a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

with a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

tradition in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

and many other Commonwealth armies, including those of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

; it is also used by the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

. In the British Army the Royal Tank Regiment, although not a former cavalry unit also uses the term Trooper as do the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terr ...

and Honourable Artillery Company. Airtrooper (Atpr) is used in the Army Air Corps. Cavalry units are organized into squadrons, further divided into troops, hence a trooper is a member of a troop. "Trooper" can also be used colloquially to mean any cavalry soldier (although not usually an officer). In the United States Cavalry and

airborne forces Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers. The main ...

, "trooper" is a colloquialism that has traditionally been used not as a rank, but rather as a general term for any enlisted soldier. Cavalry Troopers are generally considered to be socially a cut above other soldiers. This distinction stems from the days when cavalry needed to supply their own horses and equipment, and so would need to be reasonably wealthy and a gentleman of sorts. In addition cavalry regiments were seen to be relatively fashionable and dashing, often having colourful or even garish uniforms. In the United States many states have a state branch of law enforcement that serves as a highway patrol. Many state highway patrols refer to their officers as troopers.

References

{{reflist Cavalry Military ranks of Australia Military ranks of Canada Military ranks of the British Army Military ranks of the Commonwealth

See also

References