Platoons, Brigades, Divisions Oh My! How the Army & the CF are structured.

[63 Delta]

That was an awesome link you posted. Maybe Mike Bobbit or another moderator can post it in the infatry FAQ?

 

[jswift872]

wicked link, thank you for the info. so in my bmq, i am 1 section, so....correct me if I'm wrong, it goes...

my section (1 section),
the three sections is equal to a platoon
3 platoons make up my company, which is c company
and 4 companies make up the brigade, which would be PLF?


did i understand right?

 

[McG]

4 Companies are a Regiment or a Battalion. 

Don't get too caught in the numbers though.  Sections will vary in size.  Platoons may be short sections (or may have extra sections).  Regular Force infantry battalions only have three rifle companies these days and many reserve regiments only have one company.

 

[Fraser.g]

Almost,

4 Rifle coys make up the pointy end of the Infantry Battalion within a Brigade.
There are other companies within the Infantry Bn like LOG, Transport, HQ Etc,
Another thing to tuck in the back of your head is that although the Infantry are the pointy end there are several other formations that are part of the Battalion the least of which are the Engineers, Arty, Armor, Service and supt Bn, Field Ambulance etc.

Hope this helps

 

[Spr.Earl]

As McG stated numbers vary.
In Bosnia we were listed as a Field Squadron Minus,meaning instead of 150 all rank's we were only 90 all rank's.
Number's on the whole look great on paper but as with the C.F. we can't field our own doctrine.
So take the numbers with a grain of salt.

 

[McG]

There are other companies within the Infantry Bn like LOG, Transport, HQ Etc,
Another thing to tuck in the back of your head is that although the Infantry are the pointy end there are several other formations that are part of the Battalion the least of which are the Engineers, Arty, Armor, Service and supt Bn, Field Ambulance etc.

Not exactly.   The infantry battalion does not contain engineers, armour, artillery, or other battalions.   Those exist in the brigade.

Aside from the rifle companies, the only other companies in an infantry battalion are Combat Support and Administration.

Note on terminology:  

Formation = LF Area, Brigade, Division, Regiment*

Unit = Battalion, Regiment*, Field Ambulance

Sub-unit = Company, Squadron, Battery 

*Canadian Armd Regiments are units, in other forces Regiments are the equivallent to our brigades

 

[Fraser.g]

What I ment to indicate is that there are other branches within the Bregade other than Infantry.

Within the Infantry Battalion there is a CSS Company that contains your transport, maint, stores. the there is an Adm Coy which is your head quarters etc.
Sorry about the confusion.

 

[McG]

The CSS Company is Admin Coy.

 

[Redeye]

There are other companies within the Infantry Bn like LOG, Transport, HQ Etc,
Another thing to tuck in the back of your head is that although the Infantry are the pointy end there are several other formations that are part of the Battalion the least of which are the Engineers, Arty, Armor, Service and supt Bn, Field Ambulance etc.

Not exactly.   The infantry battalion does not contain engineers, armour, artillery, or other battalions.   Those exist in the brigade.

Aside from the rifle companies, the only other companies in an infantry battalion are Combat Support and Administration.

Note on terminology:  

Formation = LF Area, Brigade, Division

Unit = Battalion, Regiment, Field Ambulance

Sub-unit = Company, Squadron, Battery

However, an infantry battalion may deploy as a "stand-alone" unit without the rest of it regiment, but with assets from Engineers, Armour, Artillery, and other arms & services as a Battle Group.  For example, an average rotation to Bosnia might be composed of the Second Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group, whereby they'll have armoured attachments, perhaps.

Similarly, on a particular venture, a infantry company may be tasked with another arm's subunit to form a Combat Team.

 

[McG]

Yes.  However, the term Battle Group implies a composite unit.  It is not a battalion or a regiment, but it may be based on one.

 

[Goober]

I was browsing the net looking for any info on how the military is structured when it comes to platoons, companies etc.. and I found this, I was wondering if any of you could verify this to be correct or not.

=======================

Navy

Ships are usually commanded by Lieutenant Commanders, or Commanders (see Table). (the website refered to a table, but there was no table, and no link, perhaps someone here could fill in this blank?)
Army

Section: 10 men, commanded by a Master Corporal or Sergeant

Platoon: 3 sections, commanded by a Lieutenant

Company: 3 platoons, commanded by a Major

Battalion/Regiment: 6 companies, commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (counting necessary administrative and supply personnel, battalions number about 800 to 1000 men)

Brigade: 3-4 battalions, commanded by a Brigadier General

Division: 2-3 brigades, commanded by a Major General

Corps: 2+ divisions, commanded by a Lieutenant General

Army: 2+ corps, commanded by a General

Air Force

Flight: 4 aircraft, commanded by a Captain or Major

Squadron: 3+ flights, commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel

Wing: 2+ squadrons, commanded by a Colonel

Air Group: 2+ wings, commanded by a Brigadier General (in WWI, the RCAF's No. 6 Bomber Group comprised nine operational squadrons and three training units, and was commanded by an Air Vice-Marshal [Major General equivalent])

Air Division: 2+ groups, commanded by a Major General

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Would have helped if you provided a link to this site as well.
From a Navy perspective:
MCDVs and subs are normally commanded by Lt Cdrs. (some Cdrs are also thrown into the mix but that is rare)

CPFs and AORs are commanded by Cdrs (at one time AORs where commanded by Captains (N) but Cdr is the standard right now.

