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54-468: The Combat Arms Regimental System ( CARS ), was the method of assigning unit designations to units of some of the combat arms branches of the United States Army , including Infantry , Special Forces , Field Artillery , and Armor , from 1957 to 1981. Air Defense Artillery was added in 1968. CARS was superseded by the U.S. Army Regimental System (USARS) in 1981, although the term "Regiment"

108-399: A CARS regiment has a replica of the regimental colors with the number of the battalion or squadron in the upper fly. The streamers attached to the colors were those for the regiment, as determined when the regiment was reorganized under CARS, plus those subsequently earned by the battalion or squadron. Those campaigns and decorations actually earned by the battalion or squadron were shown on

162-517: A Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements of more than one armed service and more than one nation. Regimental Combat Team The United States Army first adopted the RCT concept just prior to World War II , where it served as the infantry-centric counterpart to the Combat Command used by armored forces. RCTs were widely used during World War II and

216-500: A balanced, combined combat force. The formations only differ in their ability to achieve different scales of application of force to achieve different strategic, operational and tactical goals and mission objectives." It is a composite military organization that includes a mixture of integrated and operationally attached sub-units, and is usually combat-capable. Examples of formations include divisions , brigades , battalions , wings , etc. Formation may also refer to tactical formation ,

270-524: A command is a collection of units and formations under the control of a single officer, although during World War II a command was also a name given to a battlegroup in the United States Army . In general, it is an administrative and executive strategic headquarters that is responsible to the national government or the national military headquarters . It is not uncommon for a nation's services to each consist of their own command (such as Land Component, Air Component, Naval Component, and Medical Component in

324-458: A division but larger than a battalion , and it continues to employ reinforced regiments as RCTs in Iraq and Afghanistan . Under current US Marine Corps doctrine, a Marine Division typically contains three organic Marine infantry regiments. Whenever a Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) is formed within its parent Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), one of the division's infantry regiments is designated as

378-424: A fraction of personnel in infantry units. In western militaries, a joint force is defined as a unit or formation comprising representation of combat power from two or more branches of the military. Gendarmeries , military police and security forces , including equivalents such as paramilitary forces , militia , internal troops and police tactical unit , are an internal security service common in most of

432-599: A long time, and were devised by various military thinkers throughout European history. For example, the modern Corps was first introduced in France about 1805 by Napoleon as a more flexible tactical grouping of two or more divisions during the Napoleonic Wars . OF 8: Lieutenant General OR-2: private first class Rungs may be skipped in this ladder: for example, typically NATO forces skip from battalion to brigade. Likewise, only large military powers may have organizations at

486-478: A member of the government's cabinet , usually known as a minister of defence . In presidential systems , such as the United States , the president is the commander-in-chief , and the cabinet-level defense minister is second in command. Subordinated to that position are often secretaries for specific major operational divisions of the armed forces as a whole, such as those that provide general support services to

540-476: A part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often emulate military organizations, or use these structures. The use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army . In modern times, executive control, management and administration of military organization is typically undertaken by governments through a government department within

594-712: A regiment not organized under CARS, there is a fixed number of organic elements organized into battalions or squadrons. For example, the infantry regiment of World War II contained twelve companies A through M (minus J – not used) divided into three battalions (of four companies each), plus supporting elements such as the service company. A brigade , on the other hand, is a flexible organization; it has no permanent elements. A brigade may have several different kinds of units assigned to it, such as: three light infantry battalions or two mechanized infantry and an armor battalion or one light, one mechanized and one armor battalion; plus support units. The usual number of maneuver battalions

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648-402: A separate infantry force to conduct missions too small for a division and created the regimental combat team (RCT). The 2nd Division , which was first to test the triangular division concept, initially referred to this type of formation as an " echelon " but as the term already had generally accepted military definitions the combat team term was officially adopted instead. During World War II

702-486: A squadron of tanks augmented with infantry, or the combination of a full company of infantry with a full squadron of tanks. During World War II the Red Army used the same basic organizational structure. However, in the beginning many units were greatly underpowered and their size was actually one level below on the ladder that is usually used elsewhere; for example, a division in the early-WWII Red Army would have been about

756-675: A temporary grouping for a specific operational purpose. Aside from administrative hierarchical forms of organization that have evolved since the early 17th century in Europe, fighting forces have been grouped for specific operational purposes into mission-related organizations such as the German Kampfgruppe or the U.S. Combat Team (Army) and Task Force (Navy) during the Second World War, or the Soviet Operational manoeuvre group during

