Recently reading the headlines about Band of Brothers coming from HBO tho Netflix and it got me thinking:
– how does the US military divide up it’s soldiers? (Eg regiment vs troop vs platoon vs squadron)
– are there different rules for each branch of the military?
– I’ve only ever heard of the 101st airborne division but not other ones… Was there a 100th division? 99th division, etc? Why is the 101st so famous?
In: 642
The 82nd airborne fought in WW I as the 82nd infantry division. The 101st was formed as a division but the war ended before they were deployed to Europe.
1) In the US Army, the hierarchy of unit organization is:
* a squad, of roughly 10 men, depending on unit purpose, led by a sergeant.
* a platoon, of roughly 3-4 squads (20-50 men total), led by a 2nd lieutenant, assisted by a platoon sergeant.
* a company (or battery if an artillery unit, or troop if a cavalry unit), of roughly 3-4 platoons, plus a headquarters section, 80-200 men total, commanded by a captain, assisted by a first lieutenant and first sergeant.
* a battalion of roughly 3-4 companies, plus a headquarters company containing multiple supporting platoons (medical, scout, mortar, supply, intelligence, nuclear/biological/chemical, communications, etc.) depending on unit function for 400-1000 men total, commanded by a lieutenant colonel, assisted by a major and sergeant major and a battalion staff consisting of multiple sections of officers and sergeants (personnel, intelligence, operations, supply).
* a regiment of 3-4 similar battalions (eg all infantry battalions), or a brigade of 3-6 dissimilar battalions (eg two infantry battalions, an armor battalion, a field artillery battalion, a cavalry battalion, and a support battalion) commanded by a colonel, with proportionally larger support, headquarters, and staff components, (2000-5000 men)
* a division of 3-6 regiments/brigades commanded by a major general, plus extensive support/headquarters/staff (10-20k men).
* a Corps of 3-6 divisions, commanded by a Lieutenant General (>50k men).
* a field Army of several corps, commanded by a general (100s of thousands of men).
Most constituent units are numbered (1st squad, 2nd platoon) but companies/batteries/troops are lettered (C Company, 1st Battalion). Companies are often referred to by the phonetic name for their letter (Charlie Company). Note that during WW2 an earlier version of the phonetic alphabet was used (Baker for B, Easy for E, etc); after WW2 a less ambiguous/semantic phonetic alphabet was introduced (Bravo for B, Echo for E, etc). Regiments and above (not including brigades) have numbers that are unique for the whole army (501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division); these numbers were assigned basically sequentially as units were first activated. Many units have been subsequently deactivated (wars end and the army shrinks) and so there are gaps in the numbering. The numbers themselves have no inherent meaning beyond order of activation.
2) Yes.
3) The 101st is famous because it is still active, fought with distinction in the major battles of the Western European theater of WW2, and has served in most subsequent American wars (Vietnam, Iraq, etc.). Note that these days the 101st is an airmobile rather than airborne division, which means they are organized to be transported into battle by helicopter, rather than jump out of a plane with a parachute.
My good friend, now deceased thanks to Agent Orange, was a 2nd Lt in the 82nd Airborne, Ranger qualified. (He said they despised the 101st because they didn’t “jump.” In those Army rivalries they loved, he called them the “Screaming Chickens”). He did LRRP’s in Vietnam then was a Lt with a platoon. He was my manager at a Medical Company. We were out of town and went to see “Platoon.” The radio traffic freaked him out, especially when they used the term “6.” He then became a Captain and was the General’s Adjutant at Fort Ord. I didn’t know how highly decorated he was till his wife showed me a photo of him outside his “hootch” in Vietnam. He had the CIB at the top of the photo and 5 Bronze stars some with the V for valor. Apparently one of them should’ve been a Silver Star. He had two Purple Hearts. One where the tip of his finger was shot off and one for a sucking chest wound that he said wasn’t as painful as the finger. He said the reason “6” freaked him out was the radio guy handed him the mike as he was “6” and that’s when he got the sucking chest wound from a Vietcong sniper. He’s probably the toughest man I’ve ever known. His wife told me a Vietcong tried to slit his throat, (he had a scar under his chin) when he was a LRRP and he shoulder tossed him and beat him to death with his trenching tool. He died from lung cancer metastasis to his brain. He never smoked, which is why he blamed Agent Orange.
Adding that the military organisation isn’t unique to the US, nearly every country with a large professional military is organised in a similar way with minor variations on naming and composition.
