Soldier

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For other uses, see Soldier (disambiguation).

Modern soldiers.

A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a country. 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 hierarchical 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.

[edit] Classification

A second-century marble carving of a Sarmatian cavalryman

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

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.

[edit] 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 a member of his clan's fighting force. Solidare in Latin means "to pay"; Roman soldiers were paid in solidi, so-called because they were a new type of solid gold coin brought in after a reform of the Roman money system. 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).