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#REDIRECT [[Military organization#Commands, formations, and units]]
A '''military unit''' is an organisation within an [[armed force]]. It may consist of any number of [[soldier]]s, ships, vehicles, or aircraft. Armies, navies, and air forces, are organised hierarchically into groups of various sizes for functional, tactical and administrative purposes.
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Technically, a ''unit'' is a homogenous military organisation, such as a battalion (infantry), or regiment (cavalry), and its administrative and command functions are considered to be ''at the unit level''. Smaller organisations (companies, platoons, sections), are ''minor units,'' as opposed to battalions and regiments, which are ''major units''.
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Larger military organisations (brigades and higher) are ''[[formation]]s''. A formation is a collection of separate units, each with their own command structures.
The specific composition of a military organisation is sometimes called an "[[Order of Battle]]" or ''Orbat'' for short.
== Hierarchy of military organisation ==
This article gives an overview of some of the terms used to describe military units in armed forces across the world. Whilst it is recognised that there will be differences between armies of different nations, it seems that a large proportion are modelled on the [[British Army|British]] and/or [[United States Armed Forces|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.
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 align=center style="border-collapse:collapse; border:0 none; vertical-align:top;" frame=void rules=rows
|- valign=bottom style="border-bottom:3px double #999;"
! align=left | Symbol
! align=left | Name
! align=left | No. of personnel
! align=left | No. of subordinate units
! align=left | Officer in command
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | XXXXXX
| region or [[theatre (military)|theatre]]
| many
| 2+ army groups
| [[general]] or [[field marshal]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | XXXXX
| [[army group]]
| many
| 2+ armies
| [[general]] or [[field marshal]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | XXXX
| [[army]] or [[Red Army]] front
| many
| 2+ corps
| [[general]] or [[field marshal]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | XXX
| [[corps]] or [[Red Army]] army
| 30,000+
| 2+ divisions
| [[lieutenant general]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | XX
| [[Division (military)|division]]
| 10,000–20,000
| 2-4 brigades or regiments
| [[major general]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | X
| [[brigade]]
| 2000–5000
| 2+ regiments or 3–6<br>battalions or Commonwealth regiments
| [[brigadier general]], [[brigadier]] or [[colonel]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | III
| [[regiment]] or group
| 2000–3000
| 3–4 battalions
| [[colonel]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | II
| [[battalion]] or Commonwealth [[regiment]]
| 300–1000
| 2–6 companies or squadrons
| [[lieutenant colonel]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | I
| [[Company (military unit)|company]] or [[squadron]]
| 100–300
| 2–6 platoons or troops
| [[captain]] or [[major]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | •••
| [[platoon]] or [[troop]]
| 30–40
| 2+ squads or sections
| first or second [[lieutenant]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | ••
| [[Section (military unit)|section]] or [[patrol]]
| 8–12
| 2+ fireteams
| [[corporal]] to [[staff sergeant]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | •
| [[squad]] or [[crew]]
| 8–12
| 2+ fireteams
| [[corporal]] to [[staff sergeant]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:1px solid #999;"
| align=center | Ø
| [[fireteam]]
| 4–5
| n/a
| [[lance corporal]] to [[sergeant]]
|- valign=top style="border-bottom:3px double #999;"
| align=center | Ø
| [[fire and maneuver team]]
| 2
| n/a
| any
|}
Rungs may be skipped in this ladder: the UK merges the regiment and brigade under the term "brigade" and calls the battalion a regiment in some arms, for example. Likewise, only large military powers may have organizations at the top levels (for example, today, [[Canada]]'s largest organization is at the division level).
[[Army]], [[army group]] and [[theater (military)|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 [[squadron]]s (companies) and [[troop]]s (platoons), whereas an American cavalry squadron (battalion) is divided into troops (companies) and platoons.
==See also==
* [[Comparative military ranks]]
* [[Military rank]]
* [[Structure of the United States Armed Forces]]
* [[British Army/Structure|Structure of the British Army]]
[[Category:Military organization]]
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[[zh-tw:軍事單位]]
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