I read about soldiers and see stuff like 1st Platoon, Company D/C, etc. What does it all mean?

Question

Is there a website where you can see all the different branches? It's so confusing when you get these big long titles like:

"1st Platoon, Company D, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad"

Civil Affairs Battalion, Ordinance Company, Oregon Army National Guard, Special Troops Battalion, etc, etc.

I feel really stupid that I don't know how this stuff works. All the numbers are confusing too. What does it all mean? What are all the different branches and how do they work? Please help??

Answer 1

The smallest unit of organization is the 'team'.  Composed of about 4 - 8  soldiers, they are the smallest unit of maneuver.  Usually commanded by an E-4 (specialist or corporal).  You will never see a separate team, they are always organized as part of a larger unit.  

Teams are part of 'squads'.  They consist of 2 or more teams.  They also never operate or designate as independent units.  Usually commanded by an E-5 or E-6 (sergeant or staff sergeant).

Squads are part of 'platoons'.  They consist of 2 or more squads, usually 4.    Usually commanded by a lieutenant-in-training with the help of an E-7 (sergeant first class) to guide him.  Then can be separate units, but it is rare.  You will find Long Range Recon and Intel & Recon platoons attached to brigades and divisions -- they are usually commanded by a captain an should be considered small, special purpose companies.

Platoons are usually part of 'companies'.  They consist of 3 to 4 platoons and are commanded by a captain.  In some special separate company cases, you might find a major commanding.  In that case, just assume it is a big specialty platoon and move on with your life.

Three or more companies form a 'battalion'.  This is the basic unit of independent maneuver.  It is commanded by a field grade officer (O-5, Lieutenant Colonel) and is considered able to conduct independent action anywhere in the world, though usually that level of operation is reserved for a brigade.  The 'battalion' is the basic building block unit of the army.

The battalion is where the 'focus' of the unit comes into play.  There are infantry battalions, tank battalions, engineer battalions, artillery battalions, etc.  All smaller units are generally of the same 'type'.  All of the larger units are mixes of different types of battalions.

Three to six battalions form a 'brigade'.  This used to be called a 'regiment', but regiments did not include support, arty, tanks and whatnot.  Commanded by a Colonel or a Brigadier General, the Brigade includes all of the combat asses and all of the support assets.  All brigades are organized in such a way that they have everything they need to conduct operations anywhere, anytime.  This is a new approach -- formerly, that level of independence was given to the division.

The 'division' is 3 to 5 brigades (or regiments, plus support assets) formed together under a major general.  Between the Vietnam war and the current conflicts, it was the primary independent unit of maneuver, now replaced by the brigade.

The 'corps' is made up of 2 or more divisions.  Between WWII and Vietnam, it was the unit size that could conduct independent operations.  This is still the level at which other services, Air Force and Navy, get mixed in.  Commanded by a major or lieutenant general.

The 'army' is made up of 2 or more corps.  Commanded by a lieutenant general or a genaral.

The 'army group' is made up of 2 or more armies.  Such a unit has not been seen since WWII.  Commanded by a general.

I hope that helped.

Answer 2

That's kind of like an address to the post office.  You've got the state, then you narrow it down to the city, then the street, then the address number.

"1st Platoon, Company D, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad"

The top level of this is "Multi-National Division - Baghdad".

That covers a LOT of troops, so it's narrowed down to "4th Infantry Division".

That helps, but if you're looking for a particular soldier, it's still pretty broad.  So, you go down a level to "3rd Brigade Combat Team".

And so on, and so on.  Eventually, you get down to the Company level (kind of like the street), and then which Platoon he's in (the street number).

Answer 3

In our country, The Republic of the Philippines there are 3 branches of service in the Armed Forces namely; Army, Air Force and Navy, the Marine Corps is under the Navy and so does other countries these are the basic branches of service. In the US this is also the basic branches but i don't know if the Coast Guard is also a branch Those numbers and alphabets you have mention as combine is the Military unit, which forms the hierarchy of the Unit itself or what ever military unit we want to talk about. But basically it goes this way: The lowest entity in that unit is an element or a soldier, 7 or 11 of that element is a squad, 3 or 4 of that squad is a platoon 3 or 4 of that platoon is a company, hence the last element of the 4th squad of 4th platoon of Alpha Company when translated is the last man in the unit which is the Alpha Company. Now, 3 or 4 Companies will form a Battalion next is the Regiment, then Brigade then Division then Corps etc... this is at least the basic grouping of a military unit. But if you are planning to enter the military all of these will be taught since you have to memorize this because it is a part of the training without knowing these, you'll get lost in the maze. Maybe this will enlighten you a bit and i hope it cleared some confusing info in your mind.