Soldier principally positioned next to gate? (6)
I believe the answer is:
sentry
'soldier principally' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'positioned next to gate?' is the wordplay.
'positioned next' becomes 's' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to gate?' becomes 'entry' (I've seen this before).
's'+'entry'='SENTRY'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for sentry that I've seen before include "Military lookout" , "Watchman" , "Picket" , "Watchperson" , "Sentinel, watch" .)