History Main / SoldierVsWarrior

* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'' would sometimes have matches between a fierce and wild warrior, against a more professional soldier. Probably best shown by "Comanche vs. Mongol", the fearless native American horsemen against one of Genghis Khan's chosen ([[spoiler:the Comanche warrior won]]; or "Waffen SS vs. Vietcong", pitting the [[ThoseWackyNazis stone-hearted killers of Adolf Hitler's regime]] against ragtag communist revolutionaries ([[spoiler:the Waffen SS soldiers won]]); or "Pirate vs. Knight", a wild man who fights for himself against a noble man who fights for God and kingdom ([[spoiler:the Pirate warrior won]]).

* ''Literature/TheAsteriskWar'' leans on highly individualized warriors fighting in tournament-style duels and matches as popular entertainment. However, the Gryps Festa tourney uniquely revolves around five-on-five matches where [[GoldenSnitch only defeating the team leader is necessary to win the match]], forcing much more teamwork. This dichotomy is ultimately what does in Team Lancelot in the Gryps Final at the end of Volume 10. [[spoiler:Lancelot leader Ernest Fairclough, dueling main protagonist Ayato, inadvertently damages Ayato's Ser Veresta and disables it. Ayato discards the O[[EmpathicWeapon Orga Lux]] for his backup weapon, and Ernest tosses aside his own Orga Lux[[note]]violating its Code of Conduct in the process, meaning he can never wield it again[[/note]] and pulls his own out of a desire to duel Ayato personally. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Instead]], Ayato's teammates quickly break free of their own opponents and gang up on Ernest, with Claudia breaking his badge to win the match. In his warrior desire for a climactic duel with Ayato, Ernest forgot he was supposed to be fighting as part of a ''team''.]]

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': This is the central contrast between Laurence, Archangel of the Sword and current leader of TheArmiesOfHeaven, and [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], Archangel of War and former holder of this position:
** Laurence favors a structured and formalized approach to both war in general and to the War against Hell. He runs his angels like a large, organized army, with a clear and extensive chain of command, expects his followers to obey orders without backtalk, and favors sponsoring large, hierarchical organizations among mortals. He's very good at mobilizing large forces at once and coordinating long-term strategies, and genuinely thinks that things work best when everyone knows who to look to for guidance and respects their superiors. However, he's also notoriously inflexible, has little tolerance for opinions from the ranks, and tends to find it frustrating when his fellow Archangels don't act within his idealized military structure or Hell cheats again.
** Michael is the patron of personal struggles and of individual glory in war. He emphasizes commanding by earning the respect of your followers and structures both his angelic and mortal followers as a system of loosely connected cells and warrior brotherhoods, with only the most rudimentary chain of command. His scattered cells are very resistant to infiltration and subversion and he's extremely good at motivating individuals to fight, and his followers respect him immensely. However, he's also pig-headed, individualistic and acknowledges no superior save for God Himself, and his emphatic refusal to defer to others can make him a tremendous pain in the ass to work with.

** This is also one of the differences between the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Dark Elves and High Elves.]] The soldiers of the High Elves are usually citizen-levies trained to defend Ulthuan from external threats (though exceptions such as the [[DragonRider Dragon Princes of Caledor]] exist). In contrast, the Dark Elves pride themselves on martial ability and are usually raiders and warriors, using slave labor for menial labor. The difference arises from the fact that the "original" Dark Elves, the Naggarothi, were solely devoted to warfare while the rest of Ulthuan was composed of farmers, poets, scholars, etc.

* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "Patriot Act" has a short argument along these lines between Shining Knight (warrior) and General Eiling/The Shaggy Man (soldier). Shining Knight, who follows only causes he believes in, willfully disobeyed the orders of his superior [[NeverHurtAnInnocent that would involve attacking civilians]]. Eiling, who believes in MyCountryRightOrWrong and obeying the chain of command, replies that makes him a lousy soldier.

* Raj Whitehall of ''Literature/TheGeneral'' makes a point of this distinction in conversation with a young 'barb' hostage and then proves his point when his 'soldiers' slaughter the barbarian 'warriors'.

* In ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', Kyril Sutherland is a character with a "warrior" skill set and a "soldier" mindset, blending the two seemingly opposing roles together.
** '''Warrior:''' Kyril has the capabilities to be the pinnacle of a warrior. A MultiMeleeMaster, a MultiRangedMaster, a LightningBruiser, and the WorldsStrongestMan to boot. [[ResurrectiveImmortality Death is a minor inconvenience]] to him, so he [[{{Determinator}} keeps going]] as long as he draws breath. In other words, Kyril is anything a warrior dreams of.
** '''Soldier:''' Despite being seen as a bonafide warrior InUniverse, Kyril's philosophy is a full-on soldier. He [[CombatPragmatist doesn't care about honor]], and certainly not the notion of ARealManIsAKiller either, for he believes that combat is a chore to be endured. In the battlefield, he is a FourStarBadass that leads his own MenOfSherwood, emphasising discipline, logistics, [[StrategyVersusTactics tactics and strategy]]. Ultimately, he is a ShellShockedVeteran who just wants a piece of [[CallToAgriculture farmland]] to [[HomeSweetHome live out the rest of his life in peace]].

A work that pits these two against each other typically invokes RomanticismVersusEnlightenment, EmotionsVsStoicism or OrderVersusChaos, and either side can be shown as right or wrong. A work favoring the Soldiers will typically portray the Warriors as a StrawmanEmotional, TheHorde, or some other disorganized mass of wild and barbaric creatures. A work favoring the Warriors will typically portray the Soldiers as a mindless RedShirtArmy, with no spirit or individuality. Some works may not favor either, but will simply show them as two different (but necessary) OpposingCombatPhilosophies.

*** Homelander was created in a labratory to be a SuperSoldier meant to forward the interests of Vought International, however because he was too overpowered at birth and had to be conditioned in order to limit the danger he posed to everyone caused him to develop a LackOfEmpathy for those around him as well as a strong Narcissist Complex which puts Homelander firmly in the '''Warrior''' category due to him only really doing any sort of Heroics [[ItsAllAboutMe if it can make him look good to the public]], and that he's so UnskilledButStrong that at times Homelander had caused [[DestructiveSavior far too much collateral damage in stopping threats]] that Vought had to find some way in order to cover it up with; even going as far as Homelander leaving a commercial liner that he and another Supe went to save to just crash after Homelander accidentally destroyed the flight controls instead of trying to manually land the plane with his SuperStrength like how Superman did in ''Film/SupermanReturns'', because Homelander [[HeKnowsTooMuch didn't want any of the other passengers to tell the public about his mistake,]] along with threatening his fellow Supe into silence about it. [[spoiler:The Warrior loses.]]

