The thing everyone appears to be overlooking is that the word army is a generic word to describe a group of soldiers or military people. It's been that way for centuries.

Now the entire preference of what you want to be called does not override fact. And the fact is that anyone who goes to war is a soldier. Here's a great example of why: we're all humans but we each break down into men and women and then there's children, teens, adults and seniors.

Now in the Navy, an aviator gets upset if he's called a sailor because he's a pilot. A Navy Seal is not a sailor either, he prefers Navy Seal. Army Rangers prefer Ranger over soldier. But if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. If you signed up in the military, you know there's a chance you might go to war. Soldiers fight no matter what service they're from. Soldier IS a generic term and always has been.

I've never before in my military career heard the term 'troop' used in defining military members I've been around. But a troop IS a group of soldiers. So if you're okay with the word 'troop' or 'troops' being used, then you must be okay with 'soldier' being used.

Our preference does not change fact or the dictionary.