810-428: A typical RCT consisted of an infantry regiment, a field artillery battalion , a combat engineer company , a medical company, and a signals platoon . However the organization could be tailored to fit its mission and might include additional units, such as a company from a separate tank battalion , a company from a tank destroyer battalion , and a battery from an anti-aircraft artillery battalion. Usually

864-507: Is a civil law enforcement agency . A number of countries have no navy, for geographical reasons. In larger armed forces, the cultures between the different branches of the armed forces can be quite different. Most smaller countries have a single organization that encompasses all armed forces employed by the country in question. Armies of developing countries tend to consist primarily of infantry , while developed countries armies tend to have larger units manning expensive equipment and only

918-580: Is considered its sub-unit or minor unit. It is not uncommon in the United States for unit and formation to be used synonymously. In Commonwealth practice, formation is not used for smaller organizations such as battalions, which are instead called "units", and their constituent platoons or companies are referred to as sub-units. In the Commonwealth, formations are divisions, brigades, etc. Different armed forces , and even different branches of service of

972-450: Is divided into sections (platoons) composed of 3 x "groupes de combat" of 7 soldiers, plus a group of vehicle crews and a HQ that includes 2 x snipers. Army , army group , region , and theatre are all large formations that vary significantly between armed forces in size and hierarchy position. While divisions were the traditional level at which support elements (field artillery, hospital, logistics and maintenance, etc.) were added to

1026-450: Is primarily based on a number of standard groupings of vessels, including the carrier strike group and the expeditionary strike group . Additionally, naval organization continues aboard a single ship. The complement forms three or four departments (such as tactical and engineering), each of which has a number of divisions, followed by work centers. The organizational structures of air forces vary between nations: some air forces (such as

1080-439: Is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarchical forms (see Modern hierarchy for terminology and approximate troop strength per hierarchical unit). In some countries, paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not

1134-573: The Belgian Army ), but this does not preclude the existence of commands that are not service-based. A formation is defined by the U.S. Department of Defense as "two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander". Fomin in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia emphasised its combined-arms nature: "Formations are those military organisations which are formed from different speciality Arms and Services troop units to create

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1188-622: The Korean War but were disbanded after the adoption of the Pentomic structure in 1957. The United States Marine Corps maintains the use of the RCT to the present day. In 1939, the US Army formally switched from the square division to the triangular division , eliminating the brigade and leaving the regiment as the basic combat subunit of a division . However, the Army also recognized that it would need

1242-535: The Royal New Zealand Navy , or those navies that are effectively coast guards , are commanded by a rear-admiral (two-star rank), commodore (one-star rank) or even a captain . Aircraft carriers are typically commanded by a captain. Submarines and destroyers are typically commanded by a captain or commander. Some destroyers, particularly smaller destroyers such as frigates (formerly known as destroyer escorts ) are usually commanded by officers with

1296-637: The United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force ) are divided into commands, groups and squadrons; others (such as the Soviet Air Force ) have an Army-style organizational structure. The modern Royal Canadian Air Force uses Air division as the formation between wings and the entire air command. Like the RAF, Canadian wings consist of squadrons. A task force is a unit or formation created as

1350-614: The armed forces are divided into three military branches (also service, armed service, or military service ): army , navy , and air force . Many countries have a variation on the standard model of three basic military branches. Some nations also organize their cyber force , emergencies service, medical service , military logistics , space force , marines , and special forces such as commandos or airborne forces as independent armed services. A nation's border guard or coast guard may also be an independent branch of its military, although in many nations border guard or coast guard

1404-469: The flotilla level and higher is less commonly abided by, as ships operate in smaller or larger groups in various situations that may change at a moment's notice. However, there is some common terminology used throughout navies to communicate the general concept of how many vessels might be in a unit. Navies are generally organized into groups for a specific purpose, usually strategic, and these organizational groupings appear and disappear frequently based on

1458-614: The Cold War. In the British and Commonwealth armies the battlegroup became the usual grouping of companies during the Second World War and the Cold War. Within NATO, a Joint Task Force (JTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements from more than one armed service, a Combined Task Force (CTF) would be such a temporary grouping that includes elements from more than one nation, and

1512-466: The Korean War, with the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team illustrating the typical organization of an RCT from this era. The RCT was retained until 1957 when the Army was reorganized under the Pentomic structure, under which both regiments and battalions were eliminated as tactical units and replaced with battle groups. The U.S. Marine Corps has retained the regiment as a basic unit smaller than

