Soldier
A soldier is a member of an army, whether conscripted or volunteer, with a history shaped by language, service, and social change.
A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer.
Lore & Background
The word soldier derives from the Middle English word, from Old French or, meaning mercenary, from, meaning shilling's worth or wage, from or, shilling. The word is also related to the Medieval Latin, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word, referring to an ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armies, the word 'soldier' has a general meaning that refers to all members of an army, distinct from more specialized military occupations. Soldiers may be referred to by titles, names, nicknames, or acronyms that reflect an individual's military occupation specialty arm, service, or branch of military employment, their type of unit, or operational employment or technical use such as: trooper, tanker, commando, dragoon, infantryman, guardsman, artilleryman, paratrooper, grenadier, ranger, sniper, engineer, sapper, craftsman, signaller, medic, rifleman, or gunner, among other terms. Some of these designations have existed in English for centuries; others are relatively recent. In the United States Army, a soldier's military job is designated as a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). One example of a nickname for a soldier in a specific occupation is the term 'red caps' to refer to military policemen personnel in the British Army because of the colour of their headgear. Infantry are sometimes called 'grunts' in the United States Army (as well as in the U.S. Marine Corps) or 'squaddies' (in the British Army). U.S. Army artillery crews, or 'gunners,' are sometimes referred to as 'redlegs', from the service branch color for artillery. U.S. soldiers are often called 'G.I.s' (short for the term 'Government Issue'). 'G.I.' came into common use during and after World War II, but before and during World War I, American soldiers were called 'Doughboys.' British infantry troops were often referred to as 'Tommies' (short for the archetypal soldier 'Tommy Atkins') and French infantry were called 'Poilus' ('hairy ones'). Some formal or informal designations may reflect the status or changes in status of soldiers for reasons of gender, race, or other social factors. With certain exceptions, service as a soldier, especially in the infantry, had generally been restricted to males throughout world history. By World War II, women were actively deployed in Allied forces in different ways.
Reader's Guide
Throughout history, individuals have often been compelled by force or law to serve in armies and other armed forces in times of war or other times. Modern forms of such compulsion are generally referred to as 'conscription' or a 'draft'. Currently, many countries require registration for some form of mandatory service, although that requirement may be selectively enforced or exist only in law and not in practice. In times of war, requirements, such as age, may be broadened when additional troops are deemed necessary. At different times and places, some individuals have been able to avoid conscription by having another person take their place. Modern draft laws may provide temporary or permanent exemptions from service or allow some other non-combatant service, as in the case of conscientious objectors. In the United States, males aged 18-25 are required to register with the Selective Service System, which has responsibility for overseeing the draft. However, no draft has been held since 1973, and the U.S. military has maintained staffing through voluntary enlistment. Soldiers in war may have various motivations for voluntarily enlisting and remaining in an army or another branch of the armed forces. In a study of 18th-century soldiers' written records about their time in service, historian Ilya Berkovich suggests 'three primary 'levers' of motivation ... 'coercive', 'remunerative', and 'normative' incentives.' Berkovich argues that historians' assumptions that fear of coercive force kept unwilling conscripts in check and controlled rates of desertion have been overstated and that any pay or other remuneration for service as provided then would have been an insufficient incentive. Instead, 'old-regime common soldiers should be viewed primarily as willing participants who saw themselves as engaged in a distinct and honourable activity.' In modern times, soldiers have volunteered for armed service, especially in time of war, out of a sense of patriotic duty to their homeland or to advance a social, political, or ideological cause, while improved levels of remuneration or training might be more of an incentive in times of economic hardship.
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