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Chain of command
Unit	Soldiers	Typical Commander
fireteam	4	NCO
squad/section	8–13	squad leader
platoon	26–64	platoon leader
company	80–225	captain/major
battalion	300–1,300	lieutenant colonel/colonel
regiment/brigade	3,000–5,000	lieutenant colonel/colonel/ brigadier/brigadier general
division	10,000–15,000	major general
corps	20,000–45,000	lieutenant general
field army	80,000–200,000	general
army group	400,000–1,000,000	field marshal
army region	1,000,000–3,000,000	field marshal
theater	3,000,000–10,000,000	field marshal

Standard NATO military map symbol for a friendly infantry squad.

In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer (NCO)^[1] that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition (Australian Army, Canadian Army, and others) this organization is referred to as a section. In most armies a squad consists of eight to fourteen soldiers,^[2] and may be further subdivided into fireteams.

Organization [edit]

United States [edit]

In the United States Army, a squad is composed of two fireteams of four soldiers each, as well as a squad leader who is a Staff Sergeant. A Military Police squad is composed of three teams of three. In the United States Marine Corps, a squad is typically composed of three fireteams of four Marines and a squad leader who is typically a Sergeant or Corporal. In the US Air Force Security Forces a squad is made up of three fire teams of four members each led by a Senior Airman or Staff Sergeant and either a Staff Sergeant or Tech Sergeant squad leader.

USSR [edit]

In the Soviet Armed Forces a motorised rifle squad was mounted in either a BTR armoured personnel carrier or BMP infantry fighting vehicle, with the former being more numerous by the late 1980s. BTR rifle squads consisted of a Squad Leader/BTR Commander, Senior Rifleman/Assistant Squad Leader, a Machine Gunner armed with an RPK-74, a grenadier armed with an RPG-7, a Rifleman/Assistant Grenadier, a Rifleman/Medic, a Rifleman, a BTR Driver/Mechanic and a BTR Machine Gunner. BMP rifle squads consisted of a Squad Leader/BMP Commander, Assistant Squad Leader/BMP Gunner, a BMP Driver/Mechanic, a Machine Gunner armed with an RPK-74, a grenadier armed with an RPG-7, a Rifleman/Assistant Grenadier, a Rifleman/Medic, a Senior Rifleman and Rifleman all armed with AK-47s (the Rifleman in one squad of every platoon was instead armed with an SVD snipe rifle). In both squads the vehicle's gunner and driver stayed with the vehicle while the rest of the squad dismounted.^[3]

Fire Service in the United States [edit]

A squad is a term used in the US Fire and EMS services to describe several types of units and/or emergency apparatus. Oftentimes, the names "Squad" and "Rescue Squad" are used interchangeably, however the function of the squad is different from department to department. In some departments, a "Squad" and a "Rescue" are two distinct units. This is the case in New York City, where the FDNY operates seven squads. These special "enhanced" engine companies perform both "truck" and "engine" company tasks, as well as Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) mitigation and other specialty rescue functions. FDNY's five "Rescue" companies primarily mitigate technical and heavy rescue incidents, and operate as a pure special rescue unit. Squads and Rescues within the FDNY are part of the departments Specialty Operations Command (SOC).

In other departments, a squad is a name given to a type of apparatus that delivers Emergency Medical Services, and is staffed by firefighter/EMT's or firefighter/paramedics. This type of service delivery is common in the greater Los Angeles area of California, and was made famous in the 1970s show Emergency!, where the fictional Squad 51 highlighted the lives of two firefighter/paramedics of the LACoFD.

Chinese National Revolutionary Army to 1949 [edit]

The squad, 班, or section was the basic unit of the National Revolutionary Army (the Republic of China), and would usually be 14 men strong. An infantry squad from an elite German-trained division would ideally have one light machine gun and 10 rifles, but only one of the three squads in a non-elite Central Army division would have a light machine gun. Furthermore, the regular provincial army divisions had no machine guns at all.^[4]

Leadership [edit]

A squad is led by an NCO known as a Squad Leader. His/her second in command is known as an Assistant Squad Leader. In Britain and the Commonwealth, these appointments are known as Section Commander and Section 2IC ("second in command"), respectively.

Typical ranks for squad leaders are:

• Australian Army: Corporal
• Austrian Army: Wachtmeister
• Brazilian Army: In the Brazilian Army, a Grupo de Combate is a platoon subdivision and is commanded by a third sergeant, as in a U.S. Army squad.

A Romanian squad of a TAB-77 APC. This is a typical Soviet arrangement, with a PK general purpose machine gun and a RPK light machine gun in the center and two soldiers with AK-47 assault rifles and one RPG-7 grenade launcher on the flanks. Another soldier provides liaison or extra firepower where needed.

• British Army: Corporal
• Canadian Army (Canadian Forces Land Force Command )(Armée de terre canadienne): Sergeant or Master Corporal
• Danish Army: Sergent
• Estonian Defence Forces: Seersant (reserve unit) or Nooremveebel (professional unit)
• Finnish Army: Alikersantti or Kersantti (Corporal or Sergeant)
• German Army: Feldwebel or Oberfeldwebel (previously Unteroffizier or Stabsunteroffizer)
• Israeli Defence Force: Sergeant (Samál) or Staff Sergeant (Samár)
• Norwegian Army: Sergeant (NOC is corporal and leads the light machine gun fire team of the squad).
• Portuguese Army: the esquadra (squad) is led by a cabo (corporal).
• Royal Netherlands Army: sergeant
• Royal Netherlands Marines: Corporal
• Russian Army: Junior Sergeant or Sergeant
• Spanish Army (pelotón): Cabo 1º, Sargento
• Swedish Army: Sergeant, First Sergeant
• Swiss Army: Wachtmeister (before 2004: Korporal)
• Turkish Army: Çavuş
• U.S. Army: Staff Sergeant or Sergeant (rarely Corporal)
• U.S. Marine Corps: Sergeant or Corporal (sometimes Lance Corporal)

Other military uses [edit]

A squad can also be an ad hoc group of soldiers assigned to a task, for example, a firing squad.

The Canadian Forces Manual of Drill and Ceremonial defines a squad as "a small military formation of less than platoon size which is adopted to teach drill movements. (escouade)"^[5] However, the Manual provides direction for drill movements to be taught in "movements," "parts," or "stages."^[5] The format of the commands in the manual has given rise to a prevalent belief in the CF that these stages are called "squads". This groupthink has such strength that phrases such as "for ease of learning, this movement is broken down into 'squads'", are commonly used during periods of drill instruction. In actuality, were the lesson being given to a platoon, company or parade, the word "squad" would be replaced by the appropriate unit. Thus, these stages, parts, or movements should not be referred to as "squads".

See also [edit]

• Contubernium
• Death squad
• Execution by firing squad
• Military organizations
• Military science
• Organization of Canadian Army rifle sections during World War II
• Squadron

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Look up squad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.