How many soldiers is a "troop"?

Factual Questions
1

In many contexts (especially the Boy Scouts), a “troop” is a group of individuals. But all the news about the war uses the phrase “[number] troops” as if each troop was a single soldier.

Two questions:

  1. How did this word acquire these two different meanings?

  2. Wouldn’t it be simpler for the media to use the word “soldiers” instead of “troops”?

2

I suppose because Boy Scouts are vaguely military. I mean, not really like the military, but its a educational system for young lads that superficially resembles a military order.

Troops is a perfectly normal word. Do you ever use the word “pig”? Wouldn’t “Swine” be just as easy? I can’t believe you are that confused by it.

3

Then there is also the actual military unit known as “Troop”, which in the USArmy is the Cavalry equivalent of an Infantry Company.

4

No, not confused at all. Very annoyed, though.

Thank you! I had a feeling that this was the case, but I wasn’t sure enough. Now my question has some real teeth.

So when someone says “Ten troops…”, we’re expected to figure out from context whether it means “ten groups” or “ten soldiers”. Sure, I suppose it is usually pretty obvious which is intended, I just figured that the military would use more precise terminology.

5

Though the cavalry troop is much smaller personnel-wise than an infantry company. Generally you’re talking 8 - 12 vehicles, Bradleys and Hummers, and their crew.

Troop is also slang or shorthand for trooper.

6

Ah! Perhaps this is the answer I was looking for!

It started with “troop” being specific to a group of soldiers. A single soldier of that group was called a “trooper”. And then that got shortened back to a “troop”.

Sound reasonable?

7

This is confusing, because in the British Army (and its imitators) a troop is the armour equivalent of an infantry platoon. The armour euivalent of an infantry company is (in British and Commonwealth parlance) a squadron.

Regards,
Agback

8

On “Battlestar Galactica,” a squadron of fighters consisted of three ships – Apollo’s, Starbuck’s and a third guy who gets blown up by the Cylons.

9

I asked this same question in Junior High ('76-'78) and my teacher cleared it up for me. I am forever grateful as I did find the use of the word ‘troops’ to be very confusing. I remembered the TV show ‘F Troop’ and though that of course a troop contained more than one soldier.

10

I’ve also read examples of confusion between “trooper” and “trouper”, as when someone writes “He’s a real trooper” instead of “He’s a real trouper”.