Eli5. Why do military groups (101st airborne for example) seem to be numbered in random order
In: 1833
The numbers of squadrons and military units seem random now because various units have been deactivated over the past century.
During times of war regiments and squadrons were spun up as needed, but when the war (World War 2 for example) was over those units were no longer required and were demobilized.
Often units with special qualifications or notoriety were kept active while less well known units were spun down. Resulting in seemingly random numbering in divisions and squadrons today.
However if war were to break out again, those historical units can be re-activated.
Picking a random example 428 squadron in Canada was an active bomber squadron in World War 2 and was deactivated in 1945. But was then re-activated in the 60s and then deactivated again.
When a squadron is re-activated it’s common for its members to look up the history of the unit and re-use it’s nicknames, motto, and logos.
In the case of 428 “The Ghosts”
In Canada a lot of existing squadrons flew Fighters or Bombers during WW2 which is why they have names and logos that don’t seem appropriate for their duties today. 402 squadron for example ‘The Bears’ used to fly Hurricanes and Spitfires but today flies the Dash-8 passenger transport and does training.
They did make sense at one point in time as the units are numbered in sequence. In this case the 101st airborne division of the US Army is the 101st infantry division in the US Army. In WWI the US Army consisted of 98 divisions, numbered 1 through 98. And when WWII started up they reactivated all the old divisions as well as formed new ones which is how the 101st got their number. The term “airborne” is added to distinguish them from regular infantry divisions or armored infantry divisions. Divisions can change terms over time, for example the famous 82nd infantry division of WWI became the 82nd airborne of WWII of equal fame.
There is nothing random about it. If you look at the US Army Infantry Divisions that either currently exist, or ever existed, they are (mostly) sequentially numbered from the 1st Division up to about the 120th Division. Most of them are inactive and have been inactive since WW2, because you don’t need that many divisions when you are not actively at war.
Some of the Airborne Divisions started out as Infantry Divisions, and kept their numbers. The 101st Airborne started out as the 101st Infantry Division, and they kept their number when they became an Airborne Division.
In WW1, the War Department set aside division numbers based on their origin. Active Army divisions were to be numbered 1-25, National Guard divisions 26-75, and Reserve divisions 76 and up.
In the end, only active divisions 1-20, Guard divisions 26-42, and Reserve divisions 76-102 were ever organized, 64 infantry divisions in total, plus one Cavalry division. And the 102nd was never fully organized.
In WW2, they began activating divisions along the same numbering system. They decided to limit the divisions to 100, but didn’t quite make that, as they decided to stop organizing new divisions in favor of providing replacements for existing divisions.
The War Department decided to take 82nd and 101st and convert them to Airborne divisions and at the same time bring them into the Active Army.
Units are generally deactivated and reactivated based on a points system based on the number of campaigns they have participated in and the type of division. So 101st remains in existence despite the high number.
The numbers of squadrons and military units seem random now because various units have been deactivated over the past century.
During times of war regiments and squadrons were spun up as needed, but when the war (World War 2 for example) was over those units were no longer required and were demobilized.
Often units with special qualifications or notoriety were kept active while less well known units were spun down. Resulting in seemingly random numbering in divisions and squadrons today.
However if war were to break out again, those historical units can be re-activated.
Picking a random example 428 squadron in Canada was an active bomber squadron in World War 2 and was deactivated in 1945. But was then re-activated in the 60s and then deactivated again.
When a squadron is re-activated it’s common for its members to look up the history of the unit and re-use it’s nicknames, motto, and logos.
In the case of 428 “The Ghosts”
In Canada a lot of existing squadrons flew Fighters or Bombers during WW2 which is why they have names and logos that don’t seem appropriate for their duties today. 402 squadron for example ‘The Bears’ used to fly Hurricanes and Spitfires but today flies the Dash-8 passenger transport and does training.
In WW1, the War Department set aside division numbers based on their origin. Active Army divisions were to be numbered 1-25, National Guard divisions 26-75, and Reserve divisions 76 and up.
In the end, only active divisions 1-20, Guard divisions 26-42, and Reserve divisions 76-102 were ever organized, 64 infantry divisions in total, plus one Cavalry division. And the 102nd was never fully organized.
In WW2, they began activating divisions along the same numbering system. They decided to limit the divisions to 100, but didn’t quite make that, as they decided to stop organizing new divisions in favor of providing replacements for existing divisions.
The War Department decided to take 82nd and 101st and convert them to Airborne divisions and at the same time bring them into the Active Army.
Units are generally deactivated and reactivated based on a points system based on the number of campaigns they have participated in and the type of division. So 101st remains in existence despite the high number.
They did make sense at one point in time as the units are numbered in sequence. In this case the 101st airborne division of the US Army is the 101st infantry division in the US Army. In WWI the US Army consisted of 98 divisions, numbered 1 through 98. And when WWII started up they reactivated all the old divisions as well as formed new ones which is how the 101st got their number. The term “airborne” is added to distinguish them from regular infantry divisions or armored infantry divisions. Divisions can change terms over time, for example the famous 82nd infantry division of WWI became the 82nd airborne of WWII of equal fame.
The 82nd Airborne is another unit that survived downsizing the Army after WWII.
Also, in peacetime there are no one-star admirals and generals, along with five stars too.
When there is a huge mobilization, more units are temporarily created to keep each unit a manageable size
Because units are activated and deactivated. Like in ww2 with a massive amount of men they needed new units. After the war only the hardcore units that had a lot of combat achievements stayed and the rest were deactivated when the military down sized.
The 82nd Airborne is another unit that survived downsizing the Army after WWII.
Also, in peacetime there are no one-star admirals and generals, along with five stars too.
When there is a huge mobilization, more units are temporarily created to keep each unit a manageable size
Latest Answers