* A '''Warrior''' is a fighter using his martial spirit and personal philosophy to fight, typically for honor and glory. To him, warfare is a [[SocialDarwinism contest of the fittest]] meant to decide a victor through either prowess, cunning, or divine providence. Warriors are often competitive, to the degree that [[EnemiesEqualsGreatness having enemies]] that [[WorthyOpponent challenge them]] is more important than fulfilling objectives. Individual initiative is given more weight, and they typically [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass look down on those who don't see combat or strength as a core virtue]]. Warriors typically consider themselves warriors at all times, even when not equipped for combat.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Erastil, the LawfulGood deity of family and rural communities, has a soldierly outlook: he encourages martial training as a means of protecting one's community. He deeply dislikes the setting's primary WarGod, Gorum, a ChaoticNeutral god whom Erastil considers a brute and a bully.

'''Canderous Ordo:''' The horrors of war? My people know only the glory of victory. I'm disappointed in you, Carth. I thought a warrior like you could understand.\\

* The Arab Revolt during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI pitted Arab tribal levies (warrior) against the military of the Ottoman Empire (soldier). British soldier UsefulNotes/TELawrence famously sent to coordinate between the Arab rebels and the Entente Powers, recalls in his autobiography ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' having to make concessions to the traditions of the Arabs' raiding culture and allow them to fight the way they knew rather than according to Western doctrines, including allowing them to pillage after victories, simply because they were so baked-in he couldn't stop them. Unusually for modern examples of this trope, the warriors won, though not without considerable help from Britain and France.

* Generally (but not always) colonial forces versus natives, respectively -- particularly US Army versus Native Americans, and the British versus Dervishes, Afghans, and most African groups (but technically not the Zulus, who also had an organized army). Exceptions largely prove the rule; after victories such as the Little Bighorn and the Monongahela, even Isandlwana, native forces were typically disorganized or shattered by casualties, and failed to follow up. This enabled the Europeans to come back later and clean up the pieces -- "punitive expeditions" were innumerable in the colonial era. (Also, for what it's worth the Zulus of Isandlwana were only "warriors" in comparison to the ultra-organised, industrialised Brits; by the standards of the native southern African kingdoms, they were a highly disciplined, professional fighting force.)

* Generally (but not always) colonial forces versus natives, respectively -- particularly US Army versus Native Americans, and the British versus Dervishes, Afghans, and most African groups (but technically not the Zulus, who also had an organized army). Exceptions largely prove the rule; after victories such as the Little Bighorn and the Monongahela, even Isandlwanha, native forces were typically disorganized or shattered by casualties, and failed to follow up. This enabled the Europeans to come back later and clean up the pieces -- "punitive expeditions" were innumerable in the colonial era.

*** The British and the Japanese at the time used flights of three in the "Vic" formation, one leader and two wingmen. Meanwhile, the Americans and the Germans used the "finger four" formation, one veteran pilot with a junior wingman and one slightly less veteran pilot with a slightly less junior wingman (to balance the two teams). In this case, the Americans and the Germans were Soldiers, with the two fighters in each section working together to take down enemies while covering their sixes and coordinating with each other for more advanced maneuvers, such as the Thach Weave. In comparison, the Japanese broke into three individual fighter pilots, proving devastatingly effective early on, when their veteran fighters were facing green Americans, but much less so as attrition wore them down and their opponents became more and more experienced themselves. The British, rooted in outdated cavalry mentalities, rigidly stuck to their three-plane flights that had no real advantage.

* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "Patriot Act" has a short argument along these lines between Shining Knight (warrior) and General Eiling/The Shaggy Man (soldier). Shining Knight, who follows only causes he believes in, wilfully disobeyed the orders of his superior [[NeverHurtAnInnocent that would involve attacking civilians]]. Eiling, who believes in MyCountryRightOrWrong and obeying the chain of command, replies that makes him a lousy soldier.

* Literature/TheBrightestShadow: The terms are used similarly to the trope, but with the added twist that soldiers are usually untrained in sein, making warriors unquestionably superior. In war, they're fundamentally different lines of training.

* In the ''Videogame/MechWarrior''/''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'' universe, this is one of the reasons why the Inner Sphere is able to hold off the Clans. Despite the Clans being a faction of humanity who embraces battle, having [[LostTechnology superior technology]], a [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority highly militarized culture]], and with [[DesignerBabies genetically enhanced soldiers]], the clans are more like honorable combatants, [[ProudWarriorRace fighting for individual glory and honor]]. The Inner Sphere, though less unified and with inferior mechs and technology, fights like ''soldiers,'' and manage to trick the clans multiple times into ambushes, one-sided routs, and more. At one point, a Clan fighter pilot pauses after damaging an Inner Sphere pilot, to salute her... and then gets blown out of the sky by the Inner Sphere pilot.

* North Vietnam and it's allies (warriors) vs South Vietnam and it's allies (soldiers) during the UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar

* orth Vietnam and it's allies (warriors) vs South Vietnam and it's allies (soldiers) during the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar

In a story that involves a ProudWarriorRace or fighting culture, you'll eventually have the eternal debate: Is it better to be a soldier or a warrior?

One complication that can be commonly seen in cultural comparisons, but not as frequently represented in fiction, is that a more organized force often displays more of the connotations associated with the Warrior aspect, a standing army often being seen as more warlike than one relying on civilian levies.

* ''LightNovel/TheAsteriskWar'' leans on highly individualized warriors fighting in tournament-style duels and matches as popular entertainment. However, the Gryps Festa tourney uniquely revolves around five-on-five matches where [[GoldenSnitch only defeating the team leader is necessary to win the match]], forcing much more teamwork. This dichotomy is ultimately what does in Team Lancelot in the Gryps Final at the end of Volume 10. [[spoiler:Lancelot leader Ernest Fairclough, dueling main protagonist Ayato, inadvertently damages Ayato's Ser Veresta and disables it. Ayato discards the O[[EmpathicWeapon Orga Lux]] for his backup weapon, and Ernest tosses aside his own Orga Lux[[note]]violating its Code of Conduct in the process, meaning he can never wield it again[[/note]] and pulls his own out of a desire to duel Ayato personally. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Instead]], Ayato's teammates quickly break free of their own opponents and gang up on Ernest, with Claudia breaking his badge to win the match. In his warrior desire for a climactic duel with Ayato, Ernest forgot he was supposed to be fighting as part of a ''team''.]]

