Yes, per Merriam-Webster online:
troop
1 a : a group of soldiers
b : a cavalry unit corresponding to an infantry company
c plural : ARMED FORCES, SOLDIERS
2 : a collection of people or things : CREW 2
3 : a flock of mammals or birds
4 : the basic organizational unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts under an adult leader
Scrappleface takes on the same point:
After Botched Apology Kerry Blames Republicans
by Scott Ott
http://www.scrappleface.com/?p=2379
(2006-11-01) — During Sen. John Kerry’s most recent hourly news conference, the former Democrat presidential nominee said he was sorry for what he called “a botched apology” posted to his website earlier in the day, that was spurred by his “botched joke” on Monday.
The text of his apology reads, in part…
“As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.
I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.“
“In the course of my botched apology,” the senator said this evening, “I inadvertently used the word ‘troop’ to refer to a single individual. I also used the word ‘imply’ when I should have used ‘infer’, and I said that I ‘personally apologize’ to anyone who was offended, when in fact, I simply posted a few sentences on the website, addressed to no one in particular.”
“Come to think of it,” he added, “my apology didn’t admit wrong doing, express regret for my actions or offer to make things right. I really just blamed the troops for misunderstanding my joke. So, perhaps ‘apology’ was not the precise term for it.”
Sen. Kerry said his poorly-worded apology, however, does reinforce the premise of his original ‘botched joke’ about bad students being sent to war, since he is a combat veteran.
“The ultimate message of my failed apology,” he said, “is that the Republicans will do anything to divert attention from the quagmire in Iraq, even if it means letting a Democrat Senator scuttle his party’s political strategy on the eve of national elections.”
He also put up a great video, linked here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfQnJqkAydM
"Because of Iraq II"
My favorite line in it: "Because of Iraq, you've had to listen to *this woman*", then he puts up a photo of Cindy Sheehan.
Another great line, "Because of Iraq, the land of opportunity (photo of White House) has become the land of broken dreams," followed by a photo of John Kerry with his head facing the ground.
I love Scrappleface (though it's often so plausible you have to look twice!) -- thanks for posting that!