"Soldier"

[Wilson Gray]

How is it that you don't complain about the lack special reference to
the members of the various Reserves and the branches of the National
Guard? Does the phrase, "regular forces," as opposed to reservists and
guardsmen, even exist, anymore?

-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Mark Twain



On Fri, Feb 27, 2009 at 11:14 AM, Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at bellsouth.net> wrote:
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> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Bill Palmer <w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â "Soldier"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> CBS news correspondent Bill Plante reported today that 4,250 "soldiers" =
> had died in Iraq, although many of them were US Marines along with a few =
> sailors & airmen.
>
> I read an article recently mentioning the 17 "soldiers" who had been =
> killed in the USS Cole bombing.
>
> There are many, many other recent examples.
>
> Is "soldier" now taken to mean any member of the armed forces, even =
> those who man ships? Or are we now so far into the all-volunteer force =
> (>35 years) that none of our journalists have any military experience =
> and don't know the proper terminology any more?
>
> Bill Palmer
>
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