In a story that involves a ProudWarriorRace or fighting culture, you'll eventually have the eternal debate: Is it better to be a soldier, or a warrior?

* A '''Warrior''' is a fighter using his martial spirit and personal philosophy to fight, typically for honor and glory. To him, warfare is a [[SocialDarwinism contest of the fittest]] meant to decide a victor through either prowess, cunning or divine providence. Warriors are often competitive, to the degree that [[EnemiesEqualsGreatness having enemies]] that [[WorthyOpponent challenge them]] is more important than fulfilling objectives. Individual initative is given more weight, and they typically [[WhatMeasureIsANonBadass look down on those who don't see combat or strength as a core virtue]]. Warriors typically consider themselves warriors at all times, even when not equipped for combat.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Lieutenant Kira and his 3rd squad of Soul Reapers as a whole consider themselves as Soldiers while the 11th squad consider themselves warriors. Kira displays the difference wonderfully during his fight against Abirama Redder. While Redder pumps himself up before their fight and shouts with pure joy of bloodlust during the fight, Kira fights with grim determination. Kira wins, with memorable line "A bird without wings is dinner. Farewell, warrior of the sky". 3rd Squad's moto and flower mean "Despair during fighting", while 11th squad's is "Honor in fighting". 6th squad's is neither here nor there, with "personal pride during fighting".

** The Hero Association is a chaotic, disorganized mess with multiple factions vying for power and internal politicking prevalent. Their heroes don't work together, don't care about public perception, have no interest in organizational issues (barring a few exceptions) and are content to do their own thing. Their best assets are battle-hardened warriors including [[PsychicPowers the world's strongest esper]], [[SuperSpeed an ultra-fast, highly trained ninja assassin]], [[MadScientist possibly the most talented scientist in the world]] and [[WorldsStrongestMan King]], among others. They are orders of magnitude stronger than almost any threat the world faces.
** The [[spoiler:Neo Heroes]] are a heavily regimented organization who care about their image, take pains to share technology among their entire hero-list, and rely on artificial intelligence and systematic processes to assign heroes to cases according to their abilities. Their best assets, the [[spoiler:Neo Leaders]] are seen struggling against monsters that the Hero Association's best would dispatch without effort (barring a few exceptions). Their emphasis on structure and rules means they are unable to hire or retain the truly exceptional talents who require flexibility and freedom. [[spoiler:However, the Neo Heroes are later shown to be indifferent to caualities and will use the bodies of the fallen to make blind, obedient slave cyborgs. Furthermore, they stage a lot of the monster attacks.]] While some Neo Leaders try to actually work as team and protect their weaker members, others will fly off on their own (Blue) or use their followers as fodder to test their opponents (Suiryu).

* ''Anime/MacrossDelta'' has the Chaos mercenary group as the Soldiers and the Aerial Knights of Windemere as the Warriors. The Chaos pilots use strategy, military discipline and pragmatism to counter the Knights' ideals of chivalry and honor in combat. Ernest Johnson, the commander of Chaos, served as an instructor for the Windemerean military, working alongside King Gramia. They both discussed this trope, with Gramia expressing the importance of principles and ideals in battle, while Johnson said that as a mercenary, he couldn't afford to believe in such things because his job was to win, no questions asked.

** Demonstrated in an annual story written by Kurt Busiek, in which the Avengers and the Squadron Supreme are forced into a "HuntingTheMostDangerousGame" scenario by a super-villain called The Champion. The Champion, a BloodKnight that kills and terrorizes to prove himself the best at everything and curb-stomps both teams in individual combat, is the Warrior. Cap, who secretly contacted Ant-Man as soon as he could so he could defuse the weapon of mass destruction that the Champion was using to force both teams to play his game (thus making the whole fight a distraction) and eventually reveals that they did everything they did to save lives as he leads them into ganging up on the Champion and curb-stomp him as he's whining that it's not fair, proves himself as the Soldier yet again.

* Hans von Hammer, the VillainProtagonist of ''ComicBook/EnemyAce'', is a Warrior through and through, with a sense of respect for any enemy pilot that he considers to be a WorthyOpponent. He also places a great deal of emphasis on the chivalry and honor of aerial combat, to the point of dismissing more technologically advanced airplanes as "dishonorable".

* The fight between Leo and Ted in ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'' plays out as this; with Leo being a StoutStrength [[{{LARP}} Larper]] that was [[SummonEverymanHero summoned]] in order to defeat Darth Vulcan, thinking that he would reciprocate a DuelToTheDeath like other supervillains would do. Ted however, is a CombatPragmatist who doesn't hold any values for MookChivalry and will take any advantage presented to him.

** '''Soldier:''' Despite being seen as a bona-fide warrior InUniverse, Kyril's philosophy is a full-on soldier. He [[CombatPragmatist doesn't care about honor]], and certainly not the notion of ARealManIsAKiller either, for he believes that combat is a chore to be endured. In the battlefield, he is a FourStarBadass that leads his own MenOfSherwood, emphasising discipline, logistics, [[StrategyVersusTactics tactics and strategy]]. Ultimately, he is a ShellShockedVeteran who just wants a piece of [[CallToAgriculture farmland]] to [[HomeSweetHome live out the rest of his life in peace]].

* ''Film/TheLastSamurai'' is practically a study and [[{{InvokedTrope}} invoking]] of this trope. Samurai = [[{{ProudWarriorRace}} Warrior]], Imperial Soldier = Soldier. Soldiers at first lose due to lack of training, but eventually win due to better technology once they are trained properly. However the film's sympathies definitely lie with the Warriors, as they become {{Doomed Moral Victor}}s.

* In ''Film/{{Midway|1976}}'', both are professional navies and therefore soldier-like, but the Japanese have a bit of a warrior like feel as well, considering such "victory at any cost" tactics like the kamikaze pilots.