XXXXXX: Combatant Command / Theatre etc
XXXXX: Army Group / Major Command etc
XXXX: Army (as an organisation)
XXX: Corps
XX: Division
X: Brigade
III: Regiment / Group
II: Battalion / Squadron / Group
I: Company / Battery / Troop
•••: Platoon / Troop
••: Section
•: Squad / Section
0: Team / Fireteam
Not every country will have every division (and the biggest organisations are almost exclusively a WWII feature).
> Not every division existed (to try to fool the enemy, you might have divisions that only exist on paper, or you might skip a few numbers to try and trick them into thinking you have more divisions than you actually do.)
The SR71 blackbirds were part of the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing…
There were not 8 other SRWs.
A minor aspect of the numbering I haven’t seen mentioned is ancient tradition/superstition (obviously not an official reason anymore).
The Romans used numbers up to 30 for their legions even though they usually didn’t have that many. They considered it a bad omen to reuse the number of a disgraced legion. Most famously 17, 18 and 19 were left untouched after the Teutoburg forest wipe in 9 CE until whenever you place the fall of the empire.
The 101st is the most famous because of Band of Brothers. The 82nd is “the” airborne division in the Army now. The 101st are no longer an airborne unit.
Generally speaking, there wasn’t a lot of hand to hand combat in WW2, but the Battle of The Bulge was one of the few exceptions.
My Grandfather who passed away many years ago, was in the 101st Airborne. He fought in the Battle Of the Bulge and would tell me stories about brutal hand to hand combat encounters he had with individual Germans. At one point his unit was attacked in a town called Troy I believe and he always told me how horrible that fight was. He had to stab a German in the neck who was on top of him choking him and during the fight his Helmet came off, after killing the German, he got up to run because they were fighting in a room in a building that off an Alley that German Troops were running up and down in. He was trying to run out of one area of the building and was tackled by another German which turned into a literal Greco Roman type of wrestling match, he ultimately overpowered him and was able to choke the German Soldier to Death.
I don’t know how people back then went through the experiences like those he did, and were able to pick back up and lead normal successful lives.
They were/are a different breed, that’s for sure.
On the structure, the US followed a 3×3 system when structuring their army units.
3 Rifle Squads in a Platoon. Each Squad had about 10 – 15 men and was commanded by a senior NCO (Staff or First Sergeant).
3 Rifle Platoons + 1 Heavy Weapons Platoon in a Company. Each Platoon had about 40 – 50 men and was commanded by a 1st or 2nd Lieutenant. The Heavy Weapons Platoon included the men manning mortars, heavy machine guns and anti-armour.
3 Rifle Companies + 1 Heavy Weapons Company in a Battalion. Each Company numbering around 200 men and was commanded by a Captain or Major. Each Company had its own HQ.
3 Battalions in a Regiment. Each Battalion numbering around 800 men and was commanded by a Major or Lieutenant-Colonel. Each Battalion had its own HQ and communications section.
3 Regiments in a Division. Each Regiment numbering around 3000 men and commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel or Colonel. Each Regiment had its own HQ. Logistic, medical, service (food, veterinary, vehicle) intelligence and transport sections also tended to be at the Regimental level.
2-3 Divisions in an Army Corps. Each Division numbering around 15000 men when all support services are included. Each Division commanded by a Major General (2 Star). Each Division had its own HQ and at this level additional support units such as tank divisions, heavy artillery, anti-air and engineering were assigned as needed.
2-3 Army Corps in a Field Army. Each Army Corps numbering around 45000 men. Each Army Corps commanded by a Lieutenant General (3 Star).
2 or more Field Armies made up a Theatre of Operations. Each Field Army numbering in excess of 90000 men. Each Field Army was commanded by a 4 Star General.
The Theatre of Operations was overseen by a 4 or 5 Star General. At this level you are dealing directly with the president, the Chiefs of Staff and their equals in the other Allied nations. A Theatre would number hundreds of thousands of men.
Other people have gone into great detail on the organization. The numbers are non-sequential in order to conceal how many of each type of unit we have.
At some point in history, somebody realized that if your opponent is able to capture people from the First, Second, and Third Divisions, they’ll quickly figure out that you only have three. If they capture people from the 101st, the 82nd, and the 11th, they won’t be able to tell how many you have. Meanwhile, you’re sending messages (intended to be intercepted) to units that don’t actually exist.
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