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Regimental Combat Team
A regimental combat team (RCT) is a provisional major infantry unit which has seen use by branches of the United States Armed Forces. It is formed by augmenting a regular infantry regiment with smaller combat, combat support and combat service support units. The United States Army first adopted the RCT concept just prior to World War II, where it served as the infantry-centric counterpart to the Combat Command used by armored forces. RCTs were widely used during World War II and the Korean War but were disbanded after the adoption of the Pentomic structure in 1957. The United States Marine Corps maintains the use of the RCT to the present day. U.S. Army In 1939, the US Army formally switched from the square division to the triangular division, eliminating the brigade and leaving the regiment as the basic combat subunit of a division. However, the Army also recognized that it would need a separate infantry force to conduct missions too small for a division and created ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infantry
Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadly encompasses a wide variety of subspecialties, including light infantry, irregular infantry, heavy infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry, mechanized infantry, Airborne forces, airborne infantry, Air assault, air assault infantry, and Marines, naval infantry. Other subtypes of infantry, such as line infantry and mounted infantry, were once commonplace but fell out of favor in the 1800s with the invention of more accurate and powerful weapons. Etymology and terminology In English, use of the term ''infantry'' began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French , from older Italian (also Spanish) ''infanteria'' (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echelon Formation
An echelon formation () is a (usually military) formation in which its units are arranged diagonally. Each unit is stationed behind and to the right (a "right echelon"), or behind and to the left ("left echelon"), of the unit ahead. The name of the formation comes from the French word échelon, meaning a rung of a ladder, which describes the shape that this formation has when viewed from above or below. Military formation Use of the formation dates back to ancient infantry and cavalry warfare, as an alternative to column, line-abreast, or phalanx (box) formations. One of its earliest uses was at the Battle of Leuctra, when the Thebans attacked the Spartan right with a column 48 men deep while their weaker center and right were repelled. The echelon formation may have been used by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae, Alexander the Great at the Battle of Gaugamela, Frederick II of Prussia, and the Confederate army at the Battle of Gettysburg. The tactic still persists and is r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of a regiment in an army. Modern usage varies greatly, and in some cases, the term is used as an Colonel (title), honorific title that may have no direct relationship to military. In some smaller military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Holy See, Vatican, colonel is the highest Military rank, rank. Equivalent naval ranks may be called Captain (naval), captain or ship-of-the-line captain. In the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth's air force ranking system, the equivalent rank is group captain. History and origins By the end of the late medieval period, a group of "companies" was referred to as a "column" of an army. According to Raymond Oliver, , the Spanish began explicitly reorganizing part of thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commanding Officer
The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as they see fit, within the bounds of military law. In this respect, commanding officers have significant responsibilities (for example, the use of force, finances, equipment, the Geneva Conventions), duties (to higher authority, mission effectiveness, duty of care to personnel), and powers (for example, discipline and punishment of personnel within certain limits of military law). In some countries, commanding officers may be of any commissioned rank. Usually, there are more officers than command positions available, and time spent in command is generally a key aspect of promotion, so the role of commanding officer is highly valued. The commanding officer is often assisted by an executive officer (XO) or s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anti-aircraft Warfare
Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-launched), and air-based weapon systems, in addition to associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, army, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defense. Missile defense, Missile defense is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. Most modern anti-aircraft (AA) weapons systems are optimized for short-, medium-, or long-range air defence, although some systems may incorporate multiple weapons (such as both autocannons and surface-to-air missiles). 'Layered air defence' usually refers to multiple 't ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battery (military Unit)
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar (weapon), mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to facilitate better military communication, battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems. The term is also used in a Naval artillery, naval context to describe groups of guns on warships. Land usage Historically the term "battery" referred to a cluster of cannons in action as a group, either in a temporary field position during a battle or at the siege of a fortress or a city. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer, or mortar types. A siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannons in a fixed fortification, for coastal or frontier defence. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tank Destroyer Battalion (United States)
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; their main armament is often mounted within a turret. They are a mainstay of modern 20th and 21st century ground forces and a key part of combined arms combat. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapons platforms whose main armament is a large-calibre tank gun mounted in a rotating gun turret, supplemented by machine guns or other ranged weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles or rocket launchers. They have heavy vehicle armour which provides protection for the crew, the vehicle's munition storage, fuel tank and propulsion systems. The use of tracks rather than wheels provides improved operational mobility which allows the tank to overcome rugged terrain and adverse conditions such as mud and ice/snow better than wheeled vehicles, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Separate Tank Battalion
Separate tank battalions were military formations used by the United States Army during World War II, especially in the European Theater of Operations. These battalions were temporarily attached to infantry, armored, or airborne divisions according to need, though at least one battalion ( 745th Tank Battalion) spent the entire war in Europe attached to one division. They were also known as general headquarters ("GHQ") tank battalions. Background The advent of highly mobile and reliable tanks radically changed the nature of warfare during World War II. The use of tanks and other vehicles to create decisive breakthroughs became commonplace. The German blitzkrieg and Soviet deep battle called for large, maneuverable armored forces to be concentrated in one area of the front to overwhelm enemy defenses, with the aim of surrounding and cutting off the enemy formations left behind. This strategy was in contrast to previous ideas of armored warfare, namely that tanks should support ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can be composed of 20–50 troops, although specific platoons may range from 10 to 100 people. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer. The platoon leader is usually a junior officer—a Second lieutenant, second or first lieutenant or an equivalent rank. The officer is usually assisted by a platoon sergeant. Rifle platoons normally consist of a small platoon headquarters and three or four sections (Commonwealth) or squads (United States). In some armies, platoon is used throughout the branches of the army. In a few armies, such as the French Army, a platoon is specifically a cavalry unit, and the infantry use "section" as the equivalent unit. A unit consisting of several platoon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signals (military)
Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from '' Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communications, naval signalling, terrestrial microwave, tropospheric scatter, satellite communications systems and equipment, surveillance and signal analysis, security, direction finding and jamming. IHS Jane'sbr>Military Communications Retrieved 2012-01-23. The most urgent purposes are to communicate information to commanders and orders from them. Military communications span from pre-history to the present. The earliest military communications were delivered by runners. Later, communications progressed to visual signals. For example, Naval ships would use flag signaling to communicate from ship to ship. These flags are a uniform set of easily identifiable nautical codes that would convey visual messages and codes between ships and from s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battlefield Medicine
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded combatants and non-combatants in or near an area of combat. Medicine, Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat. With the advent of advanced procedures and medical technology, even polytrauma can be survivable in modern wars. Battlefield medicine is a category of military medicine. History Antiquity * During Alexander the Great's military campaigns in the 4th century BC, tourniquets were used to stanch the bleeding of wounded soldiers. Ancient Rome, Romans used them to control bleeding, especially during amputations. These tourniquets were narrow straps made of bronze, using leather only for comfort. * According to bamboo slips from the Han dynasty, external injury from combat and Intragroup conflict, infighting comprised the plurality of injuries and illnesses from soldiers on the front ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (military Unit)
A company is a Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a Major (rank), major or a Captain (armed forces), captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