* ''Film/{{Hercules 2014}}'': Hercules and his band compared to the Thracian Army. Hercules' group fight mostly for personal gain, maker a living out of it, are individually more powerful than small groups of soldiers, can work together to defeat larger numbers, and are better for situations that require small, versatile groups. Yet, they cannot defeat the superior numbers and tactics (specifically the shield wall) of the highly disciplined Thracian army who follow the orders of their king regardless of how corrupt he is. It's notable that Hercules and his men are quite capable of fighting as soldiers and cooperating with military units, and in fact trained the Thracian Army in shield-wall tactics. It's just that they are such [[OneManArmy elite badasses]] (particularly [[SuperStrength Hercules]], of course) that they're more useful fighting as a band of warriors than they would be as soldiers in the shield wall.
* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' has the SocialDarwinist augments led by Khan Noonien Singh on the hijacked ''Reliant'' versus the Starfleet-trained (and in-training) crew of the ''Enterprise'' under Admiral Kirk. Khan may have gotten a debilitating first strike when Kirk's adherence to protocol lapses, but once he's back on his game, Kirk has the upper hand for pretty much the rest of the movie, ''despite'' the lingering damage leaving the ''Enterprise'' at a bit of a disadvantage. It really kicks in when you see the MisfitMobilizationMoment / LockAndLoadMontage after they ''Enterprise'' leaves Regula and makes a run for the Mutara Nebula. That boatload of trainees are becoming fightin' spacemen.

* In ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]'', Captain America (the soldier) and Thor (the warrior) literally duke this out in their first encounter -- Cap's determined to keep the group focused on the mission, while Thor charges in to handle things himself. Ultimately however, this actually becomes a CommonalityConnection as they egg each other on during the final battle -- when, notably, Thor defers to Cap in setting the team's tactics, despite having centuries more combat experience; Cap, being a soldier, thinks in group terms, while Thor focuses on personal glory.\\\

* ''Film/{{Taps}}'', if not presenting an outright deconstruction of the warrior ethos, at least heavily favors the soldier side of the equation. The soldiers are precisely that: trained National Guard troops led by by a commander who would like nothing more than to end the conflict without any casualties -- guardsman or cadet. The cadets, however, are naive kids -- high school-aged at most -- brought up on a dangerously romanticized view of war and combat. Most soon crack when exposed to its true horror, and the few that don't drift heavily into BloodKnight territory by the end.

* ''Film/MarchOrDie'': The French Foreign Legion is composed of soldiers stationed in French Morocco. Their current assignment is to safeguard an archeologist while he unearths an ancient burial site. The protection is necessary, as many nomadic tribes view the digging as a violation of their sovreign territory. When the archeologist unearths the "Flower of the Desert," this unites the disparate tribes under the leadership of El Krim, who leads a ZergRush of warriors against the French.

* In ''Literature/{{Gor}}'', the main character of most of the stories, Tarl Cabot, is a trained Warrior. He is a member of the Warrior caste, who have their own Codes and consider their calling honorable. Even between warring cities there is an inherent respect between them. On the other hand, any shlub could pick up a sword and become a brigand, mercenary, or soldier. They don't follow or respect the Codes.

** A variation: Vimes is adamant that the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are ''not'' military, despite wearing swords and armor. This having as much to do with the fact that ArmiesAreUseless in most situations (thanks to Vetinari's diplomacy preventing most conflicts), that Vimes has a very strict code of conduct (having aided in kicking out the former, extremely corrupt Watch) that soldiers won't understand or that military leadership is composed to a man of spectacularly inept bunglers (one of them insists troops move in arrow formations like they appear on maps, others count victories by substracting their losses from the enemy's, another is "the gods' gift to the enemy"...).
** ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' plays this mostly from the warrior's side, Cohen and his band (six old 'heroes' and a teacher, with only the latter being under 80 years) go up against five armies, and are making a pretty good go of it for a while. Justified in universe because they're Conan-style heroes, and Discworld runs on this sort of narrative. It also helps that the vast majority of the soldiers are barely trained and poorly equipped conscripts with terrible morale, with the exception of a few samurai, which Cohen kills by fighting dirty.

** Individually, Unsullied are not particularly notable fighters and are physically weaker than most due to their castration. When fighting in formation, however, their phalanx tactics, lack of fear, immunity to pain and robotic loyalty make them the most feared soldiers in the world. Daenerys learns this the hard way when she assigns her Unsullied to town guard duty. Their heavy shields and long spears are far less valuable on their own and are poorly suited to street fighting, and dissidents are able to easily ambush and kill them. They're wasted off of the battlefield.

** Of course Percy and Jason both kind of blow the above out of the water, basically being the Greeks and Romans respective OneManArmy. Percy is able to cut through companies of Romans without trouble, and Jason has no problem facing down Greeks on his own.

** ''The Warrior'' follows the rivalry between two Slammers with opposing philosophies. Des Grieux, a BloodKnight who named his tank "The Warrior" and has a habit of taking it on rampages when he gets bored that lead to a high killcount for himself but end up costing the company a more important strategic objective. And Broglie, a good soldier who often has to clean up Des Grieux's messes. It's made very clear that if Dex Grieux weren't such a good fighter, Colonel Hammer would have had him shot long ago.

* ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'': Explicitly explored with the conflict between the Mantis-kinden -- a race of exceptionally skilled, honor-driven warriors -- and the Wasp-kinden -- a well-organized, militant empire of soldiers. One-on-one, a Mantis can almost always beat a Wasp thanks to their exceptional skill and personal drive, but in a mass battle the more numerous, more disciplined, and better organized Wasps have the advantage. The Mantis-kinden once routed an entire Wasp army by launching a massive nighttime ambush in which the Wasps were too confused and disorganized to fight back effectively. The next Wasp army the Mantises tried it on had learned from the mistakes of the first, and slaughtered the Mantises with better tactics and new technology. In the context of the series, the Mantises are presented as the tragically doomed remnant of a bygone age, while the Wasps are a forward-thinking but tyrannical military juggernaut; both are heavily flawed, though the Wasps are much more consistently antagonistic (though not without [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch exceptions]]).

* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': The Parshendi and Alethi play with this trope in that both sides take elements of either category. The Parshendi fight like warriors, operating in loose formations with pairs supporting one another during battles, but are philosophically more like soldiers, being united overall with common goals for the war and fighting out of necessity. The Alethi fight like soldiers, mostly working in ranks of regimented spear men and simlar close, organized formations, but are politically and philosophically warriors, being divided and competing for personal glory, seeing battle as the ultimate contest to be won. If they weren't fighting the Parshendi, they would simply be fighting someone else, even each other.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' portrays the war between the Northern Confederation and Azania as a struggle between these philosophies. Azania, a country of [[LadyLand high-tech Amazons]], use technology, communications, firepower and careful staff planning to compensate for the lesser individual strength of their female soldiers, whereas the Confederation armies depend on loosely organized forces of [[ProudWarriorRace brave and spirited militiamen]] to counter these advantages through audacity and numbers.

