A grenadier was a specialized soldier, first established as a distinct role in the mid-to-late 17th century, for the throwing of grenades and sometimes assault operations. At that time grenadiers were chosen from largest soldiers. By the 18th century, dedicated grenade throwing of this sort was no longer relevant, but grenadiers were still chosen for being the most physically powerful soldiers and would lead assaults in the field of battle. Grenadiers would often lead the storming of fortification breaches in siege warfare, although this role was more fulfilled by all-arm units of volunteers called forlorn hopes, might be fulfilled by sappers or pioneers. Certain countries such as France and Argentina established units of Horse Grenadiers and for a time the British Army had Horse Grenadier Guards. Like their infantry grenadier counterparts, these horse-mounted soldiers were chosen for their size and strength. Today, the term is used to describe a soldier armed with a grenade launcher, a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead.

These soldiers operate as part of a fireteam. The concept of throwing grenades may go back to the Ming China, when Chinese soldiers on the Great Wall were reported to be using this weapon; the earliest references to these grenade-throwing soldiers in Western armies come from Austria and Spain. References appear in England during the English Civil War. However, it was King Louis XIV of France who made the grenadier an official type of soldier and company during his army reforms late in the 17th century. According to René Chartrand, Lt. Col. Jean Martinet introduced the idea of having men detailed to throw grenades in the Régiment du Roi in 1667; the infantry of the United Provinces of the Netherland, influenced by their French invaders, adopted grenadiers in 1672. By 1678 six men in each company were trained to throw hand grenades, developed by the Dutch master fireworker Johan van Haren. In May 1677 the English Army ordered that two soldiers of every Guards Regiment were to be trained as grenadiers.

On 29 June of that year the diarist John Evelyn saw them at a war games encampment at Hounslow, near London: Now were brought into service a new sort of soldier called Grenadiers, who were dexterous in flinging hand grenadoes, every one having a pouch full. Their clothing being piebald and red; the first grenades were small iron spheres filled with gunpowder fused with a length of slow-match the size of a baseball. The grenadiers had to be tall and strong enough to hurl these heavy objects far enough so as not to harm themselves or their comrades, disciplined enough to stand at the forefront of the fight, light the fuse and throw at the appropriate moment to minimize the ability of an enemy to throw the grenade back. Understandably, such requirements led to grenadiers being regarded as an elite fighting force; the wide hats with broad brims characteristic of infantry during the late 17th century were discarded and replaced with caps. This was to allow the grenadier to sling his musket over his back with greater ease while throwing grenades.

Additionally, a brimless hat permitted the grenadier greater ease in throwing the grenade overhand. By 1700, grenadiers in the English and other armies had adopted a cap in the shape of a bishop's mitre decorated with the regimental insignia in embroidered cloth. In addition to grenades, they were equipped with contemporary longarms; the uniform included a belt tube that held the match for lighting the fuse, a feature, retained in grenadier uniforms. Grenade usage declined in the early 18th century, a fact that can be attributed to the improved effectiveness of massive infantry line tactics and flintlock technology. However, the need for elite assault troops remained, the existing grenadier companies were used for this purpose; as noted, above average physical size had been considered important for the original grenadiers and, in principle and strength remained the basis of selection for these picked companies. In the British regiments of foot during the 18th century the preference was, however, to draw on steady veterans for appointment to individual vacancies in a grenadier company.

The traditional criterion of size was only resorted to when newly raised regiments required a quick sorting of a mass of new recruits. Transferral to a grenadier company meant both enhanced status and an increase in subsistence pay. Whether for reasons of appearance or reputation, grenadiers tended to be the showpiece troops of their respective armies. In the Spanish Army of the early 19th century, for example, grenadier companies were excused routine duties such as town patrols but were expected to provide guards at the headquarters and residences of senior officers; when a regiment was in line formation the grenadiers were always the company which formed on the right flank. In the British Army, when Trooping the Colour, "The British Grenadiers" march is played no matter which regiment is on the parade ground, as the colour party stands at the right-hand end of the line, as every regiment had a company of grenadiers at the right of their formation; as noted above, grenadiers

Amida Care is a New York State health care plan. Amida Care is a New York Medicaid managed care health plan for those with HIV/AIDS and other chronic conditions such as addiction, mental health issues, homelessness; the non-profit was founded in 2003. One of its focuses is on members of the LGBTQ community including transgender people; the organization operates in New York, it is the largest Medicaid Special Needs Health Plan in the state. The president and CEO of the organization is Doug Wirth. In 2018 the company had about $400 million in revenues; the Live Life Plus health plan includes HIV prevention and risk reduction education, treatment adherence services, multidisciplinary behavioral health services. Amida Care provides care for individuals diagnosed with Hepatitis C. Amida Care works with local partners to provide care, both medical and non-medical, such as housing consultation. Amida Care works to identify and reach out to individuals who have stopped taking their HIV medication in order to aid in treatment.

In 2017 Amida Care expanded the Live Life Plus health plan to enroll HIV-negative in addition to HIV-positive transgender individuals, due to the historical difficulty of transgender people in accessing healthcare. Amida Care enrolls homeless individuals who are HIV-negative or HIV-positive

The 2002 Basildon District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of Basildon District Council in Essex, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000; the council stayed under no overall control. A review of the boundaries on Basildon council made changes for this election leading to the whole council being elected. Several new wards were created for the election including Pitsea South East and St Martin's. Before the election both the Labour and Conservative parties had 19 seats, while the Liberal Democrats had 4 seats and Labour led a minority administration. Several councillors stood down at the election including the Labour leader of the council John Potter. Candidates standing in the election included the first member of the British National Party to do so, Matthew Single in Vange ward; the results saw the Conservatives become the largest party on the council with 21 seats, but fail to win a majority. They gained 1 seat each from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who were left with 18 and 3 seats respectively.

However the expectation was that an alliance between Labour and the Liberal Democrats would continue to run the council as the outgoing Labour chairman could use his casting vote to keep Labour in power. Meanwhile, the British National Party failed to win a seat after coming fifth in Vange ward. Following the election the alliance between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was confirmed in control of the council, with Labour councillor Nigel Smith, husband of Member of Parliament for Basildon Angela Smith, becoming the new leader of the council