Army Units Explained

Armies throughout the world have different organizational structures. However, a large number utilize the NATO standard. In this video, we will provide a simple explanation of all Army Units and how many soldiers in each formation.

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[PremierHistory]

Which formation or unit would you like to take charge of, or perhaps you have?

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[davidfinch]

These numbers only apply to Infantry units. When you say a platoon has at least 26 soldiers, a tank platoon has four tanks with four soldiers per tank, which is only 16 soldiers.

[Crustymarine]

A good way to explain the BASICS of a unit's elements is "3 and a head".
3 maneuver elements and a controlling element (HQ).
For example, the smallest element being a Fireteam, 3 trigger pullers and Fireteam leader.
3 Fireteams and a Squad leader = Squad
3 Squads and Platoon leaders = Platoon
3 Platoons and Company leaders = Company
And so forth...
Why 3 and a head? The 3 maneuver elements provide the HQ any combination of options.
Maneuver, base of fire, reserve, etc..
Anyway, that's the way I learned it...

[nutyyyy]

Very nice video. The US Marine Corps is now running 15 man Squads with three fire teams, a Squad leader, Assistant Squad Leader and Squad Systems Operator.

[jimgaul]

In Vietnam we had about about 120 soldiers in a company. There were five platoons, 3 rifle, 1 weapons (mortars) and a command platoon (captain, communications, Forward observer, etc.). During Dewey Canyon 2 we went out with 121 and 2 weeks later we had 70+. They pulled us out because we ceased to be at minimum company strength. It’s in the book”Lam Son 719” Alpha company 4/3.

[ytoussulis]

I served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman in a cavalry regiment during the Vietnam Era (1964-1967). Although only a Specialist 4th Class, I was assigned as an acting Sergeant and led a squad of twelve men. Our platoons, at that time, were comprised of four squads (46 men) and four platoons per company (184 men). All of that later changed after the 1980s. Also, a "regiment" was basically a calvary term for a battalion, and our squads were called "troops."

[tomislavgrozdanic]

The biggest difference between a Regiment and a Brigade explained. Most people think that the Regiment and Brigade are the same unit because it’s build by battalions, so here is why. The regiment are battalions from the same branch, ie 3 infantry battalions can be a infantry regiment, a brigade uses battalions from different branches, ie infantry battalion, armored battalion, artillery battalion etc.

[diosdadoapias]

In the Philippines: Element- 1 person, squad- 6 persons, Section- 12 persons, Platoon- 4 squads with 7-man frontage(included is the platoon sgt.) Company 4/5 platoons, Battalion 5/more company. regiment and Brigade, and Division- 10, 000 persons.

[davidwolf]

This is a great breakdown with the fluidity in the composition of each of these units. This has always fascinated me given my Navy background where the various unit compositions are derived from a completely different perspective. If you haven't already done so, you should also do a breakdown of the Navy and the Air Force.

[Spud]

I like how you have New Zealand Soldiers slow marching in the background, good to see my country is being recognised

[jetsetjoey]

*Army Unit Name: # of Soldiers*
1) Fire Team: 3-4
2) Squad: 8-12
3) Section/Patrol: 8-25
4) Platoon/Troop: 26-55
5) Staffel/Echelon: 50-90
6) Company: 80-250
7) Battalion: 300-1, 000
8) Regiment/Group: 1, 000-3, 000
9) Brigade: 3, 000-5, 000
10) Division: 6, 000-25, 000
11) Corps: 20, 000-50, 000
12) Field Army: 100K-200K
13) Army Group/Front: 500K
14) Combatant Command: 500K-1M

[rogerpattube]

Thanks for this simple explanation. Many books and videos assume the reader knows how many are in a company, brigade, division etc.

[roberthudson]

The US military is structured rather differently than your video suggests. The seven geographical and four functional unified combatant commands are permanent formations, but the number of assigned troops varies as necessary. For example, Central Command controlled a large portion of the military during the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan, while Space Command is rather small. Combatant commanders are generals or admirals, not generals or the army or admirals of the fleet. Those ranks have not been authorized since 1981.

[bridgecross]

0:28 Do we still have that big NATO table somewhere? It's like something out of a Bond film, or Dr. Strangelove. It's awesome.

[dusanvr]

Former Yugoslav Army
In original
1. Odelenje 4-6 soldier's
2. Vod 20-25
3. Četa. 120-180
4. Bataljon 600-800
5. Brigada. 2000-2500
6. Divizija 10-15k
7. Korpus 30-45k
8. Armija 100k +
Ranks in original
1. Regrut
2. Vojnik
3. Razvodnik
4. Desetar
5. Mladi Vodnik
6. Vodnik
7. Stariji Vodnik
8. Stariji Vodnik prve klase
9. Zastavnik
10. Zastavnik prve klase
11. Podporucnik
12. Poručnik
13. Kapetan
14. Kapetan prve klase
15. Major
16. Podpukovnik
17. Pukovnik
18. General Major
19. General Podpukovnik
20. General Pukovnik
21. General Armije

[snuggles]

That was a fantastic video, very easy to understand and answered every single question I’ve ever had about how an army is broken down into different groups. Thanks very much

[kadartibor]

This is not explained, this is just listed.

[dennisleighton]

In a modern Army/Force, often the size of the force is determined by the type of vehicle/transport involved. Smaller vehicles will have smaller fire teams eg 4 men. In larger vehicles, like a BA Jackal 2, you could have 5 (the 5th man on the heavy weapon). In a larger vehicle (eg Stryker, APC) there would be 2 x 4 man fire teams (squad). If the force is unmounted, fire teams could be a bit larger (5 men) allowing for a separate command position (Team Leader), with maybe a heavy weapons pair (M240 Bravo). The nature of what needs to be done often dictates the disposition of combat teams, so it's hard to be exact. Western Armies tend to devolve decision-making much further down the command structure, allowing for more flexibility. More structured armies (like Russia) have much more rigid structures, who fight predetermined battle doctrines, with little room for deviation, thus decision-making devolves much higher up the chain of command. When things go wrong, Senior command officers are thus forced to enter the battlefield to take over direct control, as no-one else has the authority to deviate. We have seen this happen in recent days in Ukraine.

[donaldtalton]

Or in some cases a Warrant Officer may command a Division, or a well liked Sgt. Depending on what day of the week it is. Such clarity.

[kirkbolas]

In WWII, my dad served in the European theater of operations and was a USN corpsman assigned to a platoon of US Marines. What was the average size of a Marine platoon in that era?

I as because I never got the impression from my father that his platoon was as large as what was described as a NATO standard platoon in this video.