* The Indian epic Literature/{{Mahabharata}} plays the Warrior trope straight for about 90% of the story, as it is about Kshatriya warrior princes jockeying for power over the kingdom of Hastinapur. They have intricate rules governing when they fight, how they fight, who they fight, where they fight, what actions are considered dishonorable during a fight. Combat between two princes is dealt with more like a duel or a sporting contest, rather than a battle. However, in the final Kurukshetra war, both the "good" Pandava faction and the "evil" Kaurava faction slowly discard these rules, and adapt more soldierly tactics such as perfidy, deception, disinformation, spying, tactical formations, usage of numerical superiority, execution of unarmed combatants, commando raids, targeting civilians, usage of divine weapons including divine [=WMDs=] and generally trying all means neccesary to slaughter the other side. The victorious Pandavas are well aware of this, by the time they win their PyrrhicVictory, and know they have a lot of atonement to do.

*** Early in the war, the Centauri were the Warriors to the Orieni's Soldiers, as the Centauri went in the war to conquer glory by destroying their old enemy while the Orieni carefully planned it, training their forces into an EliteArmy with its own elite forces, trying to weaken the Centauri by supporting Drazi [[SpacePirates raiders]] (in fact the war started when the Centauri captured a raider ship and found an Orieni military technician and Orieni weapons), and making plans to get around the Centauri's enormous economic superiority-the Orieni's goal wasn't even to conquer the Centauri, just to take a chunk of their territory and relative resources (especially [[{{Unobtainium}} quantium-40]] mines, as their own space was scarce in that resource and it showed in the Centauri's superiority in numbers and quality of their jump drives) to bridge the gap, completely integrate it, and then repeat it until the Centauri were finally weak enough to be fully conquered.

*** The well-trained and disciplined Centauri Royal Navy are the Soldiers to the House Militias' Warriors, though as the war erodes the Houses' power in favor of the central government's the Royal Navy ''forces'' the Militias to become a Soldiers' force.

*** House Torra and their subordinates are the Warriors to the Abbai's Soldiers, with Torra ignoring the demands of the war in favor of a strike against a perceived weak power to try and capture glory, territory and their superior technology (specifically ArtificialGravity, that the Centauri hadn't developed yet, and DeflectorShields, that the Centauri wouldn't develop ''period'') while the Abbai fought pragmatically in defense of their homeworld, even limiting the use of {{Space Fighter}}s because they perceived them as a waste of lives and couldn't make ones capable of competing with the Centauri's anyway. In spite of numberical inferiority, the Abbai held long enough for the Centauri Republic to to win the war and use the vastly superior numbers and skills of the Royal Navy and non-Torra militias to force House Torra and its allies to give up.

*** The Drakh are firmly on the Soldier side compared to everyone, convincing House Torra to not support the Centauri war effort and influencing House Syma (then the strongest Centauri Great House) to the point that when the emperor died in an aircar accident (that investigations revealed caused by a genuine software flaw no Centauri could exploit-but the Drakh could) they launched a coup, feigning submission to the Orieni (who, as worshipers of the Vorlon, were automatically enemies) and pledging military forces just to get them to make an offensive that failed precisely because of the lack of Drakh support, and even sacrificing the world they used as base as the time just to weaken the Orieni more (being actually a space-based race, the actual damage was minimal).
*** The Minbari, finally, are again the Warriors for the same reasons detailed above. Given their technological superiority they could have forced an end to the war at any time but refused to take part, limiting their involvement to threats of utter devastation if the Centauri or the Orieni violated their neutrality (both nations wisely accepted their conditions, with the Centauri reining in anyone stupid enough to even ''propose'' to use Minbari space to bypass the fortified border systems).

** The run of the Twelfth Doctor revisits this dichotomy between rival love interests the Doctor and Danny Pink, with the added classification of "Officer". The viewer knows both of them as soldiers: the Doctor with the Time War, and Danny traumatized by the violence he was ordered to commit, and the people he could not help. These experiences weigh deeply on them both. However rather than getting to know Danny, the Doctor almost immediately starts insulting him, stemming partly from his assumptions that Danny is a "warrior", for the worse. Danny then pegs the Doctor as an "officer", the ArmchairMilitary type that pushes people under his command beyond their breaking points, with little regard for them as people. The Doctor is of course entirely inaccurate, but Danny is inaccurate in believing the Doctor doesn't get personally involved, as the Doctor was more directly involved in ending the time war than anyone else. Danny was right about how far the Doctor pushes people, which is a trend the families of Rose and Martha have directly stated. Danny [[spoiler:dies to ensure Clara and the planet are safe, which the Doctor takes advantage of, having actually been forced into an officer role for the planet's defense. Danny then turns down his chance at resurrection, to save one of the people he could not help.]] [[WhatTheHellHero The Doctor pretty much forgets about him after that,]] further proving Danny right.

** Main cast member Ka D'argo is of a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Soldier Race]]. While the Luxans feature a warrior-like culture emphasizing personal honor and feting ancestral victories and melee weapons (their signature weapon is a [[MorphWeapon broadsword that converts to a pulse rifle]]), when we're shown Luxan combatants besides D'argo in the GrandFinale, they actually fight in a militarized manner, concentrating on their objective rather than personal glory. D'argo himself did serve extensively in combat, but decided to become a farmer after completing his term of service. There's actually a genetic component to this; Luxan males are HotBlooded to the point of occasional random berserker rages when they're young adults, and D'argo doesn't reach emotional maturity until the last season. Older veterans like the squad they meet have grown past that.

** ''Histories & Lore'' are a series of animated segments that appear on the Blu-Ray releases of each season. Narrated by the actors from the viewpoints of their characters, they explain the history and legends of Westeros and serve to flesh out the back story of the series. In the Season 2 segment ''Greyjoy Rebellion: Stannis Baratheon'', Stannis recalls the failed rebellion of House Greyjoy and the rest of the Ironborn, which took place several years prior to the start of the series. He discusses this trope at length, talking about how the Ironborn's warrior mindset and lust for glory was used against them.
--->''"I set a trap for the Iron Fleet off of Fair Isle. As sailors and warriors the Ironborn are unparalleled, but they're not soldiers. They have [[TheHorde no discipline]], [[LeeroyJenkins no strategy]], [[DividedWeFall no unity]]. In battle each man fights only for his own glory, and their ships are built for [[FragileSpeedster lightning strikes and shore raids]]. Once the captains rushed in, I smashed them with [[MightyGlacier our larger war galleys]]."''