1566-462: The RCT was led by the commanding officer of the infantry regiment ( Colonel ) but on occasion a brigadier general was sent to command it. Most infantry regiments not part of a division were organized as RCTs, but by the end of the war most infantry divisions were also organizing their regiments as RCTs. The concept was retained after the end of World War II and RCTs were issued their own shoulder sleeve insignia . RCTs were used extensively during

1620-583: The U.S. Army division was reorganized under the Pentomic structure in 1957, the traditional regimental organization was eliminated, raising questions as to what the new units were to be called, how they were to be numbered, and what their relationship to former organizations was to be. On 24 January 1957 the Secretary of the Army approved the CARS concept, as devised by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, which

1674-463: The U.S. Army Force Management Support Agency that prescribes the organization, manning, and equipage of units from divisional size and down, but also including the headquarters of Corps and Armies. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the unit's current status. A general TOE is applicable to a type of unit (for instance, infantry) rather than a specific unit (the 3rd Infantry Division). In this way, all units of

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1728-418: The armed forces, may use the same name to denote different types of organizations. An example is the "squadron". In most navies a squadron is a formation of several ships; in most air forces it is a unit; in the U.S. Army it is a battalion-sized cavalry unit; and in Commonwealth armies a squadron is a company-sized sub-unit. A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is a document published by

1782-507: The base of the regimental combat team (RCT) and serves as the ground combat element (GCE) of the MEB. The regiment, commanded by a colonel, consists of a Headquarters Company and three identical Marine infantry battalions. The regiment is then heavily reinforced by other division assets to form the RCT. These reinforcements typically include: Therefore, the RCT is roughly the same size (approximately 4,500–5,000 Marines and Sailors) and has generally

1836-551: The conditions and demands placed upon a navy. This contrasts with army organization where units remain static, with the same men and equipment, over long periods of time. The five-star ranks of admiral of the fleet and fleet admiral have largely been out of regular use since the 1990s, with the exception of ceremonial or honorary appointments. Currently, all major navies ( blue-water and green-water navies) are commanded by an admiral of either four-star rank or three-star rank depending on relative size. Smaller naval forces, such as

1890-549: The distinctive insignia for their regiment and the shoulder sleeve insignia of their division or other tactical organization to which they were assigned. (See AR 670-5 for further details.) The Adjutant General controls the designations of elements to be activated and coordinates his selections with the Center of Military History. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Military unit Military organization ( AE ) or military organisation ( BE )

1944-503: The military, including their dependants. Then there are the heads of specific departmental agencies responsible for the provision and management of specific skill- and knowledge-based services such as strategic advice, capability development assessment, or military science provision of research, and design and development of technologies. Within each departmental agency will be found administrative branches responsible for further agency business specialization work. In most countries,

1998-433: The most points were selected for inclusion in the system. Each company , battery or troop in the regiment (as originally organized) was reorganized as the headquarters and headquarters element of a new battle group , battalion , or squadron in the new regiment. The new battle group, battalion, or squadron's organic elements (lettered elements, such as "Company A") were constituted and activated as new units. Each of

2052-410: The old companies, batteries, or troops of the former regiment also had the capability of becoming a separate company, battery, or troop in the new regiment. The regimental headquarters was transferred to Department of the Army control. (For detailed charts of typical regiments reorganized under CARS, see below Illustrations of organization under CARS ) The lowest numbered or lettered active element of

2106-560: The old ones. As a result, soldiers frequently served in organizations with little or no history, while units with long combat records remained inactive. In the late 1950s requirements for maneuverable and flexible major tactical organizations demanded highly mobile divisions with greatly increased firepower. For this purpose the regiment was deemed too large and unwieldy and had to be broken up into smaller organizations. (Most artillery and armored regiments had already been broken up for flexibility and maneuverability during World War II.) When

2160-479: The physical arrangement or disposition of troops and weapons. Examples of formation in such usage include pakfront , panzerkeil , testudo formation , etc. A typical unit is a homogeneous military organization (either combat, combat-support or non-combat in capability) that includes service personnel predominantly from a single arm of service, or a branch of service, and its administrative and command functions are self-contained. Any unit subordinate to another unit

2214-399: The rank of commander. Corvettes , the smallest class of warship, are commanded by officers with the rank of commander or lieutenant-commander . Auxiliary ships, including gunboats , minesweepers , patrol boats , military riverine craft , tenders and torpedo boats are usually commanded by lieutenants , sub-lieutenants or warrant officers . Usually, the smaller the vessel, the lower

