Editing Army (section)

==Definition==
In some countries, such as [[France]] and [[China]], the term "army", especially in its plural form "armies", has the broader meaning of [[armed forces]] as a whole, while retaining the colloquial sense of land forces. To differentiate the colloquial army from the formal concept of military force, the term is qualified, for example in France the land force is called {{Lang|fr|[[French Army|Armée de terre]]}}, meaning '''Land Army''', and the air and space force is called {{lang|fr|[[French Air and Space Force|Armée de l'Air et de l’Espace]]}}, meaning '''Air and Space Army'''. The naval force, although not using the term "army", is also included in the broad sense of the term "armies" — thus the [[French Navy]] is an integral component of the collective French Armies ([[French Armed Forces]]) under the [[Ministry of the Armies (France)|Ministry of the Armies]]. A similar pattern is seen in China, with the [[People's Liberation Army]] (PLA) being the overall military, the land force being the [[People's Liberation Army Ground Force|PLA Ground Force]], and so forth for the [[People's Liberation Army Air Force|PLA Air Force]], the [[People's Liberation Army Navy|PLA Navy]], and other branches.

Though by convention, [[irregular military]] is understood in contrast to [[regular army|regular armies]] which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite [[militia]]. Regular in this case refers to standardized doctrines, uniforms, organizations, etc. Regular military can also refer to full-time status ([[standing army]]), versus [[Military reserve force|reserve]] or part-time personnel. Other distinctions may separate statutory forces (established under laws such as the [[National Defence Act]]), from de facto "non-statutory" forces such as some guerrilla and revolutionary armies.