* The title character in ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''. He initially works with the Romans to protect his people. When a glory seeking Roman officer wants him to fight an unrelated enemy, he refuses. After being enslaved and becoming a Gladiator, he fights to survive and for his freedom, rather than the glory other gladiators, such as Crixus, strive for.

*** To the Federation Starfleet, the Jems are Warriors. They are literally born knowing how to fight with a hyper-aggressive spirit to match, and are fully-fledged grunts within a few weeks. They have a religious devotion to the Dominion's Founders, and their BadassCreed states that they are dead when they go into battle, with victory being the only way to reclaim their lives. They also have zero respect for any distinction between military and civilian that Starfleet would draw, and will happily exterminate entire species if so ordered.

'''Chief Petty Officer Miles O'Brian:''' I am Chief Miles Edward O'Brien. I'm very much alive and I intend to stay that way!

** "Shiroyama" and "Rorke's Drift" both describe this kind of matchup. In both cases the soldiers win, but which side is honored is different in each song.
*** At Shiroyama, the samurai of the Satsuma Rebellion are simply too far outnumbered by the Imperial Japanese Army, and go out in a blaze of glory.

** The Battle of Tukkayid itself was a resounding example of this trope in action, as the majority of the victories the Clans won in the battle were due to "un-Clan-like" tactics such as Clan Jade Falcon using the unorthodox Falcon Guards who fought with Inner Sphere style tactics. Clan Wolf simply discarded the normal Clan-like emphasis on quick and brutal fights and prepared for a long, drawn-out battle in which they outright suspended ''[[DuelToTheDeath batchalls]]'' and other forms of honorable combat, especially after witnessing this very thing getting the Steel Vipers virtually annihilated when the defending Comstar units [[HonorBeforeReason baited them with challenges that goaded them into charging into traps and deadly terrain.]] The Clans that fought like warriors generally inflicted heavy losses due to the superiority of their Mechs and pilots, but were outmaneuvered strategically by the Comstar armies.
** However, the Inner Sphere does get some of the Warrior traits depending on the Great House -- [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld House Kurita]] values "honor", and many commanders emphasize melee combat even when it's disadvantageous. That said, even they are not so foolish as the Clans in that regard: the armed forces of the Draconis Combine (the realm that House Kurita rules) were victorious at the Battle of Wolcott, where [[BloodKnight Clan Smoke Jaguar]] forces were defeated with Inner Sphere subterfuge specifically exploiting the Clan rules of engagement. The Draconis unit defending Wolcott ''appeared'' green and new, but was actually an elite unit with the insignias scrubbed off. They also deliberately lied in the batchall about the amount of forces as well, leading to the Jaguars woefully underbidding against what they thought was a paltry green unit defending.

** The Hell's Horses are the only faction among the Clans that espouse a lot more Soldier traits than Warrior. Their philosophy is based on "man comes before the machine", in which the individual soldier is valued over whichever tool of warfare he chooses. Specifically, there is little to no discrimination between their military and civilian castes as their philosophy plants them as an integral part of the greater whole of the Clan. Moreover, the Hell's Horses place less emphasis on the strength of the [=BattleMech=] and more on the conventional vehicles and infantry in regards to the centuries-old approach of combined arms warfare. While this philosophy comes off as rather unorthodox and quaint by the other Clans, the Hell's Horses have surprisingly thrived with this approach throughout the later passing centuries and maintained effective stability in their society even as the other supposedly 'superior' Clans have outpaced them with their traditional "[=BattleMech=] over others" approach to warfare.
** The Star Adders, while much more warrior-like in individual outlook, were founded on the principle of [[CombatPragmatist Combat Pragmatism]]. As a result, while they still fight as warriors, their armies put a soldier-like emphasis on groundwork, military intelligence and preparation into any individual campaign. Notably, during the planned Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere the Star Adders were the only clan who had done wargames using Inner Sphere tactics and made a long-term plan for the logistics needed to realistically take and hold the Inner Sphere, and during the Great Refusal that ended the Clan threat for good Clan Star Adder won their trial by ambushing tactics, which the Inner Sphere had been completely unprepared for.

** Soldiers would be the Tau, Imperial Guard and Necrons. Both Tau and humans have a strict, no-nonsense approach to fighting and winning war, just with different tactics involved: the Tau are like the late-war Red Army, carefully husbanding their forces with good intelligence and the precise application of long-range firepower, while the Imperial Guard are more like the early-war Red Army, carefully sacrificing forces to maximise their delivery of massed firepower from artillery and infantry. The Necrons are unthinking constructs with little in the way of a warrior culture, but are fanatically determined to slay every living thing they can get their metal hands on.

*** Despite the above, the supreme leader of the Black Legion, Abaddon the Despoiler, had been much more of a Warrior than a Soldier in past rules editions. He is arguably the most powerful close-quarters combatants in the game, [[CripplingOverspecialization but that was it]]. Unlike most commanders, he had no support abilities to help his army. His current has alleviated this somewhat, but his biggest strength remains to be that he's one of the meanest things in melee.
*** There's also the distinction between the Space Marines and the Custodes, the Emperor's personal troops and bodyguards. While the Marines place great pride in fighting "as brothers" with different specialists supporting each other, the Custodes fight as individual warriors. On a few occasions this has led to Marine characters completely losing respect for them, even thought the Custodes were cutting through enemies like paper.
** The Tyranids are surprisingly Soldier-like. While their only motivation is to [[HordeOfAlienLocusts eat the galaxy and multiply]] and one might think they'd be Warriors due to their use of the ZergRush (they were the zerg before [[VideoGame/StarCraft the actual zerg]] were), on the battlefield they rely heavily on the centralized coordination of their HiveMind, to the point where one of the most effective ways to deal with their ground forces is killing the larger "synapse creatures" that act like psychic radio repeaters in order to strip the swarm of its leadership. During invasions they also pre-prepare the battlefield often decades or centuries ahead of time by infiltrating genestealers into planetary populations, rather like a normal army might use covert operations forces to weaken a target before deploying the main army, and they use fairly sophisticated tactics while they fight.

