Regular Army

A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following:

• a standing army, the permanent force of the regular army that is maintained under arms during peacetime.
• a military reserve force that can be mobilised when needed to expand the effectives of the regular army by complementing the standing army.

A regular army may be:

• a conscript army, including professionals, volunteers and also conscripts (presence of enforced conscription, including recruits for the standing army and also a compulsory reserve).
• a professional army, with no conscripts (absence of compulsory service, and presence of a voluntary reserve), is not exactly the same as a standing army, as there are standing armies both in the conscript and the professional models.

In the United Kingdom, the term Regular Army means the professional standing active duty army, as different from the reserve component: the Army Reserve, previously known as the Territorial Army and before that, the Territorial Force.

References / notes

The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War on this day.

Included are trench slang, service terms, expressions in everyday use, nicknames, the titles and origins of British and Commonwealth Regiments, and warfare in general. These words and phrases are contemporary with the war, which is reflected in the language used. Sources include: Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases, The War Book-of-Facts and Odhams' A.B.C. of the Great War. Feel free to expand upon and improve this content.

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