Common soldiers, for example, operating in state (6)
I believe the answer is:
oregon
'state' is the definition.
(Oregon is an example)
'common soldiers for example operating' is the wordplay.
'common soldiers' becomes 'or' (military abbreviation for 'other ranks').
'for example' becomes 'eg' ('e.g.' can be a synonym of 'for example').
'operating' becomes 'on' (I've seen this in other clues).
'or'+'eg'+'on'='OREGON'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for oregon that I've seen before include "Timber" , "US state, capital Salem" , "Gooner (anag) - US state" , "American Pacific state" , "US state, capital Portland" .)