United States Army (USA)

Units

The Army is operationally organized into units of varying sizes; the larger the unit, the more numerous and diverse the specialties required to support it. For instance, the Army's largest fighting unit, a corps, usually consists of between 30,000 and 100,000 soldiers and incorporates a signal brigade, a military police brigade, and a military intelligence brigade, in addition to infantry, armor, artillery, air defense, and other combat arms, combat support, and combat service support units. The Joint Task Force normally has a similar specialty mix that can also include Air Force, Navy, and Marine elements that bring their own specialties to the task force. The size of the JTF depends on the requirements of its mission, but it is often smaller than an Army corps.

The smallest units in the Army are squads and crews. Army squads normally have six to ten soldiers, varying by the type and specialty of the unit. An Army infantry squad, for example, has nine members, whereas a military police squad has ten members. (In contrast, Marine infantry squads are composed of three four-man fire teams and a squad leader.) Crews man a specific vehicle or weapons system. Squads and crews are different in that they are led by noncommissioned officers (NCOs); all other elements in the chain typically are led by commissioned officers.

Three to five squads or crews make up a platoon. Three to five platoons make up a company. Three to five companies make up a battalion. Brigades and regiments are made up of a varying number of battalions, usually up to five or six. Two to five divisions, each made up of two to five brigades, make up an Army corps.

Brigades and larger units are very flexible in terms of the number of subordinate units assigned to them. For instance, a corps commander may move a battalion or even a brigade from one division to another to meet the needs of a given situation. To enhance their self-sufficiency, units larger than battalions are often assigned specialized units to fulfill a variety of combat, combat support, and combat service support functions. For example, in a stability operation, an army division may augment its logistical and medical capabilities with similar units.

Table 4.2 shows the type, rank of leaders, and approximate size of units found in the Army and Marines.

Table 4.2. Army and Marine Units

*A command sergeant major or sergeant major is the senior NCO at battalion level and above.

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