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': This the central contrast between Laurence, Archangel of the Sword and current leader of TheArmiesOfHeaven, and [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], Archangel of War and former holder of this position:

*** Goku is the Warrior. He openly enjoys a good fight and trains himself to be strongest fighter he can be. He has always seen fighting as a way of self-improvement, only wants to fight opponents at their full strength and even compliments opponents who help him push himself harder. He doesn't take a fight seriously unless his enemy can stand up to him or has done something to piss him off, like threatening his friends and family. Goku is a good person and a hero, but his passion for fighting can cloud his better judgment. [[spoiler:The Warrior loses.]]
*** Superman is the Soldier. He fights not for himself, but to protect others. His first and foremost concern is to save people from danger; as such, he will attempt to disable his opponents in the quickest and most efficient way possible without killing them.[[note]]In DC canon, the only people Superman has fought with lethal intent are Darkseid, Brainiac and Doomsday.[[/note]] Superman only sees fighting as a form of protection and will only use his full power when he has no other choice. [[spoiler:The Soldier wins.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' this is the dynamic between the Fire Nation and Water Tribes. The Fire Nation prides itself in its highly structured and professional military. Their soldiers are uniformly equipped and are all about obeying the chain of command, and they fight for the purpose of serving the Fire Lord. For the Water Tribes, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriorhood is the heart of their culture]]. They are more free spirited in that while one is expected to respect those above their station, all warriors are expected to demonstrate leadership and initiative, and their unique talents are often a valuable contribution. This is especially true in the Northern Water Tribe, where the wisdom of a fellow warrior must be considered. Water Tribe warriors tend to fight with a variety of skills and weaponry, but have a tendency to charge into fights recklessly. By ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the Northern Water Tribe eventually phased out their warrior caste in favor of adopting a professional military, while the Southern Water Tribe are still more warrior-like as they were in the Hundred Year War.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower,'' the Horde relies on uniformly armed and equipped squads of soldiers, with a few [[QuirkyMinibossSquad uniquely talented individuals]] allowed to [[NonUniformUniform customize their equipment as they see fit.]] The eponymous princesses, by contrast, are all unique {{Magical Girl}}s who rely on their ElementalPowers to win the day. Particularly illustrated by Adora, a defector from the Horde, who initially has trouble adjusting to the ''lack'' of discipline among the princesses.

* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' episode "Patriot Act" has a short argument on these lines between Shining Knight (warrior) and General Eiling/The Shaggy Man (soldier). Shining Knight, who follows only causes he believes in, wilfully disobeyed the orders of his superior [[NeverHurtAnInnocent that would involve attacking civilians]]. Eiling, who believes in MyCountryRightOrWrong and obeying the chain of command, replies that makes him a lousy soldier.

** Finnish conscripts' creed ''Sissi on sika siviilissäkin'' (a Ranger is a swine[[note]]"swine" means "ruthless person" in Finnish slang[[/note]] even in civilian life) reflects this: even when having completed one's tour of duty, a Ranger (Coastal Ranger, Parachute Ranger, Border Ranger, Frontier Ranger, Long Range Reconnaissance etc) is assumed to keep up his fighting and survival skills to be called to duty at any moment.
* Roman legions versus native warriors, such as Gauls, Celts, and Germans. The Romans are well-known as one of the first states to create a professional army with carefully codified tactics and organization, whereas nearly all of their opponents relied on calling up native militias. It initially went well for the Romans in most cases, but one of the things that stopped the Roman Empire's expansion was because they ran out of rich opponents to steamroll and pillage with their (very expensive) superior army. Political infighting and looming economical bankruptcy eventually sent the Western half of the empire on a path to self-destruction and the "barbarians" moved in to pick up the pieces in the 5th century.\\

The Germanic tribes also famously handed Rome one of the worst military defeats in its history in 9 CE at the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. The overconfident Roman governor Publius Quinctilius Varus, spurred on by Arminius, a Roman-educated German who was spying for the tribes, led three legions, auxiliaries, and cavalry into thick woods and weather (it was pouring down rain) that favored the lightly equipped Germanic warriors. Arminius used the tribes' strength to hit the weaknesses in Roman tactics, hitting various parts of the Roman line in HitAndRunTactics through the woods. When the dust settled, over 16,000 Romans were dead or enslaved (Varus included; [[DecapitationPresentation Arminius sent his head to another chief in [vain] hopes of securing an alliance]]) and the Empire had lost control of everything east of the Rhine. On the flipside, in an ensuing reprisal campaign a Roman army managed to bring the Germans to battle in open field combat, [[CurbStompBattle the Romans' best terrain]], and Arminius was later assassinated due to tribal politics.

* The Mongols are often characterized as a barbarous example of TheHorde, but in truth UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan organized them into a professional army of soldiers, a highly-trained, -regimented, -motivated, and therefore highly-effective fighting force. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_military_tactics_and_organization The Other Wiki explains.]]
** The 13th century Mongol invasion of Europe illustrates this. Though a European knight was no less a fighter than his Mongol counterpart, the Mongols initially had superior organization, discipline and tactics. The knightly approach to warfare, i.e. a glorious headlong charge, made them nearly helpless against the Mongol {{Horse Archer}}s' use of the DefensiveFeintTrap and other HitAndRunTactics. It also helped a lot Subudei, Baidar, and Batu were the most brilliant generals of the era -- the later Mongol generals were not up to their par.

%%** As for philosophy, the Mongols were unique. Soldiers are typically employed by established, permanent states to protect their interests. The Mongols, despite their tactical prowess and discipline, [[http://www.timemaps.com/civilization/The-Mongol-Empire were largely steppe nomads, and until Genghis Khan, lacked a permanent settlement.]] With their unmatched capability, they brutally destroyed every civilization they came in contact with unless they immediately surrendered, killing untold numbers that scholars cannot agree on even today, but [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_under_the_Mongol_Empire probably ranged between the tens and hundreds of millions.]] It is their apparent enmity to Western civilization that got them characterized as [[HordesFromTheEast an evil barbarian horde]]. Mongols demanded strict loyalty and discipline, but didn't really care about fulfilling a cause or protecting interests.