Destroyers are commanded by Captains (N).

 

[Guardian]

It's a good general description; just keep in mind that the ranks and sizes are not necessarily fixed. Here's a little more information:

Examples:

Platoon - often commanded by Second-Lieutenants or Captains

Company - called a squadron in the amoured and enginner worlds and a battery in the artillery

Battalion/Regiment - these days, it's more often five companies or even as few as four

Brigade - more often commanded by a Colonel. In Canada, Army Areas (like LFWA) are commanded by BGens. Also, remember that in Canada we have Brigade Groups, which are slightly larger than brigades, and are composed of the following:
3 x Inf Battalions
1x Armoured Regiment
1x Armoured reconnaissance squadron (forms part of the armoured regiment)
1x Field Artillery Regiment
1x Air Defence Artillery Battery
1x Engineer Regiment
1x Headquarters / Signal Squadron
1x Service (logistics) Battalion
1x Field Ambulance unit
1x Intelligence company
1x Military Police platoon

These formations do not require a divisional headquarters, and can be used as independent formations.

 

[Goober]

Would have helped if you provided a link to this site as well.
From a Navy perspective:
MCDVs and subs are normally commanded by Lt Cdrs. (some Cdrs are also thrown into the mix but that is rare)

CPFs and AORs are commanded by Cdrs (at one time AORs where commanded by Captains (N) but Cdr is the standard right now.

Destroyers are commanded by Captains (N).

Sorry about not posting link before, here it is http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Params=J1ARTJ0000307

Some quick replies

 

[combat_medic]

Another couple corrections:

A light infantry section is typically comprised of 8 men, whereas a mechanized infantry section has ten (regular section plus driver and the gunner)

In addition, a platoon is not simply three sections, nor is a company simply three platoons. There are headquarters elements, heavier weapons support and other combat service support elements attached to each which will beef up the numbers.

As for the Battalion structure, it's usually 3-4 rifle companies in addition to combat service support company which used to comprise of 1 x mortar platoon, 1x Recce Platoon, 1 x Anti-Armour Platoon, 1 x Pioneer Platoon (things like mortars and pioneers are being phased out so I don't know the current structure). There's also a HQ company which has a Battalion CP, Int Detachment and MP Detachment and a Sigs Platoon. There's a Logistical Company comprising of Battalion stores, payroll, maintenance, med platoon, cooks and the like.

The term regiment is also a tricky one. There are some war strength regiments that go to war with one Battalion, and others which have 10. The Seaforth Highlanders in Scotland during WWII fielded 10 full battalions. Typically, however, a modern, Canadian Infantry regiment will be allotted 1-3 Battalions. Also, a tank regiment and an engineer regiment are not even one full battalion, so don't let the term "regiment" determine number of troops.

A brigade is (ideally) as listed as Guardian said, and can also have such atts and dets as a helicopter squadron (for air mobile/air assault), a Herc squadron (for airborne) and other bits of shiny kit.

After this, typically formations just get larger.

For light infantry units and Airborne assets, the Brigade or Battalion gets smaller and will be missing certain assets, and have other assets added. For example, you can't parachute an entire regiment of main battle tanks (although the Americans and British are working on that), but you will have assets like Pathfinders, and will trade off certain assets in favour of lighter kit (towed-105 artillery rather than a self-propelled M-109 for example).

 

[Yard Ape]

Above Army, you can have an Army Group or a Front.  Either name referes to a formation of two or more armies.

20 CMBG, A Model Canadian Brigade

A 20 CMBG Infantry Battalion

Mechanized Infantry Company

(Sorry, I don't have a map symbols guide.  Maybe someone else can provide)

 

[Cooper]

I must be working out of an old manual because some of the symbols were'nt there, for some of those I put similar symbols I could find, such as the one for combat egineers (tracked), air defence, and aviation (rotary wing).

 

[Cooper]

Oh, (I just realized this AFTER I posted) the 3 dots ontop of the symbols means platoon, 1 line means company and 2 lines means battalion, I'm not quite sure what the square with the single dot means, but a single dot means section so it might be something to do with a section.

 

[Redeye]

Oh, (I just realized this AFTER I posted) the 3 dots ontop of the symbols means platoon, 1 line means company and 2 lines means battalion, I'm not quite sure what the square with the single dot means, but a single dot means section so it might be something to do with a section.

The single dot, IIRC , should be an "x" and would represent a brigade.  The square around represents a composite formation, meaning in this case the Brigade Group.  It similarly (when used with a company indicator) would mean Combat Team, or with a Battalion indicator would indicate a Battle Group, etc etc.

 

[McG]

Here is a good guide to symbols relevant to Canadian units.