MILITARY ORGANIZATION

The following is a look at the typical organizational structure of the Army; the Marine Corps is similar but the Navy and Air Force are quite different. A general overview:

THEATER OF OPERATIONS: A geographic region commanded by a joint commander from any of the four services who has the rank of general or admiral. Consists of headquarters, two or more corps, and support troops. In the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations, the commanding general is Army four-star Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

CORPS: Largest combat unit capable of sustained administrative, logistic and tactical operations. Commanded by a lieutenant general. Usually consists of two or more divisions, and can include: engineer brigade, military police brigade, air defense brigade, aviation brigade, signal brigade, personnel services battalion. Number of personnel varies.

DIVISION: Major tactical unit for ground combat operations. Commanded by a major general. Consists of 10,000 to 18,000 personnel. Types of Army divisions include: airborne, air assault, air mobile, armored, infantry, mechanized infantry and light infantry.

BRIGADE: Major combat unit. Commanded by a colonel and has about 2,500 personnel. Within a division, there could be three maneuver brigades and an aviation brigade.

REGIMENT: An administrative and tactical unit mostly found in the Marines. Commanded by a colonel. Organized similarly to an Army brigade.

BATTALION: Typically consists of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Commanded by a lieutenant colonel and has about 500 to 1,000 personnel. Other battalions may include: artillery, signal, engineer and air defense.

COMPANY OR BATTERY: Consists of headquarters and two or more platoons. Commanded by a captain and has about 150 personnel.

PLATOON: Smallest fighting unit led by a commissioned officer in the Army and Marine Corps; the basic combat element of a company. Platoons vary in size, based on mission. A tank platoon consists of about 20 personnel and five tanks; a mechanized infantry platoon includes about three squads of 11 personnel each.

SQUAD: Smallest unit of the Army or Marine Corps, commanded by a staff sergeant. Personnel usually number about nine but varies with assignment.

Source: Encyclopedia of the U.S. Military, The Official Dictionary of Military Terms, and public affairs offices of the U.S. Army, Marines, Air Force and Navy.