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2268-479: The rank of the ship's commander. For example, patrol boats are often commanded by ensigns , while frigates are rarely commanded by an officer below the rank of commander. Historically, navies were far more rigid in structure. Ships were collected in divisions , which in turn were collected in numbered squadrons , which comprised a numbered fleet . Permission for a vessel to leave one unit and join another would have to be approved on paper. The modern U.S. Navy

2322-425: The regiment normally has custody of the regimental properties. If, however, the lowest numbered or lettered active element is unable to care for the properties, they may be transferred to the next lowest numbered or lettered active element. If a numbered or lettered element of the regiment is activated lower than the one having custody of the regimental properties, the properties will not necessarily be transferred. In

2376-470: The same branch (such as infantry) follow the same structural guidelines. The following table gives an overview of some of the terms used to describe army hierarchy in armed forces across the world. Whilst it is recognized that there are differences between armies of different nations, many are modeled on the British or American models, or both. However, many military units and formations go back in history for

2430-404: The same number of battalions (and battalion equivalents) as a US Army brigade combat team (BCT). However, the RCT as the ground combat element (GCE) of a MEB, is combined with a regimental equivalent Marine aircraft group (itself equivalent to a US Army combat aviation brigade) as the air combat element (ACE), a battalion-sized command element (CE), and the aforementioned combat logistics regiment as

2484-652: The size of most nations' regiments or brigades. At the top of the ladder, what other nations would call an army group, the Red Army called a front . By contrast, during the same period the German Wehrmacht army groups, particularly on the Eastern Front , such as Army Group Centre significantly exceeded the above numbers, and were more cognate with the Soviet Strategic Directions . Naval organization at

2538-505: The streamers by earned honor devices. Regimental honors were listed on the battalion or squadron Lineage and Honors Certificates, with the earned honors being marked by asterisks. Separate batteries, troops, and companies of CARS regiments display only those honors they actually earned, not the regimental ones. Campaign participation credit for these guidon-bearing units are displayed by silver bands and decorations streamers. (See ARs 672-5-1, 840-10 and 870-5 for further details.) Personnel wear

2592-430: The structure of public administration , often known as a ministry of defence or department of defense . These in turn manage military branches that themselves command formations and units specialising in combat, combat support and combat-service support . The usually civilian or partly civilian executive control over the national military organization is exercised in democracies by an elected political leader as

2646-456: The top levels and different armies and countries may also use traditional names, creating considerable confusion: for example, a British or Canadian armored regiment (battalion) is divided into squadrons (companies) and troops (platoons), whereas an American cavalry squadron (battalion) is divided into troops (companies) and platoons. In the French system (used by many African countries) the company

2700-505: The unit structure, since World War II, many brigades now have such support units, and since the 1980s, regiments also have been receiving support elements. A regiment with such support elements is called a regimental combat team in US military parlance, or a battlegroup in the UK and other forces. Canadian Army doctrine also includes the combat team which is a company of infantry augmented with tanks, or

2754-458: The world, but uncommon in countries with English common law histories where civil police are employed to enforce the law, and there are tight restrictions on how the armed forces may be used to assist. It is common, at least in the European and North American militaries, to refer to the building blocks of a military as command s , formation s , and unit s . In a military context,

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2808-446: Was designed to provide a flexible regimental structure that would permit perpetuation of unit history and tradition in the new tactical organization of divisions, without restricting the organizational trends of the future. The criteria for the majority of the regiments selected were two factors: age (one point for each year since original organization) and honors (two points for each campaign and American decoration). Those regiments with

2862-543: Was never appended to the official name or designation of CARS regiments, and was not added to USARS regiments until 2005. Before the adoption of CARS, there was no satisfactory means of maintaining the active life of the combat arms organizations. Whenever the nation entered periods of military retrenchment, units were invariably broken up, reorganized, consolidated, or disbanded. During periods of mobilization, large numbers of new units were created. Changes in weapons and techniques of warfare produced new types of units to replace

2916-723: Was three; however, this was a guideline not a rule (ex: the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam had four airborne infantry battalions). In tactical structure, therefore, it is very similar to the Regimental Combat Team of World War II and Korean War . Its maneuver (infantry and armor) elements were not required to be from the same regiment. Since they were flexible, except for the headquarters and headquarters company , no two brigades need be alike, whereas all regiments were fixed with organic elements provided for under basic tables of organization and equipment. Each battalion or squadron of

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