This one really burns me, as it causes a great deal of confusion, and it is the darling of the media. Just listen to news coverage of just about any armed conflict, especially Fox and CNN, and you will here that we have 20,000 troops in such and such, or that the opposing forces sent 500 troops here or there, or that or that 5 US troops were killed or injured in a helicopter incident. Extensive listening makes it apparent that they are using the word "troop" to refer to a single soldier. It does not. According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, a "troop" is "a group or company of people, animals, or things," or, by extension, definition number two a, "a group of soldiers." There are no definitions listed which make it acceptable to use the word "troop" when referring to an individual. In that case, the correct term would be "trooper." This causes a great deal of confusion, as the listener cannot be sure if the 5 "troops" reported killed or injured was actually 5 people, or say 100. Were 20,000 individual troopers sent into this battle, or were 20 times 20,000. It makes a big difference.

submitted by Chris Bridges Roys

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