Land soldier who's dropped, not straight, clutching uniform (8)
I believe the answer is:
paraguay
'land' is the definition.
(I know that Paraguay is a South American country)
'soldier who's dropped not straight clutching uniform' is the wordplay.
'soldier who's dropped' becomes 'para' (paratrouper).
'not straight' becomes 'gay' (straight is the opposite of gay).
'clutching' indicates putting letters inside.
'uniform' becomes 'U' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'gay' going around 'u' is 'guay'.
'para'+'guay'='PARAGUAY'
(Other definitions for paraguay that I've seen before include "S American country, capital Asuncion" , "landlocked territory" , "Landlocked South American country" , "state in South America" , "republic" .)