for a friendly infantry company.]]
A
company is a
military unit, typically consisting of 75-200
soldiers and usually commanded by a
Captain or a
Major. Most companies are formed of three to five
platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Several companies are grouped to form a
battalion or
regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions.
British Army
Rifle companies consist of three
platoons and a Company Headquarters. An
infantry Battalion will also include a Headquarters Company and a Manoeuvre Support Company.
The British Army infantry normally identifies its rifle companies by letter (usually, but not always, A, B and C) within a battalion, usually with the addition of a headquarters company and a support/heavy weapons company. Some units name their companies after regimental battle honours, this is commonly the case for composite units, for example the London Regiment with its Somme, Messines and Cambrai companies. The Foot Guards Regiments use traditional names for some of their companies, for example Queen's Company, Left Flank, Prince of Wales's Company etc.
Royal Marines companies are designated by a letter that is unique across the Corps, not just within their Command. The Intelligence Corps, Royal Army Medical Corps, Royal Military Police and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers all have companies uniquely numbered across their corps.
The
Household Cavalry,
Royal Armoured Corps,
Royal Engineers,
Royal Corps of Signals,
Army Air Corps,
Special Air Service,
Honourable Artillery Company and
Royal Logistic Corps use the term
squadron instead of company (although the Royal Engineers and Royal Signals had companies until after the
Second World War, except in armoured divisions). The
Royal Artillery use the term
battery.
The defunct Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps and Royal Army Ordnance Corps had companies; the Royal Corps of Transport had squadrons.
British companies are usually commanded by a Major, the Officer Commanding (OC), with a Captain or senior Lieutenant as Second-in-Command (2i/c). The company headquarters also includes a Company Sergeant Major (CSM) normally holding the rank of WO2 and a Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS) of Colour Sergeant rank, the two most senior soldiers in the company.
The Honourable Artillery Company is in fact a Regiment, not a Company in terms of organisation and size.
Canadian Army
Canadian Army organisation is modelled after the British. However, a Canadian infantry battalion consists of three or four rifle companies identified by letter (A Company, B Company, etc), a Combat Support Company, and an Administration Support Company. A notable exception is
The Royal Canadian Regiment which names its companies sequentially throughout the regiment from the Duke of Edinburgh's Company (instead of A Company) in the First Battalion to T Company in the Fourth Battalion. Many Regiments name their Companies after Battle Honours, or former units which make up the current regiment, for example:
75th Company- The Toronto Scottish Regiment
Victoria Company- The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
Grenadier Company- The Royal Regiment of Canada
The Combat Support Company administratively contains the specialized infantry platoons such as Recce Platoon, Pioneer Platoon, HQ and Signals Platoon, Anti-Armour Platoon, and Mortar Platoon. The Administration Support Company contains the support tradesmen which a battalion requires, such as cooks, vehicle technicians, supply, medics, etc.
Irish Army
In the Irish Army, a company usually consists of three platoons.
Companies are usually identified by letters in an infantry battalion (A, B, C... etc)
United States of America
United States Army
In the
United States Army,
infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle
platoons and a
heavy weapons platoon; mechanized infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle
platoons and a command element; tank companies are usually made up of three tank platoons and a command element. A company is usually commanded by an Army
captain, although in rare cases they may be commanded by a
1st lieutenant or a
major. By tradition, the corresponding unit of
artillery is always called a "
battery". Similarly, the term "troop" is used for
cavalry units, including both the horse-mounted units of history as well as modern armored cavalry and air cavalry units. Companies which are not separate from their parent
battalion are identified by letter - for example, "A Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment". The letters are usually pronounced using the
NATO phonetic alphabet or, before that, the
Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet, resulting in names such as "Bravo Company" and "Echo Company" (formerly "Baker" and "
Easy" Companies, respectively). Companies with a separate
Table of Organization and Equipment are identified by a number, and are able to operate completely independently from any other unit's support. Company-sized units which are organized under a Table of Distribution and Allowance are identified with a name or number.
Company-sized units usually consist of four to six platoons (each led by a Lieutenant), although there are examples of Combat Service and Combat Service Support companies that have seven or more platoons. For example, a Transportation Terminal Service Company normally has two Ship Platoons, two Shore Platoons, one Documentation Platoon, one Maintenance Platoon, and the Headquarters Platoon. These platoons are led by first lieutenants, while the company is commanded by a major.
While companies are typically commanded by captains, some special units are commanded by majors, and have platoons commanded by captains. Examples of this arrangement include aviation platoons and many special forces units. This is not a punishment but an honor, as such platoons usually have some special operational capacity that requires them to be commanded by an officer with more experience than a lieutenant. A captain reports to his commander, usually the battalion commander (a lieutenant colonel). However, there are some administrative and other duties at battalion level and larger (brigade or division) which are also handled by captains, for example the S-1 through S-4 officers of a battalion, or some staff positions in the G shops at division
The senior non-commissioned officer of a company is called a first sergeant. Any sergeant holding this position is referred to as "first sergeant" regardless of actual rank and pay grade, though the non-commissioned officer assigned ordinarily has the rank of first sergeant and a grade of E-8. A master sergeant (E-8) assigned to this position will be "laterally promoted" to the rank of first sergeant, unless the appointment is temporary. In some instances, a sergeant first class (E-7) will be appointed to the job in lieu of a qualified first sergeant or master sergeant. Again, in such situations, the NCO holds the duty position and title of "First Sergeant," while retaining the rank of sergeant first class, at a grade of E-7.
United States Marine Corps
;Rifle company
three rifle platoons
a weapons platoon
four Navy hospital corpsmen (one attached to each rifle platoon and the senior corpsman with the company headquarters)
an administrative clerk
a police sergeant (typically holding the rank of corporal or sergeant)
a training NCO
a company Gunnery Sergeant
a first sergeant
an Executive Officer (XO), typically a first lieutenant
a Commanding Officer (CO), typically a captain
;Weapons company
A weapons company has in place of the three rifle platoons, an 81 mm mortar platoon, an anti-armor platoon, and a heavy machine gun platoon.
;Headquarters and Service Company
Headquarters Platoon consists of Marines from S-1, S-2, S-3, the Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Defense section, and the Chaplain section (one Navy chaplain and an enlisted religious program specialist).
Communications Platoon, consisting of Radiomen, Wiremen, Techs, Data Marines, and the associated staff.
Service Platoon, consisting of S-4, Motor Transportation, Food Service, armorers, and Supply.
Scout Sniper Platoon.
Medical Platoon, which includes all of the Navy medical personnel for the rifle companies and the Battalion Aid Station (BAS). The allowance of 65 hospital corpsmen and two Medical Corps officers (doctors) is usually not completely staffed. As such, the BAS usually fields one doctor and 10-12 hospital corpsmen. The remaining personnel are assigned to the rifle companies, usually four hospital corpsmen per company.
Notes
Disambiguation
Some companies were well enough known that they have been identified with their company letter. Examples include:
Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division which became the focus of the BBC/HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
* Able Company, the focus of the campaign in the computer game "Company of Heroes" by THQ.
See also
Military organization
British Army Infantry
Category:Military units and formations by size
