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A battalion is potentially the smallest military unit capable of independent operations (i.e. not attached to a higher command), but is often part of a regiment — although the present day United States Army is a notable exception in this respect — and is almost always part of a brigade. Battalions are ordinarily homogeneous with respect to type, i.e. an infantry battalion or a tank battalion, though there are occasional exceptions.
An American battalion has between 300 to 1000 Soldiers or Marines, and consists of 5 companies. It is commanded by a lieutenant colonel, with majors serving as the executive officer and the Operations Officer (S-3).
Three to four battalions form a brigade.
In the 1960s to the present day, a typical infantry battalion has five companies: Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), which includes the battalion staff; A, B, and C Companies, and a Combat Support Company, which includes scouts, anti-tank, and mortar sections or platoons.
American Army mechanized infantry battalions and tank battalions, for tactical purposes, will cross-post companies to each other, forming a battalion-sized task force (TF).
During the American Civil War a battalion was a tactical formation consisting of half the companies in a regiment.
The term battalion is used in the infantry, Royal Army Medical Corps and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers only. It was formerly used in the Royal Engineers (occasionally) and the now defunct Royal Army Ordnance Corps and Royal Pioneer Corps . Other corps usually use the term regiment.
An infantry battalion usually has a Headquarters Company, Support Company and three Rifle Companies (usually, but not always, A, B and C). Each company is commanded by a majorFor non-military meanings, see major (disambiguation). In the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the British Army, a major is a commissioned officer superior to a captain and inferior to a lieutenant colonel. The equivalent rank in the US Navy is Lieute, the officer commanding (OC), with a captain as second-in-command. The HQ company contains signals, quartermasterA Quartermaster in the United States Army is a soldier or unit which specializes in supplying and provisioning troops in the field. In the United States Navy, the term is used quite differently; it refers to an enlisted person or NCO who specializes in na, catering, intelligenceMilitary espionage or military intelligence (MI), is a military discipline that focuses on information gathering, control, and dissemination about enemy units, terrain, and the weather in an area of operations. Most armies maintain a military intelligence, administration, pay, training, operations and medical elements. The support company usually contains anti-tankAnti-tank or simply AT refers to any method of combating military armored fighting vehicles, notably tanks. The most common forms of anti-tank systems are cannons with a high muzzle velocity, wire guided missiles in various forms, and various autocannon f, machine gunA machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. Overview M2 machine gun surrounded by spent shell casings Unlike semi-automatic firearms, which require one trigger pull per bullet fired, a machine gun will, mortarM224 60mm Mortar. A mortar is a portable muzzleloading cannon that fires indirect shells at low velocities, short ranges, and high arcing ballistic trajectories. All of these attributes are in comparison with the mortar's larger sibling, artillery, which, pioneer and reconnaissance platoons. Mechanised units will usually have an attached Light Aid Detachment (LAD) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) to perform field repairs on vehicles and equipment.
Important figures in a battalion headquarters include: