Military Unit Structure
Armies, navies, and air forces are organized hierarchically into progressively
smaller units commanded by officers of progressively lower rank. The
prototypical units are those of the army. The smallest unit in an army is
the squad, which contains 7 to 14 soldiers and is led by a sergeant. (A slightly
larger unit is a section, which consists of 10 to 40 soldiers but is usually used
only within headquarters or support organizations.) Three or four squads make
up a platoon, which has 20 to 50 soldiers and is commanded by a lieutenant.
Two or more platoons make up a company, which has 100 to 250 soldiers and
is commanded by a captain or a major. The function of administration is
introduced at this level, in the form of a headquarters platoon administered by a
sergeant and containing supply, maintenance, or other sections.
Two or more companies make up a battalion, which has 400 to 1,200 troops
and is commanded by a lieutenant colonel. The battalion is the smallest unit to
have a staff of officers (in charge of personnel, operations, intelligence, and
logistics) to assist the commander. Several battalions form a brigade, which has
2,000 to 8,000 troops and is commanded by a brigadier general or a colonel.
(The term regiment can signify either a battalion or a brigade in different
countries’ armies.) A brigade is the smallest unit to integrate different types
of combat and support units into a functional organization. A combat brigade,
for example, usually has infantry, armour, artillery, and reconnaissance units.
Two or more brigades, along with various specialized battalions, make up
a division, which has 7,000 to 22,000 troops and is commanded by a major
general. A division contains all the arms and services needed for the
independent conduct of military operations. Two to seven divisions and various
support units make up an army corps, or a corps, which has 50,000 to 300,000
troops and is commanded by a lieutenant general. The army corps is the largest
regular army formation, though in wartime two or more corps may be combined
to form a field army (commanded by a general), and field armies in turn may be
combined to form an army group.
Naval units follow somewhat more-flexible organizational guidelines.
Administratively, several ships of the same type (e.g., destroyers) are organized
into a squadron. Several squadrons in turn form a flotilla, several of which in
turn form a fleet. For operations, however, many navies organize their vessels
into task units (3–5 ships), task or battle groups (4–10 ships), task forces (2–5
task groups), and fleets (several task forces).
The basic fighting unit in an air force is the squadron, which consists of several
aircraft of the same type—e.g., fighters, and often of the same model—e.g., F-
16s. Three to six flying squadrons and their support squadrons make up a wing.
(An intermediate unit between the squadron and the wing is the air group or
group, which consists of two to four squadrons.) Several wings are sometimes
combined to form an air division or an air force.
