Military Units

I have been hearing a lot on radio and TV, and reading in the newspapers about the numbers of (military) men and then there will be a name based on the number. While I know this doesn’t directly relate to this column, do you know how many soldiers make up a platoon, squad, brigade, etc. I’ve look on the Internet, but I just haven’t been able to find what I’ve been looking for. – Steve Russel, Salinas, Kansas

Golly, what you people don’t come up with!

Steve, your search term should probably have been military unit. Interestingly, I have this information because, for reasons I can’t discuss here, I have to know it.

First, there a couple of things you should know. Everything is designated with a symbol; either an X, a roman number, a dot (•), or negative number (Ø). Next, comes the unit names. Third, is the number of men or women within a unit, followed by the number of lower ranking units that comprise that particular unit. And finally, the titles of the commanding officers or leader of a unit.

To help you follow this guide:

Symbol
Name
Strength
Constituent units
Commander or Leader

Let’s start with the smallest and work our way up. This is for the Army. Other braches of the service use different designations and numbers. The Navy is very different and complicated.

Ø
Fire and Maneuver Team
2
None
Any Private First Class

Ø
Fireteam
4–5
None
Lance Corporal to Sergeant

•
Squad or Crew
8–16
2+ Fireteams or 1+ Cell
Corporal to Staff Sergeant

••
Section or Patrol
8–12
2+ Fireteams
Corporal to Staff Sergeant

•••
Platoon or Commonwealth Troop
25–60
2+ Squads, Sections, or Vehicles
Warrant Officer and First or Second Lieutenant

I
Infantry Company, Artillery Battery, U.S. Cavalry Troop, or Commonwealth Armour or Combat Engineering Squadron
70–250
2–8 Platoons or Commonwealth Troops
Chief Warrant Officer and Captain or Major

II
Infantry Battalion, U.S. Cavalry Squadron, or Commonwealth Armoured Regiment
300–1000
2–6 Companies, Batteries, U.S. Cavalry Troops, or Commonwealth Squadrons Lieutenant Colonel

III
Regiment or Group
2000–3000
2+ Battalions or U.S. Cavalry Squadrons
Colonel

X
Brigade
2000–5000
2+ regiments, 3–6 Battalions or Commonwealth Regiments
Brigadier General, Brigadier or Colonel

XX
Division
10,000–20,000
2–4 Brigades or Regiments
Major General

XXX
Corps
30,000–80,000
2+ Divisions
Lieutenant General

XXXX
Army
60,000–100,000+
2–4 Corps
General, Army General, or Colonel General

XXXXX
Army Group
250,000+
2+ Armies
General, Army General, or Field Marshal

XXXXXX
Region, Theater, or Front
1,000,000+
4+ Army Groups
General, Army General, or Field Marshal

You may have been hearing or reading that the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has been talking to the Pentagon of adding 20-30,000 troops. That you would be the equivalent of a Division or a Corps.

I hope this helps.

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