This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this articlebyadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Trooper" rank – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Trooper (abbr. Tpr) from the French "troupier" is the equivalent ranktoprivate in a regiment[1] with a cavalry tradition in the British Army and many other Commonwealth armies, including those of Australia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand; it is also used by the Irish Army.
In the British Army the Royal Tank Regiment, although not a former cavalry unit also uses the term Trooper[2] as do the Special Air Service 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, "trooper" is a colloquialism that has traditionally been used not as a rank, but rather as a general term for any enlisted soldier.[3]
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.