* Native American auxiliaries vs. Scottish Highlanders, on the same side. The native warriors would find it difficult to replace their numbers, and thought that any deaths were a failure. For this reason, they refused to do very dangerous jobs. By contrast, Scottish Highlanders were perfectly happy to [[AttackAttackAttack charge straight into musket fire]]; they'd lose a few, but they'd slaughter the enemy in the ensuing close combat, and their professional status meant casualties could be replaced. As a result, the Scots thought the Americans were [[DirtyCoward cowards]], while the Americans thought the Scots had a [[FearlessFool deathwish]].
* In 16th-17th century Russia there was actually a semantic difference between old-style Warriors and new-style Soldiers (Soldaty, using the Saxon word for 'soldier') which quite neatly mirrored the real distinctions in recruitment and training between the two. Needless to say, and UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}} aside, the Soldaty triumphed as the age of Gunpowder Warfare went on.
** It is also neatly demonstrated in colonial warfare. The Cossack bands did pretty well in the initial clashes with the Siberian natives, but then they were actually a rather well ordered force compared to the most of the natives. But when the task turned to actually ''administrating'' the conquered lands, the MildlyMilitary Cossacks turned out rather inefficient, as they were more interested in living off the lands and often ended up needlessly brutalizing the locals, which is why the regular troops were brought in instead.

* UsefulNotes/WorldWarII could be considered a case study on this. Despite all combatants technically being soldiers, the Axis powers tended to ideologically shift closer to warrior while the Allies were firmly on the side of soldier. Fascist and Nazi ideas of war were all about having a glorious triumph over the enemy or a glorious death. Japan based their war effort around the samurai way of life or rather the Hollywood version of it. Their training was more about mentally preparing their combatants how to kill. By contrast the Western allies propaganda was all about making the Axis problem go away so that they could live in peace. Their training often ignored making combatants ready for war and instead focused on working as a group and other useful skills [[note]] [[AcePilot Saburo Sakai]] wrote of this, stating specifically that while individual Japanese pilots tended to be better-trained and highly skilled as individual pilots, their near-complete lack of team tactics was one of the main contributors to their defeat in the air. For instance in the early years of the Pacific theatre, the Japanese Zeroes were superior dogfighting planes to American ones of that time, but the US Navy air tactical genius, John Thache, developed the Thache Weave, a double-team fighter defensive maneuver that could even the odds so well that Sakai himself had a close call escaping it.[[/note]].

*** The British and the Japanese at the time used flights of three in the "Vic" formation, one leader and two wingmen. Meanwhile the Americans and the Germans used the "finger four" formation, one veteran pilot with a junior wingman and one slightly less veteran pilot with a slightly less junior wingman (to balance the two teams). In this case, the Americans and the Germans were Soldiers, with the two fighters in each section working together to take down enemies while covering their sixes and co-ordinating with eachother for more advanced manuveurs, such as the Thach Weave. In comparison, the Japanese broke into three individual fighter pilots, proving devastatingly effective early on, when their veteran fighters were facing green Americans, but much less so as attrition wore them down and their opponents became more and more experienced themselves. The British, rooted in outdated cavalry mentalities, rigidly stuck to their three-plane flights that had no real advantage.
** As for the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn USSR]] it was a bit complicated. Well, the Red Army mostly wanted to be firmly on the side of soldiers. However the political side of the thing, as in most of the actual government, was simply ''in love'' with the idea of a "revolutionary soldier" which falls more to the side of warrior. In this idea barely trained "revolutionaries" would go out and try and rally the oppressed masses to fight for the Soviet Union against the outside threat. The concept was incredibly divorced from reality, but was politically a dangerous-to-deviate-from mainstream, and thus prevailed for the most of 20's and 30's. Only after the Soviets were dealt a number of very humiliating [[CurbStompBattle curb stomps]] in the workup to the WWII proper, the political brass, including UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, let the Red Army do its thing. Still, the Red Army itself was most emphatically ''not'' a monolitic structure, there's been [[WeAreStrugglingTogether a lot of competing concepts and approaches]],[[note]]Though not to the [[EnemyCivilWar Japanese level]].[[/note]] which is why the Warrior mindset survived right to the Nazi attack, which was one of the reasons for the initial defeats. Only then it was definitely shown to be the less efficient approach, and the Soviet Military swung very heavily to the soldier side, fighting to live against an enemy that would enslave or kill them all if triumphed.
* Fighter pilots vs ground attack or bomber pilots also has this dynamic. Fighter pilots behave more like warriors, living for the dogfight, measuring their self worth by how many dogfights they've won, and often feeling a sense of kinship even with enemy fighter pilots who have been successful. This is best illustrated by the sheer amount of respect Baron Richtofen got, even among American, British, and Commonwealth fighter pilots (who gave him a burial with full military honours, with attendees actually ''weeping''). On the other hand, ground attack and bomber pilots behave more like soldiers, seeing their job as not a great adventure that brings them glory, but as a grim business that needs to be done to win the war. The sheer amount of intricate planning that goes into strike missions and even Air Support missions, further illustrates this. For example, in an AlphaStrike on a hardened target, a fighter pilot escorting a bomber might become an Ace and feel that he had a good mission, but if that bomber ends up being shot down without destroying the target, the mission is considered failed.
** As with most forms of warfare, the advancement of technology has turned the fighter pilots of most major militaries into functional Soldiers. They may have a reputation of being a cocky and arrogant Warrior stereotype on the ground, but when they're in the air, their job is to accomplish the mission with as few friendly casualties as possible (preferably none). Notably, modern pilots are communicating with friendly forces constantly, for better situational awareness and coordination. They often given up kills to other pilots who are better positioned to take the shot. They may even let enemy aircraft go if trying to persue the enemy involves overextending or getting out of position and putting friendly forces at risk.
* The Arab Revolt during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI pitted Arab tribal levies (warrior) against the military of the Ottoman Empire (soldier). British soldier UsefulNotes/TELawrence, famously sent to coordinate between the Arab rebels and the Entente Powers, recalls in his autobiography ''Seven Pillars of Wisdom'' having to make concessions to the traditions of the Arabs' raiding culture and allow them to fight the way they knew rather than according to Western doctrines, including allowing them to pillage after victories, simply because they were so baked-in he couldn't stop them. Unusually for modern examples of this trope, the warriors won, though not without considerable help from Britain and France.

* A non-human example: sharks (warriors) vs orcas (soldiers). Sharks being generally solitary hunters who rely more on instinct and their physical abilities to make a kill while orcas hunt in highly coordinated groups and use a variety of complex strategies to dispatch their prey. However, they also go against the fictional tend of soldiers being more professional as they've been known to "play" with their food in a manner that some describe as sadistic as well as sometimes killing animals for no apparent reason, sharks typically only hunt when hungry and prefer to kill quickly while leaving other animals alone otherwise. Orcas also buck the trend by being individually stronger, being ''much'' larger than any predatory shark, being anywhere from twice to upwards of four times as heavy as a Great White. There's a reason there are entire pods of Orcas that primarily prey on sharks.