Stryker Brigade News

Say your Stryker soldier’s address looks like “C Co, 1/23 SBCT”, or “B- 2/3 Inf, 3-2 SBCT”. What does that all mean?

The Army has many types of units to which a soldier may belong. Although these may have different names depending on the Branch (e.g., Infantry vs. Aviation), the concept is the same. Small units belong to larger ones… all the way up the chain. Also, unit designations are often abbreviated – which makes understanding them all the more challenging.

Think of this analogy: You live in a duplex with 4 others in your half, and another family in the other half of the building, on a street with 10 other homes, in a neighborhood with 200 homes, in a town with 2,000 homes, in county with 10,000 homes, in a state with…. Well, you get the picture.

Depending on the level of detail you wanted/needed to convey, you could say you lived in:
•Georgia, or
•Jones County, or
•Jonesville, or
•Lake Side Plantation, or
•Pond Street, or
•123B Pond Street, Lake Side Plantation, Jonesville, Jones County, Georgia, USA, North America.

Each example is correct to describe where you live…just the starting point (thus level of detail) varied.

In military terminology, a soldier’s unit is always described from the smallest to the largest…just that the starting point (squad, platoon, company, etc.) is optional. For example, the mailing address starts with Company, then Battalion / Regiment, Brigade, and Division. (ex B Co. 2/3 Inf 3-2 SBCT)

In the Infantry, the smallest unit is typically a Fire-Team, one half of a squad. Fire-teams are usually labeled Alpha and Bravo team. Typically, a Sergeant (SGT) or Corporal (CPL) is the fire-team leader.

The next unit up is a Squad (Sqd), 2 fire-teams. In the Strykers, one whole Infantry squad travels in a single vehicle, along with the crew (driver and vehicle commander). A squad is usually 8~10 men and typically lead by a Staff Sergeant (SSG) who is the Squad Leader. Squads are numbered (1, 2, 3, etc.)

The next larger unit is a Platoon (Plt). Typically 3 or 4 squads make up a platoon. The platoon is lead by a 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) or 1st Lieutenant (1LT) as Platoon Leader and a Platoon Sergeant, typically a Sergeant First Class (SFC). Platoons are numbered 1 thru x.

The next unit up is a Company (Co), typically having 3 or 4 platoons. Usually a Captain (CPT) or senior 1LT is the Company Commander, with a 1LT or 2LT as the Executive Officer (XO) (#2 in command) and a First Sergeant (1SG) as the senior NCO. Companies are usually given letter labels (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, etc.) – but not always.

The next parent unit is a Battalion (Bn), typically having 3~5 companies. Battalions are usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) with a Major (MAJ) as the XO. A Sergeant Major (SGM) is usually the senior NCO. Battalions are numbered, 1 thru x.

The next larger unit is often a Regiment (Reg), made up of 2 or more battalions. Sometimes, a regiment is a “place holder” designation… not a functional deployable unit. Regiments have number labels (e.g., 75th Inf Reg, 3rd Inf Reg, etc.)

The next parent unit is a Brigade (Bde), typically with 3 to 6 battalions. A brigade is deployable unit, often with 4,000+ soldiers, commanded by a Colonel (COL) with a Command Sergeant Major (CSM) as the senior NCO. Brigades have number labels (e.g., 3rd Bde)

The next larger unit is a Division (Div or D), typically having 3 brigades, and commanded by a Major General (2-stars). Divisions have number labels (e.g., 2nd Infantry Division or simply 2ID)

Above this, are Corps (e.g., I Corp, V Corps), and Army (although this designation has not been used in over 50 years).

Here is a fairly high-level overview of the 3-2 SBCT organization.

Infantry Battalions / Regiments:

1st Bn / 23rd Inf Reg (1/23 Inf)
2nd Bn /3rd Inf Reg (2/3 Inf)
5th Bn /20th Inf Reg (5/20 Inf)

1/23, 2/3 and 5/20 each have 4 Companies: A, B, C and Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC). Each 1/23 and 2/3 Company has 3 platoons. 5/20 Companies have 3 line platoons, plus HQ, fire support and mobile gun system (MGS) platoons, for a total of 6.

Cavalry Squadron: (about the size of a battalion)

1/14 Cav (has 4 Troops – about the size of a company)

Other Units:

Artillery Battalion, 1/37 FA (has 3 Firing Batteries and a HQ Battery - a Battery is similar to a company)
Engineering Company, 18 Eng
MI Company, 209 MI
Signal Company, 334 Sig
Anti-tank Company, C/52
Support Battalion, 296 BSB

Here is a fairly high-level overview of the 1-25 SBCT organization.

Infantry Battalions / Regiments:

1st Bn / 24th Inf Reg (1/24 Inf)
1st Bn / 5th Inf Reg (1/5 Inf)
3rd Bn / 21st Inf Reg (3/21 Inf)

1/24, 1/5 and 3/21 each have 4 Companies: A, B, C and Headquarters & Headquarters Company (HHC). Each Company has 3 platoons. Like the 5/20, one of the Battalions' Companies has 3 line platoons, plus HQ, fire support and mobile gun system (MGS) platoons, for a total of 6. I don't know which one - if someone does please let me know.

Cavalry Squadron: (about the size of a battalion)

2/14 Cav (has 4 Troops – about the size of a company)

Other Units:

Artillery Battalion, 2/8 FA (has 3 Firing Batteries and a HQ Battery - a Battery is similar to a company)
Engineering Company, 73rd Eng
Support Battalion, 25th BSB
MI Company, (?)
Signal Company, 176th Signal Company

Please note – any exclusion of a specific unit or team was/is not meant in any way as a slight to their valuable contribution. This is all the data I have…