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MILITARY UNIT
A military unit is an organization within an armed force. It may consist of any number of soldiers, ships, vehicles, or aircraft. Armies, navies, and air forces, are organized hierarchically into groups of various sizes for functional, tactical and administrative purposes.
Technically, a unit is a homogeneous military organization, such as a battalion (infantry), or regiment (cavalry), and its administrative and command functions are considered to be at the unit level. Smaller organizations (companies, platoons, sections), are minor units, as opposed to battalions and regiments, which are major units.
Larger military organizations (brigades and higher) are formations. A formation is a collection of separate units, each with their own command structures.
The specific composition of a military organization is sometimes called an "Order of Battle" or Orbat for short.
Hierarchy of military organization
This article gives an overview of some of the terms used to describe military units in armed forces across the world. Whilst it is recognized that there will be differences between armies of different nations, it seems that a large proportion are modelled on the British and/or American models. Readers interested in the detailed specifics of a national army (including the British and American) should consult the relevant entry for that country.
| Symbol |
Name |
No. of personnel |
No. of subordinate units |
Officer in command |
| XXXXXX |
region or theatre |
200,000 + |
2+ army groups |
general or field marshal |
| XXXXX |
army group |
100,000 + |
2+ armies |
general or field marshal |
| XXXX |
army or Red Army front |
50,000-60,000+ |
2+ corps |
general or field marshal |
| XXX |
corps or Red Army army |
30,000-50,000 |
2+ divisions |
lieutenant general |
| XX |
division |
10,000–20,000 |
2-4 brigades or regiments |
major general |
| X |
brigade |
3000–5000 |
2+ regiments or 3–6
battalions or Commonwealth regiments |
brigadier general, brigadier or colonel or major general |
| III |
regiment or group |
2000–3000 |
3–4 battalions |
colonel |
| II |
battalion, Cavalry squadron or Commonwealth regiment |
300–1000 |
2–6 companies or squadrons |
lieutenant colonel |
| I |
company, Cavalry troop or artillery battery |
60–250 |
2–8 platoons |
captain or major |
| ••• |
platoon |
25–40 |
2+ squads or sections |
first or second lieutenant |
| •• |
section or patrol |
8–12 |
2+ fireteams |
corporal to staff sergeant |
| • |
squad or crew |
8–12 |
2+ fireteams |
corporal to staff sergeant |
| Ø |
fireteam |
4–5 |
n/a |
lance corporal to sergeant |
| Ø |
fire and maneuver team |
2 |
n/a |
any |
Rungs may be skipped in this ladder: for example, in the UK the battalion can be a regiment-sized formation, though in some arms, such as the infantry, it is a purely administrative grouping of battalions. Likewise, only large military powers may have organizations at the top levels (for example, today, Canada's largest organization is at the brigade level).
Army, army group and theatre are all large formations which vary significantly between armed forces in size and hierarchy position.
Different arms and countries may also use traditional names, creating considerable confusion: for example, a British or Canadian armoured regiment (battalion) is divided into squadrons (companies) and troops (platoons), whereas an American cavalry squadron (battalion) is divided into troops (companies) and platoons.
See also
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